25.1 km – 15.5 miles

7:45am to 1:30pm walking time

50 meters – 164 feet elevation gain

It was a better day today. I had every intention of leaving at 7am today – knowing it was a “shorter” day of only 25km. As soon as I was about to put my pack on, I heard thunder. While nothing like a thunderstorm was in the forecast the day before, I decided to wait a bit before leaving as I figured some rain would be coming with that thunder. Sure enough, heavy rains, strong winds and lightning followed along. I checked the radar and it looked like if I waited until 7:45, I could avoid the storm.

The plan worked. I left and not a drop of rain hit me. Just wind and cooler temperatures. You will not hear me complain about cooler temperatures on the Camino.

The start of the walk goes along a nice canal and you cross over at a small set of locks. Then you’re at the bigger town of Fromista. I stopped there to get a coke and a croissant to take along the road since I wasn’t ready for a break yet.

Today’s Camino day is probably one of the easiest and most straightforward days there is. The views are similar most of the way with flat or only slightly rolling farm fields. There was an option to take a more scenic route for part of the day that was about a kilometer farther than just following the roadside path. I had done the scenic route last time so I opted to save the extra walking and see what the other route was like. Going that way meant I ran into a couple Camino friends at one break. They had left early enough to get stuck in the storm so they were trying to dry their stuff out.

One of the things I saw today was the bread truck. It’s like an ice cream truck but instead of little songs, it has a very unique and loud honk. Twice I watched it honk, park and then local women would come out of their houses and buy loaves of baguette style bread. No packaging – just carry the bread back to their house after purchasing it.

Carrión is a great little town – with lots of nuns. Though I didn’t choose to stay in the albergue with the nuns this time around. But it’s a fun little city to explore.

The constant downside to siesta in Spain is that when you’re hungry when you arrive in town, it can be hard to find food other than the pilgrim basics (bocadillos and tortillas). I wanted a hamburger today and it took walking around the town twice to find one. My search resulted in me finding a pricey but tasty bacon cheeseburger.

Still determining if I’ll attempt a 39km day tomorrow to get to a town I want to stay in. It might be a game time decision based on how I feel and how the weather is.