We left around 7 o’clock this morning after a good night’s sleep and we’ve rocked up at Sahagún, some 39.2 km away. But thereupon hangs a tale.

The road ran along the route of an old Roman road for 17+ km. There have been the occasional undulations and long sweeping curves but essentially it’s been a long, long straight road – interminable is a more apt description. The last time we came this way there were long rumbles of thunder and sharp bolts of lightning with savage bursts of rain. Dorothy and I took what shelter we could from a concrete table and bench and huddled together for warmth. Today was a little better and we managed to have a reasonably decent picnic before continuing.

We managed our distances specifically to avoid this Albergue.

We stopped here last time we walked this way. My vitreous humour had detached a few hours earlier and I was left with an enormous floater in my right eye and concern that my retina had detached. Thankfully the hospital in León were able to determine the correct cause and I was able to relax. In the meantime we’d had to enjoy the food and general ambience of the worst albergue on the Camino. Today we stopped for coffee in the bar opposite before continuing.

We’ve seen rye, oats, wheat and barley in absolutely huge fields, a few birds, some insects and the occasional brave poppy. Otherwise this is a desert. I suppose that 8 billion people need feeding and this is the result. We’re taking up all the space leaving little for anything else. Clearly not good, for the creatures we share the planet with and ultimately for ourselves. I’ve no doubt that in the centuries to come humans and other species will have reached a more balanced relationship but by then most if not all of the larger creatures will have gone and perhaps 50% or more of other species (according to some of the latest research) and it takes of the order of 10-20 million years typically for evolution to restore diversity, unless of course we chip in with our expertise in genetic engineering. But in the meantime.

After nearly 30km at a gentle pace we finally arrived at our destination for the night only to be told that there was no room at the inn. They had had an infestation of bed bugs and the kind chap running the place had booked us into a hotel in Sahagún instead and would take us there in his car, some 10km further on.

And that is where we are. It’s decent, relatively light and airy and 10km closer to Santiago. We’ll continue from here tomorrow morning and hopefully with a long day tomorrow we should be in León on Saturday evening. In the meantime we’ve eaten salad and pizza and wandered around a town centre which has noticeably deteriorated since we were here last. Shops and restaurants that were busy last time are gone and there is a general sense of decay.

Buen camino