Walked today: 5.3 mi. Camino2022: 161 mi
Our taxi arrived at 7:30 just outside our hotel in Villalcázar and took us to the edge of Calzadilla de la Cueza. This enabled us to skip a 12 mile section, which we also skipped in 2022 and 2019. Its not a difficult walk, just much longer than we prefer to walk plus, it has no services such as places to eat or drink or use the bathroom.
Shortly after we began to walk, we heard music. It was difficult to tell where it was coming from, but it was very nice tune that stopped briefly, then began again. It sounded like a reed pipe type woodwind instrument… too low a pitch to be a flute.
We stopped periodically, listened, searched the hills around us, but couldn’t determine the source and kept walking.
Finally, the music got stronger and appeared to be coming from the sunflower field ahead of us. We kept walking and spotted a man, still quite a distance from us, standing next to his car, playing a vertically held instrument and facing a large cross.
We’ve seen the cross before when walking this way and believe the cross is near the ruins of the Santa María de las Tiendas, a former monastery and pilgrims hospital.
We stopped for breakfast at a bar in Ledigos then continued on to our destination for the day.
We’ve stayed here three times before. It’s a very nice albergue and very popular among pilgrims from all over the world. It’s relatively new, has modern private rooms with ensuite bathrooms as well as dormitories. The food is good and washing clothes is very easy and reasonably priced. Our room is 46€. A three course dinner with wine was 13€. A full load of wash was 4€. We opted to hang out our washed clothes on one of many clotheslines available (clothespins included) and the clothes were bone dry an hour later.
We arrived at 10:30 prior to a noon checkin. But we occupied the time by enjoying the green grass, free wifi and shady or in-the-sun seating… whatever your preference. Jim got a jump-start on today’s blog in the sun, while Linda read in the shade on the front porch.
Today was a relatively easy day in all respects.
We renewed our earlier acquaintance with an Australia couple at dinner. He, a veterinarian and she an educator in animal related disciplines . We appear to be “hopscotching” with them, due to their longer walking days and our periodic skipping of sections they are walking (for the first time). So we’ll probably see them again before the end of our respective Caminos.
Jimandi 