Day 9 Fromista to El Burgo Ranero

Day 9 Fromista to El Burgo Ranero

50.81 (total 322.86)

Santo Domingo

Another early start. Up at 5:30, bike packed and ready to roll by 6:30 and on the road by 7:00. The fields that had been hot and tedious in the heat of the afternoon yesterday were now cool, welcoming and a joy to ride through. Ricky and I set off first with Chris and Malcolm following behind. It was 11.5 miles to Carrion de los Condes where we had agreed to come together again for breakfast and it was a very happy hour spent riding along. The bike hummed along the quiet roads to the sound of the birds chirping happily away. Even the tyres on the road and the chain pulling through the gears added to the general sense of well being. Perhaps this was just as well, as we had decided to spend some time in Leon and the intention today was to press on a bit further so that we had just a short run to Leon tomorrow. We had even resisted the warnings in the aubergue that accommodation ahead may be difficult and the advice to book ahead – unusual as most of the accommodation is on a first come first served basis.

The Meseta Plain

Carrion de los Condes was the breakfast stop so the usual coffee con leche and tostada’s were ordered and we sat outside planning the rest of the day. Sahagun was the obvious place to stay on this particular night as after that the route went through small villages with limited accommodation. El Burgo Ranero was further down the road and had two aubergues according to our guide book, so we decided to make that our target for the day as it moved us about 12 miles nearer to Leon. Our guide books also warned us that we had another 20 miles of not very much in front of us on a rapidly heating day so we stocked up with food, buying some boccadillos from the cafe and naranja’s from the market that was setting up. Then it was slap on the sunscreen again before setting off for Sahagun.

The ride from Carrion de los Condes to Sahagun was unremarkable. We cycled 27 miles virtually without stopping except to fill water bottles at roadside fountains. This was the Meseta plain; flat, hot and nothing. Sahagun, welcome as it was, did nothing to inspire either. We stopped at a cafe and called in at the aubergue to have our credentials stamped. We had met up with Jim and Karen again so had a chat with them before setting off again. We found our way back onto the N120 and then onto side roads again. We came to a roundabout where we expected to find a turn off to Bercianos del Real Camino but there were no signs. We were scratching our heads in puzzlement, but then we spotted the road a short distance away, lurking behind some bushes. The road simply stopped 50 yards short of the roundabout. We had to cross a bit of rough ground to get on the road, but that was the one!

The usual weather pattern had also sprung up as the day had gone on. It had been perfectly still early in the morning with a blustery breeze becoming more prevalent as the morning wore on. The breeze had now been replaced by a steady westerly that was blowing in from our left. Just a few more degrees would have made it a friendly wind but as it was it was blowing against us.

By the time we reached El Burgo Ranero the early rising, the heat and the wind had us pretty tired so we started to look for accommodation. The first aubergue gave preference to walkers and the second was already full but they could offer us two twin rooms for the princely rate of €20 per room. It was a bargain and with the luxury of having our own shower! It was especially welcome for me as I also had the opportunity to soak my legs which were still suffering from the insect bites.

Useful Road Signs

So it was into the routine of scrub up and wash clothes before relaxing in the very large garden; one which housed several wooden sheds/chalets that in turn provided beds for pilgrims. It was in this garden that I first met two nuns from Berlin who were walking the Camino having set out from Roncesvalles several weeks before.

As usual, there was a bar not far away and we ate there, again choosing from the Perrigrino’s menu. There was quite a crowd watching Euro 2012 in the bar as we left and we spotted the two nuns in the best seats watching the match (Germany were playing). I was posed for a photo so that Chris could take a picture of the nuns over my shoulder . We then spent quite a while trying to think of a punchline to, “there were two nuns in a bar watching a football match.....”.

We also had a bit of a change as instead of us losing Malcolm, tonight Malcolm lost us. Chris and I had just assumed that he had got back to the aubergue before us but he hadn’t. It transpired that Malcolm phoned Ricky after we had turned in as he couldn’t find his way back to the aubergue. Poor Ricky had to get up again and go and find him. Lucky it was only a small place!