Ledigos, Castile and León, Spain and Canary Islands
Distance by the guide book - 23.4km
Total distance for the day - 24.1km
Flights climbed - 0
We were both so tired after our big day yesterday that we were very early to bed last night. But a good night’s sleep does wonders and we were up and ready to leave this morning by 7am. It was 4° outside and a bit foggy. We’d read in the guide book that there was a 17km stage today before the first town and any services so to prepare for it. There was a possibility of a pop up cafe somewhere along the way but they said it only opened in the summer. I was sure that whoever owned the cafe wouldn’t pass up the chance to cash in on the passing trade today but just in case we stopped at a cafe on the way out of Carrión for a cuppa and a boccadillo (sandwich) to go. The proprietress heard us say we were going to Albergue La Morena in Ledigos
and told us to say hello to her daughter, Daniella, who would greet us there. Sure enough, she did!
I think someone drew a pencil line between Carrión and Calzadilla and that’s where the road went.
No twists or turns, straight as a die. I understood today why some people would hate the meseta. It wasn’t very exciting following a straight line with no small villages to create some interest. The landscape was more of the same. Fields of cereal crops, although today we saw evidence of what it must be like after the crops are gone, in the brown, barren, plowed fields. It was a little tedious. We were thrilled to see the pop up cafe appear on the horizon, open and in full swing. We had a welcome break there after a couple of hours of walking.
The thing with having no services available between stops also means there are no toilets. Trees and bushes on the meseta are scarce so you have to pick your moment carefully for a nature break. I thought I’d judged mine well with a decent gap between me and the closest walkers. However I didn’t count on a couple of cyclists coming by! Oh well, What can you do? I just kept my head down and hoped that I’d never see them again!
The temperature warmed slightly as we walked along. If the sun was out it was quite pleasant and we would start to contemplate taking off a layer.
Then the clouds would come back over and the temperature would drop again. Thankfully we haven’t had the wind like our first day on the meseta so we’ve been coping with the cold quite well. We’re certainly happier walking in this temperature than the heat we were expecting.
We stopped again in Calzadilla for another break and then hit the road for Ledigos, literally. The path ran right beside the roadway and I decided my ankle would prefer bitumen rather than cobbles so I walked on the side of the road. Sheila stuck to the path for a while but then decided to join me. It was a little hairy with cars whizzing past us but they were mostly on the other side of the road and there was quite a decent verge so we stuck it out.
We arrived just before 2 and were greeted by the lovely, Danielle. Our twin room is lovely. There was a bit of a rush on the washer and dryer but we managed to get our washing down which was a good thing since we hadn’t done any for three days and were down to our final set of clothes. There’s not much to the village of Ledigos. A couple of albergues, a church and a few houses and that’s about it. The houses around here are mostly made of adobe due to the lack of trees in the area. Some of the village houses look quite dilapidated. Our Albergue on the other hand is newly renovated and lovely. We had dinner down in the bar a short while ago and it was being well patronised by the locals as well as the walkers.
Hopefully the walk will be a little more interesting tomorrow with a number of small villages to break up the day.
Marl
2023-05-15
Another day done, girls! Hope there’s a few villages for you tomorrow.
Ange K
2023-05-15
So glad there are pop ups along the way 🤩 You are walking some long dusty roads. Loving your commentary 🥰 Thank you. X
Liz Davis
2023-05-15
I love those pop-up cafes too as much as you do I imagine. Hope tomorrow is a good day with lots of interesting things to see. But even on dull days the scenery is lovely.
Beth
2023-05-16
Just sending love and encouragement, Leanne. x
Chris D
2023-05-16
The long, and not so winding road! Love that you just keep forging on.
Jodie
2023-05-16
You both are doing well. Keep it going as you come across these interesting places.
Suzanne
2023-05-16
I had been wondering if there were mobile toilets along the way. Now I know there are not. Love the colours of the landscape. You must be getting to half way soon. Enjoy tomorrow.
Karry
2023-05-17
Loving your blog Lan. Can’t wait to see what you’ve done every day.