Stage 2: September 25, 2017 - Rad to Robliza de Cojos (20.2km)

Yellow arrow on tree is reassuring
Breakfast in the hotel was at 7:30 so we were able to be on the road by 8 o'clock. Rad seems to be a substantial development of gated communities and by walking south and then southeast along the perimeter of these we were able to rejoin the Camino after 2.2 km. The day turned out to be longer than expected and the last few kilometres proved to be very tiring for both of us.

The people of Robliza de Cojos seem to take their siestas seriously as the village appeared to be deserted when we arrived. We did meet a woman painting her house and when we asked about the albergue she went into action. After two or three seemingly unproductive phone calls she crossed the road to the house opposite and summoned the male occupant. After a brief discussion he invited us into his car and drove us the short distance to the albergue, a section of an old school. He first called at a house close to the albergue in the hope of obtaining the key but there was no answer.

We spent the next couple of hours awaiting the key holder but to no avail. Eventually the ladies of the village started to assemble at the other end of the school apparently getting ready for some sort of fitness class. They took pity on us and one of them entered the house of the key holder and collected the keys. The accommodation was basic but very welcome; two beds in one room, three toilets, a hallway and a large classroom - no shower or kitchen. We were told that the village pub where we had hoped to eat was now closed and so we had to walk 1.5km to a motorway service area to get fed, and buy provisions for the following day.

Bulls would become a common sight
Although we had the keys, we were in no hurry back as we did not expect that anyone else would be looking to stay in the albergue that night. We were wrong and as we approached the albergue at around 10pm we found a delegation of three awaiting us - two locals and Marius, a young Lithuanian peregrino. We have no idea how long they were waiting.

A bed frame and mattress was quickly taken from a store room and placed in the classroom for Marius. Soon after that we all went to sleep but when I got up in the middle of the night I found Marius asleep on his mattress in the hallway. Various theories went through my mind but I had to wait until morning to find a reason that I hadn't considered. At some stage Marius awoke and found two bats flying around the room and decided he was better away from them. He managed to capture them on video before retreating.

I should add that the albergue is not in the doctor's old house next to the medical centre but down close to the church.

Church in Robliza de Cojos




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