Pilgrims dinner last night was an interesting mix of 3 Germans who spoke no English or Spanish, a young woman from Germany currently residing in South Africa and multi lingual, a pair of Swedish sisters who spoke English, a Frenchman who only spoke French, and us. We managed to get through it, but the real fun was afterwards, watching Mike armed with google translater carrying on a conversation in French with Bernard, who had worked on ships and submarines. Liberal amounts of red wine lubricated the process and good time was had by all. This morning we scarfed down some fruit and trail mix to get an early start. The sun was a tiny smudge on the horizon and the dark quiet refreshing. In a 0.5 horse town you can't rely on streetlights but fortunately we have headlamps. We made our way to the next town before stopping at the second bar (yes, the place was actually named that... owners must have a sense of humor) for coffee and running into our new friend Michaela from last night. Our paths crossed multiple times during the day. The fields of the meseta were more varied today, smaller with more variety such as corn, kale, and a vineyard. Trees and bushes formed periodic wind breaks. The soil has gone from white clay when we originally started to rich brown, red, mustard and now red again. Sometimes it's rocky and sometimes not, a continual source of interest. Mid morning before Sahagun, we passed through 2 pillars marking the official geographic center of the Camino. Yahoo! We've been walking for 23 days and averaging about 4 km per hour. At this point we have killer calves, arms of steel, and abs of...flab? Somehow in the mornings when we get up, doing crunches just doesn't make the list. We'll have some serious catching up to do in that department when we get home. It would be nice to go home with taut, flat tummies, but let's face it. It's probably not happening and besides which surely there are easier ways to lose weight. Of course the hamburger we had for lunch in Bercianos del real Camino probably didn't help, but after walking for 5 hours we just needed a little protein. We finally made it to El Burgo Ranero, our destination, around 3 pm. Spirits were flagging and I don't think I could have gone on much past the 28 km we covered today. When we checked our accommodations for the night, it was a bit of a shock. Looks like we're staying in the town truck stop. Good heavens. Did I book a room for an hour or the night? Somehow the description and reviews were somewhat vague in that regard. But hey, the restaurant is open 24/7 and don't truck stops have great breakfasts!