Carrion de los Condes

The Fog.

With all the weather issues I have been working my way through it was inevitable that Brother Fog was going to show up and boy did he ever today.

Templar Church of Santa Maria, Virgin Blanca,  Villalcazar de Sirga

When I looked out this morning I thought my watch was wrong.  But it was the fog that was making everything look so dark.   I got on the road by 6:50AM for what was going to be about a 4 hour walk (21K/ 13 miles, no hills) to the Camino hotspot of Carrión de los Condes.  Today it has about 2,400 people living there and still serves the Camino Pilgrims faithfully but in the middle ages there were at least 29 pilgrim hostels in the village and it was a strategic point on the way to Santiago.

Museo Santa Clara

I walked mostly alone and stayed on the recommended scenic path by the river which was a little longer than using the recently made government paths call "sendas" that follow the highway.   The guide book says we will be seeing a lot of these paths in the future so I think the river was a good choice.  The fog was an issue for my glasses and it made things sticky.

Plaza Mayor, Carrion de los Condes

It let up as I arrived in the city that had two monasteries which are no longer in use:   the first, St. Clare's, is a museum and a pilgrims' albergue;  the second, San Zolo, is a hotel.  I'm splurging and staying there tonight.  Right outside my room is the ancient cloister and the crypts are still able to be visited which house abbots as well as royalty.  There is also the Church of St. James which was a Romanesque church in the center of the city that was destroyed in the Independence war in the 1800s.  Luckly they saved the sculpture of "Christ Pantocrator" now attached to the outside of a museum.

Bridge over the Carrion River leading to the San Zolo area.

 The hotel, of course, has TV.  The only channel I am familiar with is the Disney Channel.  It reminds me of the running feud two of the girls who work in the rectory office have going.   Joanne grew up watching Nickelodeon while Stephanie watched Disney Channel.  I don't know which network is better.   I just know I have seen a lot of Disney since I came to Spain.

Freeze of Christ Pantocrator, Museo del Santo

Mass tonight is at the Church of Santa Maria del Camino (I stopped in earlier for my holy hour).  Inside is a relief depicting a miracle Our Lady accomplished back when the Moors were an occupying presence.  It also has a statue of St. James, the Warrior.  During and immediately after Moorish occupation James was often depicted as a warrior who would help free the people.  Later on he started to be depicted as a pilgrim.

Statue of St. James the Warrior, Church of Santa Maria del Camino

Tomorrow's trip is relatively short (about 12 miles) who knows what the weather will bring.

Cloisters of San Zolo, Carrion de los Condes