It was another cool, overcast morning as we left our hostal and walked through the streets of Belorado and into the surrounding farmland.
Walking by wall murals, a common sight throughout Belorado depicting, history, social issues and just about anything you can imagine… At the edge of town, we walked by a nice park and over an ancient bridge, still in use by cars and heavy trucks over the Río Trion.The camino initially paralleled a busy secondary road toward Burgos.The path gradually moved away from the highway into the alternating fields of nearly harvestable grains and recently planted sunflowers.The conditions were perfect for walking especially for octogenarian muscles and joints.
We stopped at a small bar in Tosantos for breakfast and began chatting with a young lady with a UNC cap. Her name was Ansley from Charlotte, NC. She was a graduate of UNC and was a teacher in Denver, CO.
The more we chatted, we learned that our granddaughter, Katelyn, who walked along this part of the camino last May and had recently moved to Denver, lives only a short distance from Ansley. We shared further information with Ansley who planned to contact Katelyn upon returning to Denver. Both Ansley and Katelyn enjoy the many hiking trails around Denver.
It’s a small world, especially on the Camino. We posed for a photo with Ansley before continuing with today’s walk.Shortly after Tosantos (pop. 53) we observed the Ermita Virgin de la Peña, built into the caves visable from the camino path. An 8th century statue of the child Jesus was hidden in this cave under a bell to protect it from invading Muslims.Another view of the expansive fields of alternating grains and sunflowers.This recently plowed and planted field will be filled with bright yellow sunflowers in August.Looking back at the scenery after walking through Espinosa del Camino (pop.36) and up the hill toward Villafranca…Our first look at Villafranca Montes de Oca as we begin our descent into the valley.What goes up must come down applies frequently on the Camino.Once in the valley we left the nice wide path to a narrow path through the weeds.The busy road into Villafranca runs very closely to us on Linda’s left.Coming out of the weeds/fields but staying clear of the traffic.Nearly sharing the road with some huge, fast moving trucks and other vehicles.After easing carefully along the narrow passage between vehicles and buildings in Villafranca Montes de Oca (pop. 147), we begin the walk past the church up to our hotel, San Antón Abad.The final climb to the entrance of San Antón Abad
As we approached the reception desk, a familiar receptionist greeted us with a big smile, welcoming us back, this being our 7th visit.
We quickly checked in, were escorted to our room and settled in for a brief rest followed by our daily routine.
Chicken for Linda, Cod for Jim,
We took a break at 2:30 to have our main meal in the hotel dining room, then finished our chores and prepared for tomorrow.
Jimandi 