Sahagun update

[Rebekah Scott]

Hola, pilgrims.
Sahagun, the market town in the middle of the Meseta, is gearing up for its big fiesta and is swarming with pilgrims these days. There are some recent changes and improvements you should be aware of.

* Don´t forget there are THREE pilgrim albergues in town, as well as a good selection of hostals. The albergues include La Trinidad, the classic church-done-over-as-hangarlike-dormitory, ViaToris, the new and heavily-promoted albergue by the bullring on the leading edge of town (with its own set of yellow arrows!) and the little-known but very nice summertime albergue at the Madres Benedictinas novitiate, on the route heading out of town. (just keep following the arrows and you´ll come right to the door on the right.)

All three have things to offer as well as drawbacks. I am partial to the Sisters, having volunteered there a time or two, but they suffer from an overkill of church bells at all hours. ViaToris has all kinds of web access and battery-charging capability, and the owners are from a long line of pilgrim hospitaleros, but it´s not dead in the center of town. La Trinidad can get overcrowded and seedy, and the municipal auditorium is downstairs, which means noise on certain nights.

Sahagun is also upgrading its food offerings. Right next to La Trinidad and ViaToris is a little cafe called Robles, under new management and offering an excellent menu del dia as well as this week´s football action. Downtown, just across from the magazine kiosk, is La Trebede, a brand-new bar that serves a genuine hamburger with everything! If you want a real gourmet treat, try El Ruedo in the Plaza Mayor, where the lechazo (Castilian roast lamb) is as good as it gets. And for the best working-man´s lunch around, go to El Peregrino, where the guys restoring the La Peregrina church (across the road) all go for their menu del dia. The trout are lovely when you can get them.

If you come into town on Saturday morning you´ll walk right into the street market. Here you can buy queso curado (hard-cured cheese, the sharp kind that travels well) from Cerrato, a Palencian district just to the south. Cerrato cheese is being discovered now by the famous/fab Basque chefs, so you oughtta try it now, before it all disappears into the Impossibly Expensive Foodie Vacuum.
No, I am not paid to promote this place. I just like it a lot, and I feel it is overlooked because it´s a working farm town, not a knock-out gorgeous place bristling with historic monuments.
I wish I could meet you all in Sahagun for a nose around!
REbekah

 

[vinotinto]

ViaToris, the new and heavily-promoted albergue by the bullring on the leading edge of town (with its own set of yellow arrows!)

I stayed at Viatoris last summer with three German friends I'd met on the Way. Their sign promised a friendly greeting, and when we walked in they poured us a cup of water right off the bat. They had a small shop where you could buy various pilgrim items. The internet PC wasn't working right when I was there, however. But the shower water was plenty hot.

My friends and I cooked a big spaghetti dinner in the large kitchen and washed it down with plenty of vino tinto, with Beck's beer for dessert out front on a picnic bench. It was our last night together, as the woman was taking a train to Leon to catch up with her daughter, so we took goofy pictures of each other and talked about the Camino & our lives in general.

The management gave the four of us free hats (with the albergue name & address stamped on it), which made a nice souvenier. The bunk beds are in a huge room, and they are solid so that a 4-bed section is like a cubicle of sorts. Not a bad place - the town is a fairly quick walk over a bridge and down a street. :arrow:

 

[Minkey]

I've always stayed in the converted church. Strangely last year there wasn't a hospitalero when I was there, but kinda like it.

(please note, this is one of the only times I've said something nice about an albergue without it being the one in Foncebadon! )

 

[sillydoll]

The CSJ Guide book says:

Albergue Municipal in the church of La Trinidad is closed from late October to April and may be closed for the fiesta in Mid-June.

 

[Minkey]

Sil, you KNOW when I was on the Camino last!

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Hmmm. I lived directly across the street from La Trinidad from October 2007 through a couple of weeks ago, and can tell you truly that it was open, open, and open. Except for Christmas eve.
And unless ten or more pilgrims showed up, there was no heat in that great barnlike place!
The other two albergues were closed through the winter, though.
So I guess even CSJ can be wrong sometimes.

Reb. (my illusions shattered.)

 

[NaKwendaSafari]

So I guess even CSJ can be wrong sometimes

Reb,
Your latest report on Sahagun provides much better information than the CSJ. Your live inputs as a person living on the trail is invaluable, I love your honest subjective comments, how I wish others so active on this forum could do the same.
Kwaheri

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Actually the 2007 CSJ guide to the Camino Frances says "Closed from ?late October - April" So obviously they weren't certain. I don't have the 2008 edition to hand right now as someone else is using it but Rebekah this is good information. Perhaps you would be kind enough to e mail the editor of the CSJ Guide wdbisset@hotmail.com who will incorporate any info you may have on this and other issues in future editions.

Thanks

John

 

[Trudy]

The 2008 CSJ guide still says 'closed ?late October to April'.

But remember, the CSJ guide is only as good as the information passed on to it by pilgrims. So, if noone has told them that this Albergue is open through winter, then the guide details will continue to be out-of-date. I find the CSJ guides invaluable and feel, for the sake of other pilgrims, it's up to everyone who uses these guides to email updates on albergues, bars, and route conditions etc to the CSJ as soon as they get home. Remember the CSJ website also provides on-line updates to their guides between editions.

BTW Rebekah, how exactly is Sahagun pronounced? I understand that 'h' is silent in Spanish, so am a bit confused with this town.

Trudy

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Trudy

You're absolutely right. But sometimes albergues close just for repairs or holidays. When I walked from SJdPP in November some albergues were closed just for a few days - presumably so that hospitaleros could have a few days off - others were clearly closed for winter. The CSJ guides are really good - written by pilgrims for pilgrims on a not for profit basis - they advise to check which albergues are open in winter - this applies to all routes.

John

 

[Deirdre]

Hi Trudy,
The "h" in initial position is silent in Spanish - as in "hola, hambre"...

In Sahagún, the a's are linked together and elongated slightly and the emphasis is on the last sylable (ú) note the stressed u. Pronounced, Saa goon Hope that helps.
Buen Camino,

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Gee, thanks for the strokes, guys. I endeavor to be of service, and I´ll get right in touch with the CSJ editor person asap.

... If you only knew the things I edit out, for the sake of being nice!

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Rebekah

I think that you ands other living/working along the routes are a fantastic source of information for the guides. I know the editor will really appreciate your input.

Thanks

John