Day 23 - Friday May 30th

Jo walked about 12.5 miles today arriving at the Village of Calzadilla de la Cueza. She is now exactly half way through the walk. She walked without her pack today and found the walking better. Eve her Australian walking partner has now moved on further than Jo so she is walking with another group at the moment. Been walking with a Croatian woman today. It is difficult with such a wide variety of languages spoken to find people that you can actually converse with. She is hoping to make it to Sahagun tomorrow which is slightly longer, about 15 miles.

Jo described the refugios as the most difficult part of the walking. Often there is no hot water and just two showers shared between 100 people. The private ones tend to be better but she says that she often feels dirty and it is difficult getting clothes washed and dried in time for the next day, especially as she has reduced her load to the absolute minimum to lighten the pack. The David Lodge book 'Therapy' was very accurate in its description of the Camino and how people approach it. If you haven't read it it is worth getting a copy to understand what walking the camino is like.

News from Ann is that she is now at Rabanal del Camino which is about 150 miles from Santiago. She is walking with a small group consisting of Shelia, a French Canadian and a Hungarian guy. They are walking in the Picos mountains which is one of the prettier parts of the route. she is in good spirits and making good progress.

Jo - 243 miles completed, 243 miles to go See Jo's location on google maps
Ann- 333 miles completed, 153 miles to go See Ann's location on google maps