Day 19 - Terradillos to Sahagun - 8 miles

All the extra walking yesterday meant I pretty much had a rest day today at only 8 miles. I woke early and walked in the dark through Moratinos and then on to San Nicholas Del Real Camino where I stopped for coffee. T from Canada and some other ladies were there already. My hotel had offered a truly sad breakfast of 3 prepackaged pastries on a plate with coffee (which I declined), so I was quickly followed up at the coffee place by quite a few other people from my hotel who passed on that as well.

Sunrise over the Meseta

Entry gates to Sahagun

We only had another 3.1 miles to go until my stop for the day - Sahagun, which has a rich Christian history dating back to Roman times. Two martyrs: St. Facundus and St. Primitivus are buried here. New churches were established by Alphonso III, but the area became really important during the reign of Alphonso VI. Sahagun is also the birthplace of many important characters including Friar Bernardino (the father of American Anthropology), Pedro Ponce de Leon (sign language pioneer), as well as several others.

All the pilgrims go to the Tourism office here to receive their half way certificate. Then T and I started touring the historic areas as she still had another 8km to walk. Several of the important buildings in town were under renovation with scaffolding and netting surrounding them, but I was still able to get a few photos.

San Benito Arch built in 1662

The rest of my day was spent sightseeing and meeting up with my friends for lunch. The murals and sculptures in every town I visit are just amazing. I never tire of taking photos of them. These guys, however, were a little scary!

Lunch with friends!