Let us be very clear about one thing: I almost never know the name of the town I am walking to, or that I walked from. It's part of my general aversion to place names. Suffice it to say that we have walked for two days and I believe the name of the town I am in is called Mansilla de Mulos. But I might be wrong.
When we first arrived in Sahagun, after some adventures getting out of Madrid, our accommodation locked us out (even though we got there on time) and we had to find a place to stay at 10.55 pm in basically a sleepy village. I want to take a minute here to recognize the efforts of Mrs Annandsingh, Mrs Shepherd, Senora Olton and Ms O'Brien, without whom that task would not have been possible and also to encourage you to encourage your students/ children to learn a language until at least form 5.
Anyway we set off from Sahagun, the official centre of the Camino Frances. Why the centre? Well why not? I love walking, but 6 weeks of walking would be too much for me. Also I only have 27 days vacation so there's that.
Our first two days of walking have been along the Meseta, a plateau that goes on for a while across the Camino. The Meseta ia famed for the emotional and psychological endurance it demands. It is long, flat, with no interesting sights really and except for changes from sunflower fields, to cornfields, to dry grass, and my favourite because of the colour, fallow land, the landscape is boring. It's not physically demanding- there are no steep inclines (being a plateau)- even temperatures above 30.
I acknowledge I'm not selling the Camino right now, but trust me, the Meseta is worth it (or at least the rest of the Camino). First off, if you're recovering from an injury to your both feet and want to ease them back into walking (by you here I mean me), it's a great testing ground. Second, if you need a space for your mind to wander, the Meseta is great because it's so easy you can attend to your thoughts and not hurt yourself from being distracted (to be just, the distraction is good).
Said feet are holding out okay, and I think they should be able to do the 377 km (in total, not left,or most of it). As for the thinking, just the usual what is the meaning of life stuff. Nothing too dramatic.
Tomorrow is our last day on the Meseta, where we will end in the town of Leon. I really want to see Leon and maybe go for a swim- Spain is very hot right now.
Till then, walk good.
