El Camino de Santiago - 2017

Day 12: Poblacion de Campos to Carrión de los Condes

Michelle wrote:
18 Sept. Monday
We left the albergue around 8:00 am and walked 4.6 km along the 'opcion' path to Villovieco for breakfast: Cola Cao and a croissant, my favorite!  Then we walked 4.6 km along the river Ucieza and that was very nice.  The camino was shaded and there were cottonwood trees, fields, birds, etc.  It was a little longer than the regular route that runs along the highway, but much prettier and calmer.
  
At Villalcazar de Sirga we stopped for lunch at a very nice cafe.  It had the nicest garden area, porch, play sets for kids, a nice modern interior and good food. (Palomar del Camino)   We ran into our Oregon friends, the Sweeneys, again and were able to exchange phone numbers.  There was an old dovecote (palomar) there that the owner has preserved.  The dovecotes were used to breed pigeons.  The pigeons provided food for the families, fertilizer for the fields and feathers for pillows and quilts.  They are no longer used, but you can still see a few dovecotes in this region.  Each one is different and it is fun to look for them.

We walked the last 5.5 km to Carrion de los Condes on a path along the highway.  There were massive fields all around and it was very beautiful.  I strained a muscle in my left foot/ankle trying to favor my right foot, which had a blister.  Needless to say, walking was a bit painful and difficult, but still doable.  We found our hostal, La Corte,  and have a nice private room.  They did our laundry for 7 euros and use a detergent that smells like roses.  We walked around the area and found 2 stores for pilgrims.  Curtis bought a shirt, we got more bandaids for blisters and are going to try using Vaselina to keep our feet happy.  A lot of people think it works the best to put it on your feet at night and in the morning to keep your feet soft so they don’t get blisters.  We found a farmacia and bought a compression bandage for my foot/ankle.  
We joined our friends the Sweeneys for dinner on the plaza.  This was the last night we saw them.  They were going to take a bus to Leon in the morning.  It was fun getting to know them better.  We also met a Canadian couple from Alberta (the Yamkowys).  They live near Lesser Slave Lake in Alberta.   They were interesting to talk to.  They have hiked in several different countries and had good stories to share.

Tomorrow we have a long 26 km day to get to Terradillos de los Templarios.  The Knights Templar used to hang out in this area and you can see their unique cross on a lot of signs.  I am interested in learning more about them.  Let’s hope my foot/ankle lasts the day!  We are sending our packs ahead, so that should help a lot to not have that weight. 

Curtis writes: It was a good day for walking: scattered clouds, lots of trees, and a good flat walking surface.

A grove of trees planted in rows

The Camino separated from the grove of trees by a raised irrigation channel.
It's apparent from our shadows that this is a morning shot because we're headed West.

The property is well maintained.
Somebody takes the time to keep the undergrowth down.

Soon after leaving Poblacion de Campos we passed a tree plantation. We had seen groves like this from afar.  The first time was in 2012 when friends Fuco and Idoia drove us across the meseta on the way from Galicia to Madrid.  I expect that these are grown as wind breaks because I've never seen the trees harvested.

I want to come back and hike this section when the fields are green.

In Google Maps you can see this tree from above.  Click HERE

The belfry that you can see just over the horizon (near the middle of the photo) helps us to know how close we are to the nearest bathrooms.  In this case, that church is La Iglesia de Santa Maria la Blanca, in Villalcázar de Sirga.  Just as we were entering town, we came across a VERY nice bar/pub with a dovecote as an attraction.  See "Palomar del Camino" in the photo below.  We toured the dovecote and learned about something we had never seen before.  From there on out, Michelle was on the lookout for dovecotes.

The view of Villalcázar de Sirga from above.  We came into town along the road near the upper right corner.

Across the plaza from La Iglesia de Santa Maria la Blanca, in Villalcázar de Sirga is this statue to the Pilgrim.

 From the 'dovecote town' we walked on a path that parallels the highway into Carrion de los Condes.

Carrion de los Condes in the distance

Our hostal in Carrion was really easy to find - right on the main road into town.  We were glad - again - to have a room to ourselves.

Hostal La Corte

View from our window at La Corted

Plaza Generalisimo. 
We relaxed here a while waiting for the pharmacy to open for the afternoon.

 We had another good experience with a pharmacist here in Carrion.  He examined Michelles foot carefully and recommended a compression bandage that would not cost very much. 

Ensalada Mixta from Bar Carmen

We met the Sweeneys on the street and agreed to eat dinner together.  While we were eating, another couple, friends of the Sweeneys, joined us.  Thus we were introduced to the Yamkowy's of northern Alberta, Canada.  These two sets of friends are the only pilgrims we have kept in touch with after the Camino.

Rio Carrión

The river that runs along the outskirts of town is very relaxing.

Rio Carrión - with some post processing