Walking the full Camino de Santiago became a ritual and meditative. We no longer thought about how strenuous or not our day’s walk would be or the distance. Day 19 found us in Sahagun, a lovely and lively town to stay in after the quiet night in Calzadilla de la Cueza. We were fortunate to return for a further overnight stay after our walk on Day 20. Learn more about why below.
Day 19 – Calzadilla de la Cueza to Sahagun
We were up and ready early for breakfast. Our fellow guests had already left apart from Louise, who arrived just as we finished breakfast.
We were on the road at 7:30 a.m. after our host had served us a breakfast of fried eggs swimming in oil with slices of toasted baguette. Louise, who wasn’t far behind, caught up, confirming that her breakfast was as unhealthy as ours before she hurried ahead.
The Pilgrim’s Path or the Official Path?
Signage along the Camino trail comes in all shapes and forms. As we approached the town of Ledigos, we stopped to look at rock formations shaped like arrows pointing the way. We started a conversation with a young man who had also paused momentarily. He lives in Melbourne, Australia, and was walking the Camino de Santiago hoping to find a new direction in life.
The Camino path splits in Ledigos offering two route options: the Pilgrim’s Path and the Official Path. Our young Australian decided to take the route through Ledigos hoping to find a cafe. Instead, we followed the official one, a pleasant walk in the countryside, away from the road.
Hobbit houses and knitting in Moratinos
We walked around the outskirts of the small settlement of Terradillos de los Templarios on the path that leads into the quaint town of Moratinos.
The small underground wine and food storage cellars instantly caught our attention. The “hobbit houses” are common in this area and a part of the wine culture that dates back 2,000 years to the Romans. Some open up for family gatherings and parties around cellar doors.
The highlight of this sleepy town is the small church square where residents have strung knitted and crocheted creations around the square and trees giving it a bright and festive atmosphere. We sat down to rest in the shade of the peaceful church verandah and admired the knitted pieces.
Sahagun
Arriving in Sahagun, the Camino detours, taking pilgrims past the old hermitage Ermita de la Virgen del Puente and across a medieval double-arched bridge ending in a shady tree rest area. After taking the Pilgrim’s Path, Louise arrived behind us. It was hot, but the walk had not been difficult.
We walked the rest of the way to Sahagun together and arrived at Avenida de la Constitution, where Saturday markets are in full swing. There was a wonderful atmosphere. After buying cherries and apricots, we all went to Plaza Mayor for lunch. Louise introduced us to the refreshing summertime drink to quench our thirst, Tinto de Verano (red wine and soda water served with orange and lemon slices).
With our bellies filled, we waved goodbye to Louise, whose accommodation was back at the town’s entrance, and checked into our hotel just from our Plaza Mayor lunch venue. Once settled, stretched, and refreshed, we had another job: laundering our clothes at the laundromat we had passed on the way into town.
Exploring in Sahagun
While we waited for our washing, we walked around the corner to the Iglesia de la Trinidad to get our Pilgrim Passports stamped. With its apse from the 13th century and the rest of the building built in the 16th century, the church is no longer a place of worship. It has been restored and now provides accommodation for pilgrims. As we queued, Aubern, the young French man we first met travelling with companions in Azofra on Day 10 appeared. He was staying in the albergue, one of the most comfortable Camino hostels.
Our passports stamped, we bid goodbye to Aubern and went next door to the Baroque church, Iglesia de San Juan. Originally built in the 16th century, the people of Sahagun hold the church in their hearts because it holds the tombs of two brothers martyred by the Romans in 303 AD. We could only admire the church from the outside, it is only open for daily mass at 10:00 am and 8:30 pm.
At the laundromat, the proprietors arrived to collect coins from the slot machines and engaged in a loud and heated verbal altercation with another person. They were speaking too fast in Spanish for us to grasp the context of the argument. We sat to one side pretending to read on our phones keeping an ear out in case we caught a word or two we could understand.
An evening in Sahagun
Once our chores were completed, we had a pre-dinner aperitif in Plaza Mayor before dinner.
As the day’s heat waned, locals emerged to socialize in and around the square. We thoroughly enjoyed people-watching while journaling, soaking in the Saturday evening atmosphere. Some gathered with friends over drinks, while others engaged in conversation in the square, watching their children as they played in the open space.
Our accommodation
Luckily, unlike some of our fellow pilgrims, who were staying in lodgings on the outskirts of town, we had been assigned a room at Hostal Restaurante el Ruedo II in the heart of Sahagun. Located in Plaza Mayor we were fortunate to walk downstairs and step into the square where the main restaurants and cafes were.
Our room was comfortable and clean with enough room to roll out our yoga mats. This was fortunate since we stayed there for two nights.
Our delicious evening meals on both evenings were served in a Michelin restaurant, Restaurante Luis while our breakfasts were downstairs in the cafe at Hostal Restaurante el Ruedo.
Walking statistics
- 23km
- 5 hours including a rest break
Day 20 – Sahagun to El Burgo Ranero
Our day’s walk took us to the small town of El Burgos Ranera. The town has limited accommodation so we would return to Sahagun for the night.
Not having to pack, we were ready for breakfast before 7 am. Two brothers owned the lodgings (4 rooms) and restaurant. Having been open until late the night before, we found the younger brother was on duty and had just arrived to open. There were just the two of us for breakfast and within a few minutes, he had toasted baguettes, a platter with a selection of meats, and cheese accompanied by honey and jam, yoghurt and fresh orange juice and fruit on our table.
The road to El Burgo Ranero
Fortified, we were on the road at 7:30 am to find a nice surprise on the way out of Sahagun: the ruins of the San Benito Monastery; and the town portal. We made a mental note to return in the evening to explore.
Outside of Sahagun, the track is beautiful under poplar trees alongside a little used road. A local lady with hiking poles passed us walking towards Sahagun on what looked like her daily walk. We came across her again in Bercianos.
Glancing back, the “blue singlet” man followed us until the Camino trail divided again. We took the Camino Real which ended directly at our destination, El Burgo Ranero. The other route takes pilgrims past the small town of Calzadella de los Hermanillos.
Bercianos del Real Camino
A hermitage, Ermita de Nuestra Señora de Perales, housing the town’s protectress, stands outside Bercianos del Real Camino, where we stopped to look.
Louise, one of our travelling companions, arrived. She had been following not far behind from Sahagun. She had commented in Sahagun that she was exhausted and today said she had slowed her pace. We continued while Louise stayed longer to have a look inside the hermitage.
Bercianos del Real Camino is a small village with less than 200 inhabitants. On our way through, we spotted the lady with hiking poles conversing with her neighbours. With no major attractions, we quickly passed through the village.
El Burgo Ranero
The remainder of the trail was flat and on the tarmac so we arrived in El Burgo Ranero by 11:30 am. We had plenty of time to spare before the taxi collected us to return to Sahagun.
El Burgo Ranero is a small town of approximately 250 people. It thrives on three industries: grain, sheep farming and servicing Camino pilgrims.
We first found our taxi pick-up point, the cafe, Cafeteria La Costa del Adobe. It was not difficult, there was only one main street and the cafe was midway along.
People-watching in El Burgo Ranero
Before exploring the township and because we hadn’t stopped for a rest we sat on a bench by the pretty little village church, San Pedro. The church was closed but while we sat savouring the cherries from the markets in Sahagun a couple of women arrived and before long rhythmic sounds of hymns emanated from inside.
A little while later, family groups arrived to socialise outside. We enjoyed sitting back and engaging in more people-watching before they entered for the service.
Then it was time to explore the town. We had read about the lagoon which we found behind the church. It was a pool of water with some reeds around it!
After conducting another minute of reconnaissance, we met our friend Aubern, who was also exploring. He confirmed that he had found nothing and it would be a long afternoon with little to do. His companions had returned to France. We were glad to be returning to Sahagun for the night.
With little else to see, we settled for lunch at a table in the pretty garden of La Costa del Adobe cafe. We watched families having Sunday lunch after church and treated ourselves to the cafe’s delicious homemade ice cream.
Walking statistics
- 18km
- 3 hours and 45 minutes with no rest break
Back in Sahagun for the night
As arranged, our taxi driver arrived to take us back to our lodgings in Sahagun. The drive back which took us several hours to walk was a mere 15 minutes!
Stretched, showered and refreshed we relaxed over drinks at El Ruedo before returning to Restaurant Luis. Because we had an early meal the previous evening, we had been the only guests in the dining room. This time, we requested to sit in the bar area in the front to have our meal so we could see activity in the Plaza while we ate. They happily obliged.
We ended the evening by listening to a local brass band performing in the plaza’s rotunda, and then we took a stroll to admire the San Benito ruins.
Highlights of the day
As the days passed, we formed bonds with other pilgrims we met while walking the full Camino de Santiago. It was always encouraging to hear about our fellow pilgrims and how they were faring.
- We had not seen Aubern for many days, so we were happy to see Aubern again. He was coping well with his walking pace having started his Camino from Paris.
- Louise updated us on our fellow pilgrim gang. The evening before, in Sahagun, she had dined with Martin from England and Kevin from Mexico in the albergue where they had all stayed:
- Martin had departed in the early hours for El Burgo Ranero. His tour arranger had secured accommodation for him in rooms above a service station just outside of El Burgo Ranero.
- Kevin and his mum, Veronika were still in Sahagun having a “rest day”. They spent their “rest day” completing the last 5km from Moratinos to Sahagun which they had abandoned the day before after each drank too much wine over a large lunch in Moratinos and had to catch a taxi to Sahagun. When we had walked through Moratinos but obviously, there was when they did! Our walking days will synchronise after we have a rest day in Leon.
Want to know more about walking the full Camino de Santiago?
The Camino de Santiago (Way of Saint James) is a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. You don’t have to be a pilgrim to walk the Way. Above all, it’s a wonderful way to see and indeed, experience northern Spain.
Learn more about walking the Camino de Santiago here.
In case you missed it
Follow our 38-day journey walking the full Camino de Santiago from Day 1 by clicking the link below.
