Today we left Sahagún and headed to El Burgo Ranero
As has been usual for the last few days, it was pretty chilly (it looks warm but it wasn’t!) as we left our hotel but did start to warm up once the sun had risen a bit further. Sahagún gets it name from the place where the remains of Saints Facundo and Primitivo were buried in AD304. They were two brothers who were exposed as Christians at the time of the persecution of Christians under Roman rule. They were martyred, beheaded, and their remains thrown into the Cea River. The place later became frequented by Christians because it had a reputation for frequent miracles. A temple was built over the burial place which appeared in documents such as “Sanctus Facundus”, “Sanct Fagunt” and “Sant Fagun”, which, in time derived to the town’s current name.
As we left Sahagún we crossed the Cea River by way of the Puente Canto – originally this was a Roman built bridge but was replaced in the 18th century using the ashlars (finely dressed stone) from an unfinished chapel. We continued along a tree lined path for a while until emerging back into the open countryside as the path continued alongside the road (a feature for most of today).
We walked for a while and then came across the charming Ermita de la Virgen de Perales It is a simple brick building with a belfry that was attached to the Hospital in the 12th century. Every last Sunday in April, the residents of Bercianos go on a pilgrimage here to collect the carving of the Virgin, popularly known as ‘La Perala’, and transport it in procession to the hermitage of San Roque in the town, where it remains during the month of April and May.
Then we did the remainder of our walk today, passing through Bercianos with a view to the town cemetery in the distance and a unique style of bell tower which is a replacement for the original tower of the Iglesia de San Salvador. A long stretch of (relatively uninspiring) road led us into El Burgos Ranero and a finish to our walk for the day.
One item of note, though, was the Laguna de Valdematas, which seemed to be a wetland nature reserve. The noise from the resident frogs and birds was enough to drown out the busy close by main road. Volume up in the video above to hear it.
Today we got as far as El Burgo Ranero and then had a transfer back to Sahagún and tomorrow we get the transfer back to El Burgo Ranero and then walk 37km to León.