27.6 km (441.2 km)
Monday 11th April

We left Terradillos in full waterproofs, a trail of sorry looking pilgrims in ponchos spread out on the path before us. After a few kilometres we came to Moratinos; an unusual little village with lots of underground ‘dwellings’ – it looked like a Hobbit village. They were bodegas, historically used to store food and wine, nowadays used for parties and storage cellars. Two of the bodegas had been converted into a restaurant…next time I do this (??) I’m staying here, it was a beautiful place with an inviting looking Albergue. The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, we chose to go the more scenic route away from the roads and in doing so we ended up on a very quiet path for many hours. At one point a man caught up with us and told us to be very careful because there were strange people about and it was very dangerous. He suggested making sure there was always someone in front and behind when one was walking. It was rather strange to be told by a strange man to be on the lookout for strange men…we arrived safely (phew!) at Calzadilla and the talk is all of the terrible storms that await us tomorrow. We have a long day tomorrow to get within spitting distance of Léon so that Brogan can catch her train on Wednesday….I never thought I’d hear myself say this but if it’s 38km in a thunder storm or a taxi to Léon that taxi might just win… I also must give a wee mention to the bloody stumps at the end of my legs which have replaced my feet..apparently I’m carrying too much weight on my back so tomorrow I’ll give some of my weight to Brogan and see if I can revive them a bit. I’m sure they will be better after another ten hour sleep 😊. Maybe the bad weather is turning me soft. Here’s to tomorrow, fingers crossed the forecast is wrong.

Las Bodegas de Moratinos