THE PILGRIMAGE - DAY 17

22 May
Ben and Paul are in absolute and complete seventh Heaven tonight! They are in accommodation that many men - especially monks - would move the Pyrenees in which to spend a night of bliss and rapture .......... A CONVENT! The nuns will not know what has hit them when two rampant middle-aged pedalling pilgrims get into the swing of spending the entire night pounding the Cloisters!
After cycling 44.56 miles, in high temperatures, our pedallers lurched into the Convento de Santa Clara - located in the town of Carrion de Las Condes - at precisely 3.30pm.
Not only do the names of the towns/villages ring out 'Mexican' but our boys also say that the terrain, landscape and appearance of the villages/towns all conjure up visions of the previously mentioned Spaghetti Western movies. Very bizarre.
Paul and Ben were the only two people staying in the Parador last night and said that it was a wonderful place to stay. They had the very best room with a great balcony for the very lowest price and dined extremely well. Breakfast this morning was a feast of bacon, scrambled eggs, omelette, croissants and a variety of breads - all washed down with tea, coffee and fresh orange juice. The waitress, Patricia, also multi-tasked as cook and room cleaner. That's what happens when you are the only boys in town.
Having pedalled through another Adobe town, they were faced with a steep climb up an escarpment and subsequently arrived on a plateau that was completely covered in piles of boulders. These had been removed from a field which was growing a thin and meagre crop of barley. Upon their descent, they were surrounded by fertile land growing peas, barley and wheat - all of which were benefiting from working irrigation (some information for those of you who are Lincolnshire farmers).
Having replenished their hunger and thirst (crisps, apple, banana and cold drinks - the breakfast was still very much in their systems) sitting under a much-welcomed tree for 30 minutes, on a bench in the town of Fromista, Paul and Ben continued on their much more enjoyable day's pedalling, until they reached THE CONVENT. Over the course of the day, they have encountered many walking Pilgrims but failed to mention those of the cycling variety.
A word of advice for our pedallers from she who writes their blog -
Behave yourselves tonight, eat well and sleep soundly

Jenny