Fromista to Carrión de las Condes

May 23- Fromista to Carrión de las Condes
Quite a lovely walk today alongside of a canal for a good part of the way. I do have to say though, that for a path that has been described as 'jaw-droppingly flat' it sure does have some bumps in it!

That aside, it was a lovely sunny day and we really enjoyed the multi-coloured flowers and the birds along the canal. I saw two cuckoos just across the canal and could hardly believe it because they don't very often let themselves be seen apparently. At first I wasn't sure but they moved to several places in the trees, with one of them giving a 'cuckoo' each time. From the time I spotted them they moved and 'cuckooed' four times before they disappeared so it was a big thrill for me. We are still seeing lots of storks as well and enjoying the places they make their huge nests.

To have a stork nest in your town is often considered a sign of good luck. We see them on top of churches, old chimneys and anywhere high in cities where they can possibly build. But on top of churches means right beside the bells, which often boing every quarter of an hour. Can you imagine what that must sound like from up there? What the heck must it be like to be a baby stork? Maybe they're deaf but I doubt it. They make quite a loud clicking noise that must be some kind of communication. Anyway, we love to see them up there, standing over their nests or flying overhead. They're so huge! Reminiscent of herons at home actually, except that they're mostly white with some black.

After about a 19 kilometer walk in the heat and a questionably clean albergue the night before, we were happy to each ante up twenty-two dollars for a 'hostal' room with just the two of us and our own clean bathroom. A hostal in Spain is different than a hotel but I'm not exactly sure why. One thing is for sure - they're much cheaper and almost always very satisfactory.

Carrión de las Condes is an interestingly little town in spite of its strange name. It has old monasteries and convents that are currently used for albergues and hotels.