Calzadilla de la Cueza, Day 21

What a day this was! We woke up undecided on our final destination for the day, and so we agreed to see how we felt once we reached the town of Carrion de los Condes (about a 20 km walk).

We arrived to Carrion de los Condes around 11 am, and just did not know what to do with ourselves. We sat down for some lunch and decided that we felt we could walk further. The only problem was that the next town was a hearty 18 km further. Still, we felt up to the challenge. We set off and although we knew our feet may regret the decision tomorrow, we were determined to make it.

Although both Alaa and I had brought headphones on the trip, we had not used them while walking up to this point. Most of the time had been spent talking, meeting others, or just thinking. I hadn’t thought of using them until this stretch. The 18 km consisted solely of wheat fields and was so so flat. This was a time of need if any.

We got to where we only had 6 km left, but we wished we were already there. Then, we saw a group of three hikers that we had been passing and staying with off and on for most of our trip. Up to this point, we have failed to write about this particular group, due to our fear of jinxing it. We think they may just be our hiking soulmates. Although we never plan our days with them, we always end up in the same town at night. The group consists of a younger guy and girl and then an older woman. They are all Korean and do not speak much English. We started noticing them around day 5 or 6. We kept track of when we saw them after that, but it wasn’t until we introduced ourselves to them on day 12 that we got to know their names. Ever since then, I love passing them or being passed by them on the trail because they get very excited and wave. Anyways, all of this is to say we had given up all hope and were hot and tired, until we saw them up ahead taking a break. We waved as we passed, and when they promptly passed us, they said “Almost there” and gave us the thumbs up. I thought, yes, yes we are almost there!!

Upon arrival, it felt like we had stumbled into an oasis. The alburgue we stayed at had a swimming pool in the back and so we promptly showered and then went to soak our feet and be still. We met a fun group who we joined for dinner and spent the rest of the night playing uno with.