Allison Cowie

Población de Campos to Calzadilla de la Cueza / 21 miles

Today was my longest day yet! And my best day at keeping a slow and steady pace. I’m tired, but nothing actively hurts, which is huge progress!

I left my hotel at 6:03am. The Meseta was covered in a blanket of stars — when I turned my headlamp off, I could see the Milky Way, and I caught two or three shooting stars falling over the southwestern sky. It was such a quiet and peaceful morning. My only stop was about ten miles in, in Carrión de los Condes, where I took an hour to fuel up and pick up a knee sleeve at the pharmacy. The knee sleeve made an immediate difference for my tendinitis — while the KT tape was helping, the sleeve definitely goes beyond a placebo effect. I grabbed a breakfast of café con leche and tostadas con aceite y tomate, then realized I needed more food so I stopped at a second bar for a piece of tortilla and a bocadillo (ham and cheese again) to go. After grabbing a new water bottle and two cans of Aquarius for the road, I set on for Calzadilla de la Cueza, which lay 11 miles up the road. The path between the two towns is the longest unsupported stretch of the whole Camino, apparently. I was glad to have a sandwich to eat in the shade of one of the few trees that lined the path. The sun was strong, but my hat, sunglasses and sunblock — plus plenty of water and Aquarius — kept me fairly unbothered.

I’m feeling good mentally and physically, and ready to press on tomorrow… I’m planning on another ~20 miles, though tomorrow should be easier as there are towns every hour or two along the way for a shade and snack break.