Camino Day 18 - September 24

Today, we walked from Fromista to Carrion de los Condes. In the early days of this pilgrimage, I had no problem with the place names, or with remembering where we had been.. Now, it´s a different story.. Many of the place names are a few words long, and I find I´m having trouble remembering where I am, let alone where I´ve been.. Thank goodness for notes, our guidebooks, and my journal..

Today´s walk was about 21 km. There was nothing remarkable about today´s walk. Except, Rob says, that we walked 21 km in 5 hours.. One of our shortest walking days yet. It was a bit of a cooler day, and the way was flat, so we made good time.

When we arrived in Carrion de los Condes, we were met, as we often are, by a woman handing out pamphlets for one one the accommodation options. It was a hostal (not to be confused with an albergue or hostel).. This hostal had private rooms with private bathrooms.. We decided to stay there, and really enjoyed it. As we were looking for the hostal, a man on the street saw me with the brochure, and led us straight to the hostal. Now that´s service! The people there, again, were very kind, and the hostal was just off the main square. 

One thing I haven´t talked about yet is the churches.. In most communities (of all sizes), the church is at the centre of the community - often at the geographic centre, and usually at the main square, with restaurants and shops nearby. The churches also all have church bells. The bells have varied in tone and volume, but they all ring on the 15, 30, and 45 of each hour, and then have a different ring on the hour to tell you the time (6 bells is really 6 o´clock, hence the expression). What I really love is that when it´s time for mass, the bells ring madly about 10 minutes before the service is to start.. In some towns, the bells have been REALLY loud, but still haven´t kept me awake.. I´m getting used to hearing them, and really enjoy the variety of sounds..

Hope the bells are ringing sweetly wherever you are,

susan