Let me go back a few days to Carrión de los Condes. I did exactly what I planned after leaving the albergue. Headed for the bar, had a leisurely, and more substantial breakfast, sat and waited in the bar, and hopped on the bus when it came. It meandered through the countryside, eventually depositing me on the side of the road at Terradillos de Templarios. The paddocks looked waterlogged with huge puddles throughout, but that is primarily because the soil is clay and so takes a long time to drain.
The villages in this region have lots of adobe buildings - and parts of buildings. The parts of walls that are protected by a roof survive well, but the parts exposed to the elements are deteriorating.
The church at Terradillos de Templarios.
By the time I was dropped there in the early afternoon, the weather had fined up, with no rain, and only a soft breeze. It felt wonderful being well and strong enough to walk again, and I thoroughly enjoyed my walk to Moratinos. It was here that I met for the first time one of the "legends" of the Camino in this area - Rebekah, and her husband Patrick. Reb is a legend because of her kindness and support of pilgrims who wander by, because of her knowledge of the Camino, and because of the work that she does supporting the big picture Camino as well as the smaller local part in Palencia.
Jill and the two Koreans, Choy and Kim, who had stayed with her the night before had arrived just before me. Everyone was preparing to go to the local Bodega for lunch, and a delicious one it was too! Poor Jill had been afflicted with gastro the night before, and somehow she had found the strength to walk to Moratinos, a distance of about 14kms.
It was wonderful to be able to chat in English without having to translate mentally everything to make sure it was easily understood by those not used to speaking English as a first language. The peace and tranquility at Rebekah's home, along with their hospitality, was hugely appreciated. Thanks Reb and Patrick.
Moratinos has always been a favourite Camino town of mine since walking through there in 2005 and seeing a pink haze, in the pink dawn light in a paddock on the fringe of the village and opposite the intriguing bodegas. The pink haze turned out to be crocus, though there was no hope of seeing them this time. They are an autumn flower, and for me, one of the symbols of the Camino at that time.
The path on the way to Moratinos
The hill of bodegas at the entrance to Moratinos. These underground buildings are used to store wine. The men often "escape" to the bodegas for cards, a glass of wine etc. The bodegas are also used to make wine too, or they were in the older days!
That afternoon I took the opportunity to go out and take some photos. How fortunate was that decision! During the night the weather turned and walking in the morning into a head wind, cold rain that stung any exposed skin as it pelted into us, and sleet made it impossible to speak, let alone take photos! As we were walking along the rio Valderaduey, flowing quite fast, it started to snow - only for a few minutes, before returning to the wind and rain!
The view towards where we walked, from just near Rebekah's home.
The sign to send us on our way from Moratinos….
......and the path we followed.
Nearly at Sahagún.
Across a muddy paddock!
The very wet and muddy path on the little detour past the recently restored Ermita Virgen del Puente, with its impressive gateway.
This weather made our walk to Sahagún tiring and tedious. It was here that I made the decision to catch the train to Leon. Before I left Australia I had decided that I wanted to be in Leon for the Three Kings festivities, and catching the train was the only way to do that. Jill was determined to walk the whole way, and so I left her with Choy and Kim to continue walking, while I travelled in a toasty warm train! Fortunately though the worst of the weather had been and so the afternoon, though very cold, was mostly free of rain!
On rainy days Jill and I travel in disguise!
Sheltering under the church verandah in
San Nicolás
Leon has many statues.
The patina on this poor chap has changed to green!
Perhaps he finds the winter too cold!
Note his toe - everyone must rub it on the way past, like the hand of the other chap above!
One has to pay now to visit the extraordinary Leon cathedral. In my opinion the commentary you get is well worth it. Likewise one can take photos to your hearts content. There are no men tapping you on the shoulder saying "no photos"
I decided to stay in the Real Collegiata San Isadora hotel. What a treat, not so much for the service - it was more than satisfactory for a three star hotel, but for what it was. It is a converted monastery, and it comes complete with feet thick walls, little stone window seats, and corridors filled with beautiful old furniture - including clocks! It was magic and cost (including brekky, a buffet) the grand sum of 40€ a night.
The entrance to the hotel, the passage outside my room, and the cloisters. My room is the bottom photo - note the little stone seats at the window.
Disaster has struck! On the walk to Sahagún something happened to my camera and it no longer works - something to do with the zoom apparently. I rushed out and bought an el cheapo Olympus, and so it will be interesting to see what the photos look like compared to the Lumix! Another disaster! I have just tried to post photos and can't figure out how. So who knows - the rest of the blog might be a photo free zone - I hope not, and will continue to try and figure it out! Any one who knows please advise! Photos are now hit and miss, but as you can see, quite a bit of "hit!"
I am not going to post here about the Three Kings festivities - will do that in a separate post. Suffice it to say that I am glad I made it.
glad Reb was home to welcome you. Hopefully you're able to sort out your camera issues and looking forward to seeing more photos soon.
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