Pilgrims are always wary of a day that is over 25km. Today we had to surpass 30km to get from Sahagun to the village of Reliegos. It was the pain to get us within about 24km of Leon, our goal for tomorrow and James’s and my first rest day of the Camino. We booked a nice hotel for Friday and Saturday nights to motivate us.
We didn’t get to explore the lower part of Sahagun yesterday. When we went out, the centre of town was closed. As a Swedish pilgrim commented, “this town is very boring.”
We had also decided on a home cooked meal, so there was no motivation to go out into the cold night wind.
It was a nice surprise to us on the outskirts of Sahagun to see the grand gates and monastery.
Today was going to be the longest, flattest day for us. It may sound as if it was going to be a dreary day, but as we walked, the sun shone, birds sang, the wind stayed the hell away and we would be rewarded with some stunning views across the Meseta to the ever closer mountains.
After 10.5km, we stopped at Bercianos Del Real Camino for cafe con leche.
It was a further 7.5km to El Burgo Ranero for lunch. There was one bar open in the whole village, something we realised after walking about 400m past it and seeing the end of the village. As we approached the bar, we saw two familiar pilgrims get into a taxi and leave. I guessed they’d seen that the next village of Reliegos, our stop for the night, was another 13km. Perhaps they had seen enough of the Meseta for the day?
As we sat enjoying lunch, we discussed which character from Brooklyn 99 each of us would be. James – Doug Judy, aka The Pontiac Bendit (no debate needed here). Mads – Sgt Terry Jeffords (Mads loves his yoghurt). Grant – Jake Peralta. Mikael – Amy Santiago or Hitchcock & Scully or Teddy Wells. Three of us left lunch happy and walked with a spring in our step. Another kept complaining – “I am so not Santiago!”
From there the way entered a very long, almost flat stretch through farmland, newly planted forest corridors and the occasional self built air strip.
We had expansive views to the north and the snow capped ring of mountains at the edge of the Meseta. It was a sight to behold and though our bodies started to break down and our feet complain, one look at that view was enough to revive us.
After yesterday Mads had calmed down a little. I think he was very happy when this signpost appeared.
The last 5km into Reliegos dragged on and on. For the first time in almost 3 weeks of walking, I put my AirPods in and listened to some music – Lucinda Williams and some David Grissom. They make be so happy but also a little melancholy as this great music reminds me of Connie and Adam, my band family.
Reliegos is a little village perched into the side of a hill overlooking the plains of Leon. We had booked ahead as Leo and James had warned us that the villages into Leon get very busy with pilgrims. As we arrived into the village, we bought ice creams, a reward for our efforts on the Camino this day.
I didn’t take much notice of the name of the albergue we had booked until we arrived. Las Hadas means the fairy. It somehow seemed apt given all of our talk about The Lord of the Rings.
The lady that runs the albergue is very welcoming and gave the four of us our own room, the last we would share as the Fellowship. After a shower and a cold beer we have some rest.
We are told the local bar serves food until 9:00pm. At around 7:30 we wander up only to find it closed. Thankfully the little supermarket (delusions of grandeur with that name given it is about the size of a bedroom) is open. We buy some pasta, sauce, cheese, chorizo (the shopkeeper takes it down from where it hangs on the wall, more on that later) and red wine.
I cook back in the albergue whilst the boys play UNO. We eat outside as the sun is setting. Satiated we ready for bed.
It is not long before the trouble begins. James vomits first. I make my way off the top bunk and help him. For the next couple of hours he is sick. Around midnight, I hear him settle and sleep.
Mikael is next. He is also very sick and then cannot sleep.
At times during the night I hear rain, as predicted.
When the dawn breaks, slow, wet and grey, two of our party are in no state to walk. They are tired and still being sick.
Mads and I know that we will have to get them to Leon by taxi. James and Mikael look awful, all colour drained from their faces. We feel terrible for them and can only help by packing their gear and getting organised to get a ride. The young owners of the albergue are fantastic through it all, offering help and assistance.
It’s wet and very cold in Leon, 6 degrees. For some good news, our blog now has over 1,000 views! Thanks for reading.
The Long Camino 
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