Camino francés - Page 8

Hontanas - Fromista (ca. 36 km)

After a coffee from the vending machine we went out into the rain. It was supposed to rain again today throughout and on the relatively flat route the wind was very annoying. Only in Castrojeriz we managed to find a cafe and warm up a bit. It was even still questionable whether we could go the planned route, because some rivers had overflowed their banks. But a local assured us that we could go. Standing at the stoker in the cafe, I watched TV with my coffee in my hand. Everywhere along the way the TVs were on from early morning, especially with soap operas. We mostly waited for the weather report, but it was rarely right. Jana tried to catch a hospitalero in Fromista, our destination, while we were still walking. She had all the phone numbers of the hostels. But no one could be reached. Called guesthouses told us that all hostels there were closed. Incomprehensible in such a large place with several hostels.

We laughed later when we learned that they had closed everything there because the hospitaleros were having trouble with the pilgrims. We had not seen another pilgrim for days. Well, who wants to work on New Year's Eve, everything is a little more relaxed here. Anyway, Jana then found a cheap private accommodation for us. But I realized again, without a cell phone it doesn't work in winter. There were double rooms and I moved into one of them with Miguel Angel. We went in the evening in a Pizzeria, also by telephone reserved, because there were celebrations everywhere today. After that we made ourselves comfortable in the big lounge of the pension. There were a few Spanish sketches on TV, which Alfred explained to me gesticulating. We laughed and drank abundantly and against 22.30 o'clock we preferred the Spanish New Year procedure because of tiredness. With each chime, simulated by Alfred, a grape was eaten. This was followed by the New Year's wishes and the descent into the realm of dreams.

Fromista - Carrión de los Condes (ca. 21 km)

On New Year's Day today only 20 km were planned, the festivities yesterday could have gone longer. We were not in a hurry, took comfortably in a cafe a second breakfast and a few places later there was then a very rich pilgrim menu. Mostly we stayed an hour to warm up. On the remaining dead straight kilometers, a local television crew stopped us and wanted an interview. I shied away from it, I could only speak a few spanish words and the interviewers spoke no English. My spanish fellow pilgrims took over the part (Video beside or here at Youtube, but fast forward to 6:45). In Car. de los Condes we moved into the hostel Convento de Santa Clara. Nuns lived here.

The hostel was very large and quite neat, had everything you needed. Two French brothers and a few bike pilgrims were already nestled in. And I met Klaus, a bricklayer from near Heidelberg. He was happier than I was to exchange a few German words, because he knew no Spanish and only very little English. In the evening he went to the church service, the other four of us made ourselves comfortable in the bar. Back again, I wanted to book my return flight on the Internet, the sooner, the cheaper. But I needed a credit card. Alfred helped me with his, I gave him the cash. But that means now, I have to be in Santiago on 15.1. come what may. In the past nights I thought I had endured heavy snoring, but what Klaus produced here belongs under the weapons law.