Depart Castrojeriz at 8:10. Arrive Fromitz at 4:05. 15.7 miles.
Got off a little earlier with great hope of avoiding some of the extreme heat. Leaving Castrojeriz was pretty easy and then…the dreaded ascent. From a distance it looked deceivingly gradual. The path reality proved quite different. We climbed uphill for nearly two miles. At the summit (at about mile 8) there was a truck with drinks and snacks, no actual food. We’re told the next town is about two more miles.
A bit more than 2 miles and no restaurants, but there was a grocery store. We had sandwiches made for us and enjoyed a squishy peach, and drinks. It was all we needed.
A short companionable phase with a woman from Norway traveling alone. She is a grandmother and not sure how long she will go. She misses her one year old grandson. I am surprised at how many women we come across on their own, and of varying ages.
Next we connected with a young man on his own and we kept pace with him for the last 5 miles into Fromista, which runs along a canal. Had it been Wednesday, we could have taken a boat into Fromista. Bummer.
Matt from Petaluma, CA was the main reason we got to town much sooner than I had expected. We were at about a 22-24 minutes pace per mile before walking with him and moved to 19 minutes per mile. Good thing cuz it’s 94 degrees out.
Arrived Fromista and pleased to see a bank and a pharmacy. Loaded up on a few things plus a bit more cash.
First things first – vodka and fresh orange juice. Life is good.
Dinner was more Castilian soup which was different than previous night (more paprika) but still fantastic. Also, breakfast for dinner since we haven’t had an American breakfast anywhere in yet.
Spent an agreeable time with Matt discussing why the Camino and how to prepare for it. He showed me an app for the Camino that I’ve been searching for and now I’ve got it – the Camino based on location. Very happy to have this now.
Tomorrow is a short day. We hope. We always look at expected mileage but rarely does it match up with what we wind up doing.
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