Me, Dirk and Marcus set off at 7am leaving behind Sandra. She took a rest day as her feet had worsened. My Achilles in my right leg this time was very sore, with the 6km to Granon being very uncomfortable.
There was a lot of pilgrims on the way today as we started at a stage end. The last couple of days we had begun mid stage; the route tends to be quiet in these circumstances.
Most of the day was a gentle climb with a bit of an undulation. Just before Granon we were treated to a sunrise. Throughout the day there had been a breeze and partly cloudy making it ideal walking weather.
I had a croissant and an orange juice at our breakfast stop before attending to my Achilles problem. I applied some ibruprofen gel to my leg and took a couple of tablets; this kept the pain away for the rest of the day.
Today we crossed in to the Castilla region swapping the vineyards for sunflower fields. The little towns became more rural in aesthetic and there were plenty to stop at.
The route mainly followed the highway which didn’t give us much to look at scenery wise, however the lorry drivers kept cheering us on by beeping their horns and waving at us.
We entered Belorado and had a picnic before getting a stamp from the church for my credential; it is one worth getting. We then had a drink in the main square.
There was 13 km left before Villafranca, so we soldiered on in the afternoon sun, passing small villages that we could have happily stayed at.
After a long drawn out hill we finally caught sight of our destination. A much needed moral booster to spur us on. The last 100m of the route was rubbing shoulders with the highway, making it very daunting as the HGVs sped by.
Once we arrived in the village, myself and Dirk went straight to the bar while Marcus booked into the albergue. While at the bar I met Sophie and Matt, two peregrinos I first met in St. Jean!
We had a little catch up after which they decided to book into the albergue. Both our groups ate together at the pilgrims dinner offered by the albergue. A very pleasant day on the Camino.
Stu's Camino 