May 15 – Sahagun to El Burgo Ranero (17.6 km)

Today’s another day where I’ll be driven off the Camino to sleep. I’ll be staying in the same place as last night so I don’t have to worry about packing up this morning.

Es muy caliente en Sahagún esta noche!!!!

So – I officially reached the halfway point of the Camino. You can get a certificate for that, and (of course) I did. Here is a rough translation:

Let all know seeing this Pilgrim Certificate that

Marietta Ann Walsh

has passed through the Leonese lands of Sahagun, geographical center of the Camino Frances, where, as reported in the Codex Calixtinus: “… prodigous in all types of goods, one encounters the meadow, of which they say that in days gone by, the shining lances that the victorious warriors had thurst into the ground for the glory of the Lord came to life again.”

And it further attests that

She has found rest for the fatigues of the body and relief for the spirit.

The inhabitants of this noble town give her encouragement to continue her camino and to arrive with safe passage at the house of the Lord Saint James, where we hope she retains a memory of the reception we have given her.

And for a record that can be presented before whoever demands it, I sign this

in Sahagun, on the 14th of May of the year of our Lord 2022

And then it’s signed by a bunch of folks. I think the mayor is in there.

The Codex Calixtinus is the OG guide to the Camino. The original doc is at the cathedral in Santiago, entitled Liber Sancti Jacobi. It was written between 1130 and 1140. It contains 225 folios. It is considered by many to be the first tourist promotional book in history.