Calzadilla de los Hermanillos

   Last night I indulged.  After walking all the way across Sahagun to the monastery I found that they no longer have just "beds" but only single or double rooms.  So for about $30 I got a single room.  When the door was opened I almost cried - it was such a beautiful sight.  Typical of Catholic retreat centers, it was a tiny room with a desk to the left of the door, then a small twin bed on the right under a window that opened to the terrace.  But to the left was a door to a bathroom, almost as large as the room and there was a BATHTUB in it!  I took a nice long bath and my feet greatly enjoyed soaking for a while.
   This morning I did not leave until 7AM as I found that the monastery has outdoors that had a padlock on them until that time.  But I still had a chance to walk in the cool of the night air as the sun was rising behind me.  It was a short day as tomorrow I have a 16 mile walk with no stops in between - it´s all or nothing!   Today I began walking on the Via Romana, an extensive road built by the Romans and still in amazing condition.  I can only imagine the labor that was involved as the heavy rock foundation did not come from this area.

This is Barbara from Germany waiting at the cross in front of the alberque

    Around 10:30 I arrived in Calzadilla de los Hermanillos and since the alberque would not open until 1PM I headed back to the cafe I passed.  I met up with Maria of England who I've met a couple of times recently and we had coffee and a chance to get to know each other better.  After a while Russell, a woman from Australia came by.  She´d been waiting for the bus for an hour and decided to see if the host at the cafe would call her a taxi (they did) so she could head to Mansilla to meet her two friends.  I had met all of them as we crossed in Castilla y Leon last week and we've been passing one another along the way.  But Russell had blisters form that got more and more serious and she had to have a doctor look at them a few days ago.  She´s traveling by bus and will do so to Leon.  She said they are healing and she hopes to walk once more after Leon.
    She told us about this little community after we said we were staying here.  They had stayed here last night and she talked about the lovely meal they were served at the cafe.  And as happens in the villages across Spain in the evening people all came out and she said that a lady took her arm and invited her to see her garden.  She noted that there are parks and little plazas with benches all over the town.  I went exploring this afternoon and she´s right.

The alberque (bed & breakfast) and cafe where I´m using the internet.  Notice the solar panel on the roof.

The quiet streets at siesta time.  Only an American or peregrino would be out this time of day!

This is in a little park and it shows how the Romans built their roads.  The road bed to the right looks like what I walked on this morning.

Other side of the park with aquaduct and the church in the back.

What a lovely place to hang laundry.