August 24, 2013

We got a bit earlier start for our second day of cycling. We packed our bags, paid our bill and had some cafe con leche by 0815. The road out of Castrojeriz heads toward a small river and then climbs steeply for over 1 km. There were some cyclists who were able to climb it in very low gears but Kathryn and I decided to walk and push our bikes up the hill. Luckily, the wind was already blowing against our backs at almost 20 mph so it only took us 30 minutes to get to the top.

Once on top, we cruised with the winds blowing us along. We had a couple of technical downhills but hit them cleanly albeit slowly. We arrived at Fromista a little before noon after riding 25 km. Once there, we decided to take an extended break and have lunch and visit a local church that has a multi-media presentation on the history of the Camino. It was an interesting presentation and an opportunity to test our Spanish because the English translation wasn’t working.

After 2-1/2 hours, we got back on the road and still needed to ride 20 km to our destination. We took the scenic alternative route along a river and finished in 1-1/2 hours.

When we arrived at our destination, Carrion de las Condes, we set out to find a place to stay. First stop, no answer. Second stop, all full. Next stop, one room remaining so we grabbed it. While we were checking in, the manager told us that it would be very noisy tonight due to a five-day fiesta scheduled in town. We had already noticed the portable bar set up in the street in front of the hostal. We weren’t too concerned until they started to set up the mobile disco in the street in front of our hotel.

Before dinner, we enjoyed a classical guitar concert in the church. We had a great dinner and then headed back to the room for some rest before we go out to check out the fiesta around 11 pm.

The disco is scheduled for 1 to 4 am. It may be a long night.

Notes from today:

Left Castrojeriz at 0815.
Arrived Carrion de las Condes at 1545
Total time 7.5 hours
Total distance 45.7 km
Average speed 6 km/hour

Note that this includes a 2-1/2 hour stop for lunch.