Camino Francés 2023 – Day 5 – Carrion de los Condés to Ledigos

September 19th 2023

• Carrion de los Condés to Ledigos
• Distance: 25.4km
• Albergue: Albergue La Morena

Ok, back to writing after a mini hiatus. I have my cup of tea beside me. The sun is peaking through this Saturday afternoon and I will go for a wander when I wrap this post up. This week, I began planning for 2024 but I will write about in later posts. I also hope my previous post has been useful to some of you. It has been good to me anyway. Anyway, back to September and to Carrion de los Condes..

An early start

After a very enjoyable sleep in Hostal Santiago, I was refreshed for another day’s walking. It was quiet leaving Carrion de los Condes and more importantly dark as I left through one of the side streets from the main plaza. I wanted to leave early to avoid the upcoming heat that was predicted. I had some breakfast in my pack but I hoped the campervan about 2 hours walk from Carrion would be open. The walk from Carrion de los Condés to Ledigos is relatively flat (again) and is a major talking point amongst pilgrims. There are no steep climbs or large descents, there are no cliff or valleys. The next town is 17kms away – Calzadilla de la Cueza. Now, we walk the flat Vía Aquitania without stop. I had plenty of water to tide me over until the first town.

Breakfast van

The first few hours felt like the long time, but I had some music to keep me going and every so often I waited for the sun to pop her head over the horizon. It was dark, I mean…it was dark! The odd pilgrim had torches and I was following them but it was difficult to get lost. The trail is straight as a die, and it just goes on. I was delighted to be greeted by the cafe truck after 8km. This was my cue to stop and sit for a while and possibly wait for the sun to rise. I remember this spot from 2021 – the van had made an upgrade! I had some bacon, eggs, and toast, and met Jesper just as I was packing up to leave. The sun came up shortly after and I stopped to witness it. I felt refreshed and ready to take on the rest of the day.

I met a few pilgrims further on – Priscilla from France and an American pilgrim originally from Serbia, although I didn’t catch his name. Priscilla usually walks 40k days and it took me back when I heard this. She was young and I asked where she would end up today. She said she was aiming for Sahagun. Phew! I walked on for a bit and I was glad to reach Calzadilla where I stopped for a snack. Jesper and his friends arrived shortly after me. It was warm on the meseta plains but very windy – I was glad to have my buff and hat with me. We now only had 6 km to go to Ledigos so it was a very relaxing afternoon. The final 6kms were along the road, and I was counting down every kilometre, particularly as I was having foot problems.

As I left Calzadilla alone, a thought occured to me. There were a lot of Italian pilgrims on the trail today. Maybe it was coincidence, i’m not sure. But Albergue San Bruno in Moratinos is not too far from here and it would make sense for them to stay there. The walk to Ledigos was fine, it was easy. The large arrows made of stone that I saw from two years ago were still there. I wondered who kept making these. There was one impressive one of an arrow leading to a heart, closer to Ledigos.

Arrival at Ledigos

I arrived in Ledigos grateful for another days walking to be over. Jesper had arrived and was enjoying the shade. Albergue La Morena is one of two albergues in this small village. It was open so I ordered a drink. It was too early to check in. We were shortly jointed by Peter, two Irish pilgrims – Jackie and Celine, and Yon from Hawaii. The owners were very kind and showed us to the bunks, which were cubby hole beds and not bunk beds. It was not surprising that it was completo before too long. Dinner was 7pm and I met more pilgrims from around the globe – including Tom who I would meet again.

The walk from Carrion de los Condés to Ledigos had been really enjoyable. I was starting to meet the same people daily and we had our own little family. I was grateful. I was ready for another day’s walking. Tomorrow would take me from the small town of Ledigos to another town I had stayed in before, Bercianos de Real Camino. I was coming close to the end of this Camino.

Buen Camino!

If you like what you see, let me know by hitting the ★Like button and leaving a comment. It really helps the site. If you want to hang out with me between posts, then follow me on Instagram and Facebook for more frequent updates. If you really enjoy my posts and want to support the site, I am partial to a cafe con leche. Buen Camino!