Our path on the Meseta continued on Days 17 and 18 of walking the full Camino de Santiago. Both walking days were shorter than previous days. Day 17 saw us in the lovely town of Carrion de los Condes and Day 18 took us to the small settlement of Calzadilla de la Cueza for the night
Day 17 – Fromista to Carrion de los Condes
Everybody seemed keen to be on their way. The restaurant was busy with pilgrims when we arrived for breakfast at 7:30 am.
When we left at 8:00 am, the walking track was full of pilgrims to Carrion de los Condes. The walk was monotonous, with cultivated fields on either side broken up by sunflower fields brightening the surroundings when they appeared. The small villages which appeared were insignificant and with no businesses open.
Being surrounded by a herd of sheep was the only highlight as their shepherd moved them along the path to another pasture. A shady park next to the walking path allowed us to have our fruit two and a half hours into our walking day.
Carrion de los Condes
Carrion de los Condes was bustling when we arrived at midday. It was market day.
After wandering through the market we found a seat at a cafe in Plaza Mayor for lunch. Our accommodation was another kilometre away on the other side of town. No salads were on the menu so we settled for one of Spain’s staples, a potato tortilla. We enjoyed watching locals meeting and greeting each other in the Plaza’s cafes and bars.
Fortified, we walked across the bridge over the river to our hotel. It was a hot summer afternoon, youngsters were swimming in the river while families had set up picnics on the banks.
We rounded the corner from the bridge to the welcome sight of our accommodation, Hotel Real Monasterio San Zoilo. The rest of our gang were staying in town so there woul be no familiar faces to dine with this evening.
Having settled in and completed our arrival routine, we returned to the town to wash our clothes at the laundromat we had passed earlier. Except for a few pilgrims, Plaza Mayor and the township were deserted allowing us to look at the buildings around town a little closer.
Back at the hotel, we had plenty of time to explore the nooks and crannies of the 1000 year old monastery complex which was complimentary for guests. The building’s architecture is stunning with beautiful stone arches, a tranquil cloister, a chapel and library dedicated to the monastery and its history.
Journalling time arrived all too quickly and we found a spot in the atrium outside where other guests were gathering for pre-dinner cocktails.
Our evening meal was in another part of the the historic building. We joined other hotel guests and locals in the old monk’s kitchen. The large restaurant is cosy with dark timber beams above and heavy wooden furniture befitting its past. We were treated to an exquisite meal acompanied by local wine. A perfect end to our day.
Our acommodation
We were offered the option to upgrade our accomodation by our travel organisers, UTracks. We took the opportunity so we could experience staying in a monastery.
Beautifully manicured gardens led us to the hotel entrance. Tranquil sounds of choir music in the reception area immediately put us at ease. Our hotel room was in the old monks quarters and overlooked the cloister. It is unlikely, however, that the monks had the luxury of a such a comfortable bed and soft white towels at their disposal.
Our evening meal was one of the best offered on our walk and a substantial buffet breakfast the next morning was served in the atrium area.
It was apparent that few other pilgrims had stayed in the hotel overnight. If you’re intending to stay in Carrion de los Condes while walking the Camino de Santiago we highly recommend treating yourself to an overnight stay in the Monastario,
Walking statistics
- 21kms
- 4 hours including rest stops
Day 18 – Carrion de los Condes to Calzadilla de la Cueza
Its was to be another short walking day so we made the most of our luxuriously surroundings by sleeping a little later than normal and set out after a leisurely breakfast.
One or two pilgrims are waiting outside the monastery walls to visit the chapel when it opened. There were a few others walking the path ahead in the distance.
Chatting as we walked, it was some time before we realised that we were walking on the verge of the road and had not come across anyone for quite a while. We continued unperturbed, thinking that most pilgrims would have left much earlier than us.
The long walk to Calzadilla de la Cueza
Wheat and sunflower fields flanked the road and we had pleasure in watching the gigantic ploughs and harvesters working the fields. We soon found ourselves having to step out of the way or move to the other side of the road as these large machines came towards us moving between the fields. The road carried on forever.
At the 14km mark we looked around us hoping to see our small overnight settlement close by. There was nothing but fields for as far as the eye could see. We kept walking, signage indicated that we were going the right way. Calzadilla couldn’t be far away. There must have been a mistake on our walking notes.
At 19km, we could hear sirens and helicopters above us. Maybe somebody had sent out a search party to find us! In the distance there was a turn off leading to a small cluster of buildings. After 21km we arrived at the turn off leading us straight to the main building in the cluster which turned out to be our Casa Rural.
Calzadilla de la Cueza
A man standing at the entrance appeared surprised to see us coming along the road. “Where did you come from?”, he asked. We told him we had walked from Carrion and he looked at us aghast! “You are supposed to come from the other side of the town”, he answered even more bewildered. Seeing the confusion on our faces he beckoned us to the other side of the building from where we could see the long flat walking track similar to the one we walked the previous day. It appeared we had missed the turn off while engaged in conversation and followed the Camino bicycle path instead!
Looking around the tiny town, we agreed that it was probably better that we’d taken the longer route. There was not much to see or do here.
An incident on the Camino
A couple of Dutch pilgrims told us over lunch that the sirens and helicopters we had heard were associated with an accident on the Camino walking path. A motorcyclist had ridden down what was supposed to be a walking only path at speed colliding with and injuring a pilgrim. Maybe it had been our lucky day, it could have been us!
A stroll after we were refreshed revealed one other street in the township and no townfolk in sight. The only other bar and restaurant in town wass closed, so it was back to our lodge to relax before dinner. We had lunch , dinner, and breakfast at our accommodation.
At dinner that evening, the restaurant was full of pilgrims. A group of pilgrims (two French families) arrived to sit at the across from us. One of the teenage children was in a sling and covered in heavy bruising. She indicated she was okay when we asked. Later, we learned that they had abandoned the walk to return home,
Our accommodation
Hostal Camino Real was our accommodation overnight. It seemed to be the only accommodation and dining establishment open for business. Many hikers stopped for their evening meal here before continuing on, while others like us had a room booked.
Our room and facilities were simple, clean, and tidy. There was a bar in the reception area from which we ordered wine to sit on the small veranda to enjoy with some of our fellow overnighters before dinner. The television on the wall was smaller than a computer screen, so after dinner, we retired to our room to watch another episode or two of The Crown on our tablet before turning in for an early night.
Walking statistics
- 23km
- 5 hours walking with no rest stops
Thinking about walking the full Camino de Santiago?
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