What a walk we planned for Mother’s Day!!! We were up at 5:20 am, and on the road by 6:10!!! Dawn was just breaking, and we had to wait for almost an hour for the sunrise, but what a glorious sight!

Dan was evil and kept telling me that while we were walking in the dark, I was missing the fields of poppies!!! Trust me!  I know no farmer would let poppies grow in cultivated fields, and I was right!!! (Because it’s Mother’s Day please indulge me!!!)

Our first Cafe Con Leche came at 7:30 in a beautiful town of Carrion de Los Condes… Actually we had our second coffee there as well as a slice of tortilla… Bracing ourselves for the next stage, an 18 k stretch through the Meseta ( sorry to say, we were not through this portion, and this would be possibly the worst ( as far as straight roads with vast horizons) long walk we would do…I must say, if it was hard for us to do this in spring( probably as difficult as doing an 18 k walk along a straight road in Essex County), I can’t imagine what it would be like in the summer… Probably similar to a long walk in the middle of the Sahara !!!

There were 3 break points with seats in the shade along the way… One even had an enterprising young couple running a snack bar of sorts… But my favourite was the last one where we stopped for our picnic lunch… It even had servisios (toilets!)… Have a look at this pic…. That wall was the extent of the washrooms!

Although this was a light day ( only 23-24 k) the last 5-6 k seemed endless… Soon we saw what looked like a church steeple (always the best sign), and Lisa promised us it was a willage…

  As we got closer we weren’t sure if it was a grain silo or abandoned building, but no village in sight!! Then the pilgrimages far ahead of us started to disappear…. Could it be a village in a valley… Praise our lucky stars, we saw a willage…Judith was waiting for us at the outskirts, and had checked out the new municipal Albergue and we were early enough to all get lower bunks for €5… New showers, new beds and a wonderful patio with great shade!!! Another great oasis!!! And to top it all off, Dan picked me a lovely bouquet of wild flowers for Mother’s Day, and brought them into the Albergue as I was checking us in!!! When the young man at the desk saw these he said he was glad his girlfriend didn’t see this gesture!!!!

The shared accommodation is pretty good… Judith and Lisa are delighted!

After shower and laying out our kit, Dan and I head down to the patio to do our notes and blog by 3… Maybe even a beer, or ice cream …. What a luxury!!!

Here’s the parking lot for a full Albergue!

Well time for a delightful Mother’s Day pilgrims meal…happy Mother’s Day everyone!!! Talk to you tomorrow!!!