Day 15: Fromista to Carrión de los Condes, 19km Today is the day I slow down and walk with people.

Today is the day I slow down and walk with people. I wake up at my usual time, five something. Then I realise I have to wait for over an hour before even thinking about getting up. OK, it’s fine. I’ll wait for the chance to share my day. I get ready and eventually my roommate is ready, though I’m waiting around for a little bit too long. Am I cranky? Maybe? I’m a bit tired, but bloody hell mate, how long does it take to put shoes on?

We meet our little group at a bakery, grab coffee, it’s nice to see folks, though I’m definitely a bit less chatty than last night. When we set off, I think it takes me only a short while to realise my pace is quite different. After an hour or two, I end up walking quite far ahead of my group, and eventually leave them about 2/3 of the way. They’re so slow!

I hope the reader realises that I’m being a bit faux-grumpy here. It’s a little counter to yesterday’s gushing optimism. My need to be part of a little group went up against the reality of the small sacrifices we make to follow the trail of others. We compromise our behaviour, our speed, our needs to be part of the collective.

Going-wise, it’s 19km of walking alongside a road. All day. I grumble a bit to an young Italian called Alessandro. “It’s all part of the way”, her replies. I grudgingly agree before pressing ahead, I may have carried on groaning to myself, or the next group.

Before the day heats up too much, it’s going up to about 35C, I make it to the hostel. I’m on my own, but I’m followed by an adjacent Italian, Donato. I recognise other folks, two more Italians in a separate group, a Brazilian called Ricardo. My group arrive a few hours later. I went at my own pace but I still get to have dinner and drinks with them later on today. Separate, but not isolated. I guess I both had and ate that slice of tortilla.