Day 18 – Carrion de los Conoes
Difficult day turned out ok… sort of.
Day started out well. Found a quick breakfast a few blocks from yesterday’s alburgue. Got back on the Camino by 9:00am. Lunch was a collection of sandwich makings from a small shop about 15km on. I sat on a park bench and chatted with a friendly Italian man doing regular 30km days on the Camino.
Then began a flat, uninterrupted 11km walk alongside a small river to the town that I planned to stay for the night. When I checked the only two alburgues they were both “completo”, fully booked. This may or may not have been a result of the shiny motorcoach parked on a side street. Perhaps being a walking pilgrim sets up some expectations that are no longer in tune with the times.
The only option was an additional 5km walk in the late afternoon heat.
When I arrived there the first alburgue was provided by the San Maria convent. There were a couple others in town but I didn’t feel like shopping around for the best deal.
The proprietor said the dormitory was full but he could let me use a single room for 25€. That’s more than double what I usually spend and I briefly reconsidered shopping around when in popped the Italian MA who said he’d just checked throughout the town and the others were all booked as well. We tried to negotiate a double room for a discount but the proprietor said no, only single rooms. So we acquiesced and rented two single rooms.
Turns out the rooms are pretty comfy with their own bathroom including a small bathtub (which helped soak away the days inconveniences) .
I’d consider it a well deserved win after a hot 33km walk except that my enjoyment is tainted with the knowledge that there were at least a dozen more pilgrims behind me, no doubt facing similar or worse housing issues.
I don’t know how many more singles there are available here at the San Maria but the next town is over 10km away, not likely an option this late in the day. I did see a sign for a campground on the way in town.
The Camino is getting crowded.
More pics and anecdotes tomorrow. Right now I need some sleep.
– jgp
