Under the Milky Way 18: From Calzadilla de la Cueza to Bercianos

June 15, Thursday, Day 18, from Calzadilla de la Cueza to Bercianos: 33 km. Another long-distance day today. I should plan well. The good thing was that I had a single room, and had an uninterrupted sleep.  

 

I slept in a little today, didn’t start to walk until 7:30. The trails were mostly flat. I should be fine, and my feet should be happy! The village of Moratinos was right ahead – 29.4 square kilometers in size, and its population in 2021 was 59.

My first surprise of the day was here – a 3D wax stamp! The artist’s design was so unique that I couldn’t help falling in love with it right away. 

Some fixtures were along the path. Nice, I could exercise before moving on.  

The Hermitage of La Virgen del Puente (Ermita de la Virgen del Puente)

Arrows, shells and bells – all that one could see.
It was said that where this church sat was the midpoint of Camino Frances in Spain. (From Roncesvalles to Santiago)
https://wherewebe.com/index_2016_06-03_sahagun.html

The two columns near the church marked half way, which meant that I had completed half of the Camino Frances in Spain. What a great surprise! The carved letters at the bottom of the sculptures said: "Sahagun -- Geographical Center of the Camino". 

(a Google image)

A sense of pride came when I looked at this map. So I have completed the yellow line, with the red line to go. What an accomplishment!

About 1pm, after 21 km or so, I stumbled into the city of Sahagun, with 10.7 km to go. I heard that somewhere in the city had an office that I could claim my Half-way Certificate. So many art installments along the way. My phone showed 87 degrees at the time. Hot!

I finally found the place! Why not choose a place in the center of the city, so that pilgrims didn’t have to go out of their way to get the certificate? Weird!

Back on the trails again. Hot! So hot! 

3:30pm, I passed by a small town, Calzada del Coto. Its population in 2020 was about 216, size - around 56 square kilometers.
https://citypopulation.de/en/spain/localities/leon/24031__calzada_del_coto/

6 more kilometers for today. Some murals caught my attention while I walked past a neighborhood. Wishing to know more stories behind those art!

Saw another sign for alternative routes – Choices frustrated me,  and when I had to do it under such high heat, with everything unknown, what do I do? Flip a coin? I’d simply pray for a trail with more shade! The yellow flowers bloomed along the highway! There were the "Spanish Broom," again, known in Spanish as "retama" (a.k.a. piorno, escoba, etc.)
https://www.reddit.com/r/CaminoDeSantiago/comments/u3g7et/anyone_know_what_these_yellow_bushes_are_they/?rdt=47392

Almost there! Shade was a blessing… I saw people taking pictures under this balloon gate before, their symbol of half-way mark. Yay!

 

5pm, 9.5 or so hours after I started early in the day, I finally arrived at today’s stop!  

47,284 steps,  21.8 miles, 35 km.

Hunger-driven, I was not picky on food. Bread soup, chicken with mushrooms, fries. I opted out of red wine today, and got water instead. 

Happy tummy, happy me! After dinner, I went out for a walk – 100 steps of relaxation, meditation and emptying today’s mind… A sunset ended a beautiful day. I needed a good sleep to recover, to rejuvenate.
I reserved a bed in a room of five, no bunk bed, and all women today! Another good surprise!  

Today’s stamp was the most special! My new favorite, and it was so hard to put it down…  

Keyword: 
Optimistic