Sahagun to El Burgo Rancero

Today was the first day of rain I have had. It began as drizzle but soon started ¨persisting down¨as John J would say. I can´t say it was exactly pleasant but it did make me feel as though I was right to have brought a coat and a set of warm long dry things to change into at the end of the day. Up until now I have been thinking I am crazy to keep on carrying them, but tonight I am wearing everything.

The guide book mentioned that the one village on today´s walk had really good soup. If it hadn´t have been raining and cold I wouldn´t have given it a thought but it was just the thing. Christine thought it had sausage in it. I don´t know. It was a clear soup with  just a very few thin noodles in it but the broth was exceptionally good and, I must admit had a bit of a sausagey smokey flavour to it. As they also had morcilla on their menu I thought I would repeat my Burgos treat. It did make for quite a strange breakfast though!

The morcilla was hot and squidgey and not at all sausagey and, as Katie claimed, looked like a pile of pigs blood only thicker. It didn´t have rice in it and certainly didn´t have a skin. It was in no way sausagey. I have just had it out with some Spaniards here. Seems they put rice in it in Burgos but not here. Here it just had the pig blood and onion and spices. I must admit both  were nice. However I thought I was ordering a few little sausage rings like I had in Burgos to go with my soup and in fact ended up with a whole huge dish of mush served with hard toast for EUR 5.50. Such is the way of touring and eating in foreign places. I have to say that, suprising as it is, I love this aspect of travelling.

Rain is forecast for the next couple of days so my next stop will have a heavy weighting on warm spacious indoor sitting places for the afternoon. Today´s spot in El Burgo has been great.  A very homey atmostphere, loads of hot water, a drier and a big set of tables and chairs for hanging out. So I have met lots of new people from all over the pace plus a new card game which I will inflict on people in due course. I drew the line at poker played with the chips being advertising flyers for up coming hostals!

Delle asked me about bed bugs. I have simply stopped mentioning them. None have been as prolific as the first place but the fact is that I am now on my thrid set of bed bugs. Another time I would lug a can of 21st century, eco unfriendly spray and kill the bastards at each place before I lay down at night.