Oh How a Day Can Change…

Fromista to Carrion de los Condes – 19.3kms

Oh, I had such a great sleep and we were able to sleep in this morning with an easier day. Plus, we had been “invited” to breakfast to make up for the room swap and breakfast didn’t start until 8am.

I was really excited about this, expecting a “homely,” personal one. Nope. Croissant out of a packet for me and a cold tortilla for BC. Cafe con leche was okay though and it was free, so there was that.

It was a simple 3kms to the first village, so we didn’t stop there other than to look at some tiny kittens under a bridge. There was a young American couple who felt incredibly tempted to pop one in their pack.

After the high of yesterday, I wasn’t really feeling it today, so it was a relief to stop at a tiny cafe at Villovieco for some juice.

BC headed off while I sat for a bit longer, but after I headed off, I could feel myself dragging my heels.

I began to feel a little bored. I started to beat myself up, thinking, you can’t be bored on the Camino and back and forth those voices in my head went. The feeling persisted though and I could tell I was walking slower.

I thought to myself, maybe put some music on, that will get you moving, so then I of course told myself I can’t put music on because it is supposed to be about immersing yourself in the Camino. Again, back and forth the voices in my head went, all the while I was getting slower and slower.

Eventually, I decided to put music on, but only use one earbud so that if someone came past me, I could acknowledge them properly.

When I pulled the earbuds out, they were completely tangled (my son said these ones didn’t when he recommended them), so it took a bit to detangle, raising my frustration level a little.

I was trying to walk with one earbud in while stuffing the other side into a pocket so it didn’t drag on the ground. At first it got tangled on my sarong, then it kept falling out of the pocket and then it got caught in my pole, ripping the other one out of my ear.

By this point, my irritation was sky high and I blurted out loud “Oh for f*#ks sake!” I looked up and fortunately, no one was around me.

I gave up and decided to put both earbuds in. (No one passed me the entire way!) This got my butt moving, but it wasn’t long before I started beating myself up again, this time for beating myself up about having music!

It is amazing how the vast emptiness of the Camino can cause your thoughts to go from zero to a hundred in mere seconds!

Fortunately, Villalcazar de Sirga appeared, allowing me to let go of the grumpiness and focus on where I needed to go, especially when I missed the street I was supposed to be following.

After visiting the main church, I pulled up in a shaded plaza, took my boots off to rest them on the cold concrete, ate a pasta snack box I had bought at a supermarket and called home. It was a much needed time out.

With only 6kms until the final destination, I thought I’d be okay after the rest, but the straight walk along the road didn’t do my head any favours and my grouchiness returned.

I could see Carrion de los Condes in the distance but it was another one of those mirage situations where it seems to never get closer.

I finally arrived at the accommodation, dumped my bag and made another call home. Thank you to my dear friend Pat for being awake at a ridiculous hour, letting me offload and making me feel better.

I did have a hilarious time trying to get my washing done at a high tech Spanish laundry. I kept having to run from the machine to a payment wall back to the machine, pressing buttons between the two and mixing up the order. When I finally got the machine to work, everyone cheered. I potentially have paid 20€, but hey, I have freshly laundered clothes.

Dinner was in our accommodation and it was a delicious meal, but again, dessert was the best part – a massive piece of watermelon!

Tomorrow is a new day.