Friday, 9/22: As we depart Calzadilla de la Cueza, the temperature dropped after the weather front worked its way through the region, dropping to 39 F. Fortunately the sun will warm up to 67 F by 3 p.m. The landscape remains the same as it’s been for the past week, fields as far as the eye can see, very little tree canopy. Reminds me of how life can seem monotonous with our daily routines and frequenting the same places in the neighborhood. Being in the moment sometimes is about looking for the little things. The unkept grasslands harbor tons of birds and as my bike nears the edge of a path, I inevitably startle them and they fly out alongside me, showing me their colors and shrieking their fevered pitch.
Just as in life we have milestones that set apart certain days from the routine, this day we realize that we will reach an important milestone in our journey, the halfway point after we officially enter the province of Leon.
We make our midway stop in a small city called Sahagun whose beginnings trace back to the 12th and 13th centuries when it was a center of economic and religious activity that attracted muslims (known as mozarabes) who wanted to remain in Spain. It was the shared experience of these cultures that led to a surge of artistry in wood, stone and brick. Seeking diversity in the people and places around us can also foster greater appreciation for the moment we are living in.
We completed a relatively short leg at 40 km and stopped for the night in a small village that basically is at a crossroads of major highways for the region, El Burgo Ranero.