Take a deep breath.
Relax.
Close your eyes.
Imagine a long, straight road. No traffic lights. No gas stations. No distractions. Endless fields of the same parched vegetation and scrub on each side. One, long, tarmac artery.
Another deep breath.
Then, imagine it is called the N-980 and you can walk right alongside it for 19.3km – and you would be with me on today’s leg.
I have very little to report for today’s hike – other than recommending Sam Kinison’s “Live from Hell” album, recorded shortly before his untimely death at the hands of a 17 year old drunk driver. Special mentions go to “Russians are Losers”, “JFK”, “Space Pussies”, “100 Hour War”, and “Don’t Swallow”. Kinison’s tombstone has an unattributed quote on it: “In another time and place, he would have been called a prophet”. Hmmm…..
It was intended as an easy day, and it was. My feet are recovering from yesterday’s ordeal and in anticipation of a similar ordeal tomorrow – taking advantage of long, flat stretches to give me more time in Finisterre. Decisions later on today.
The Coke machine on the way out of Villarmantero de Campos says I’ve done 371km and have a further 419km to Santiago, there after a further 90km +/- to Finisterre. Feels good but a lot of distance to go and a hard stop for vacation with Doris, Numpty and Maidrian on 25th August.
I splurged on accommodation today. In Carrion de los Condes, I shelled out €35 (vs €10 average) but I got my own room, my own loo, my own shower, my own towels, free soap, free shower gel and a TV. Everything will be used except the TV.
The calculus was simple. I left later than usual today at 0630 (yet even then I had to queue to perform basic functions) because I knew it was a short leg and didn’t want to arrive too early. Even with a stop in Villarmentero de Campos for the shittiest stale croissant I have ever had, the journey proved quicker than expected and I arrived at 1045. I could either hang around and wait for the municipal Albergue to open at 1300 or get checked in and use the time more constructively AND have an easier exit tomorrow morning. Easy-peasy.
There are more and more bus tours, dropping off clean, sweet-smelling, 
coiffured, spandex-clad porkers so they can do a bit of the Camino, sporting new sneakers and daypacks, and then stop off at their pre-arranged picnic points. Ugh! Today’s pension was about 50% pre-booked with these pikers and I suspect the problem becomes more acute the nearer to Santiago we get – so I need to get engaged in my own pre-planning with www.booking.com. However….there was a confirmed sighting of the Koreans of earlier posts, welded to their phones and battery packs as usual. Not a bead of sweat to be seen. Thibaud, dear boy, you are redeemed from your seemingly-unfounded, venomous accusations. You are a prophet. These pikers, “all the gear, and no idea”, just like my mucker in Henley, Ms Promiscuous Brompton.
Temperatures seem range between 16c and 33c (UK-people, sorry to rub that in, but it is my burden to carry, literally), getting pretty sticky from about 1000 onwards. Time to stock up on water and provisions for tomorrow. No water, coffee, tortilla, croissants, loo or people for the first 17km of the day.
Later.