May 26th – Today’s almost 15 mile walk starts under another cool and cloudy sky. It doesn’t take long before the clouds lessen and the blue sky begins to take over. The birds are active and song full. The little yellow or orange breasted finches flit from tree to tree, never lingering for very long.
I come upon Rueben from Holland who I shared dinner and pilgrim conversation last night – the whys and ahah moments experienced thus far. He points to the early morning moon in the sky. I exclaim “Beautiful” and then spontaneously begin to sing, “Oh what a beautiful morning, Oh what a beautiful day”. We laugh and I continue on leaving Rueben to gaze at the sky.
Very quickly I come upon the village of Moratinos and what looks like a hobbit house. As I get closer there is a placard in both Spanish and English (very unusual, it’s usually Spanish only) that explains these bodega caves, at least 500 years old, were full of wine presses, barrels, clay vessels and bottling vats in years gone by. It continued to explain that some Moratinos families still use these caves their ancestors dug into this hillside to store cheese, ham and vegetables.
Entering the town and passing by the town square church I notice a painting on the outside of a home to the left of the front door. So very appropriate for this region.
Outside this village I come up behind two pilgrims speaking French. Passing them I say Buen Camino and smile. The woman pilgrim says in English “You are flying, Pilgrim!” I laugh and she continues, “Do you have a song?” I hold my arms up to the sky and sing, “Oh what a beautiful morning, Oh what a beautiful day!” The male pilgrim says, “You are the flying pilgrim”, and I like that. I am!
I enter the outskirts of Sahagun by passing the hermitage Our Lady of the Bridge, an unpretentious sanctuary that was once a pilgrim hospice.
Sahagun is my halfway point of today’s walk. It took awhile to get out of the suburbs and into the original city. Turning the corner with the Iglesia San Lorenzo church on my right what do I see but two horses with packs on their backs tied at the side of the road. I’ve heard of pilgrims who do the Camino on horseback but this is my first evidence of yet another way to experience the path. I jump at the opportunity to talk with and pet these beautiful creatures.
This seems the perfect place for a late breakfast/early lunch break that will include my favorite drink – orange juice, cool and refreshing plus always fresh squeezed. I leave Sahagun via the historic stone bridge across the river Cea, Puente Canto, originally Roman but reconstructed in the 11th and 16th centuries. It’s now a one car at a time only bridge that is still in use.
I reach my destination of the day via a tree lined pathway that runs next to a secondary road. Bercianos Del Real Camino derives its name from the settlement of the town with citizens from the Bierzo in 955.
Before arriving at the Albergue I pass another hermitage, Ermita de Nuestra de Perales, Our Lady of Pears. Oh what a beautiful day!
