Category: Camino 2019

Walked today: 10.7 miles

Walked Camino 2019: 187.9 miles

An early start had us in the dark for the first few minutes.

Our hands were actually cold in the 55F morning air. An advantage of starting this early, other than beating the later heat of the August sun is this…

The brilliant sky behind us soon opened our view for the way ahead.

We walked through the fields of freshly cut hay and sunflowers..

… then turned around to this…

The sunrises on the Meseta are incredible and well worth a few minutes sleep loss for early risers.

Our morning walk continued for nearly 5 miles before reaching the first village, Boadilla del Camino (pop. 124), where we observed another church, a stork’s nest and a resident stork.

We stopped at an open albergue for cafe con leche (but no tostadas) and moved on.

Shortly after leaving the village, we walked on a tree lined path which led back into the fields but without warning, began paralleling a canal.

Canal de Castilla was built from 1753-1859, covering 207km. The canal was used for ships that were pulled by mules on tow paths. Today the canals are used to irrigate agricultural fields.

We walked along the canal for 2 miles until just outside Formista ( pop. 846) we carefully crossed the inactive canal locks and then walked into the town.

Frómista has been a breadbasket farming area since Celtic times until being destroyed by the Moors and later rebuilt in the 12th century. When the Jews of Castilla y León were systematically attacked in 1391, Frómista absorbed some of the Jewish refugees, though the Jewish population was exiled in 1492. In spite of being a successful market town in the 15th century, the town declined until a revival in 1773 when the canal brought water and enabled agriculture to again thrive.

We walked into Formista with a mission to renew our Orange sim cards which run out today. This has provided us with phone service and cellular internet service since we purchased them in Madrid in late July. It’s a much cheaper option than using the international cell service offered by Verizon.

After a few stops we concluded that our mission was not going to be completed in Formista. We had already walked 9 miles today and considered a taxi or bus to take us the final 2 miles to our destination for the day. The tourist info office, which was our source for bus/ taxi availability and timing, was closed at 10:30 Friday a.m. when we arrived with a ” be back in 20 minutes” sign on the door, and which remained for the entire hour we waited and probably much longer. A bit frustrated, we put our packs back on and walked the final 2 miles.

The Spanish sim card is a new luxury we added this Camino, just to see how it works. In the past, we have used the reception at wherever we’re staying to make calls for us for future reservations, arranging for pack (mochila) transport, etc. Wifi has been and still is our main method of communication, so doing without the simi card and cellular service us not a big deal. But we’ll try again in Carrión tomorrow and in subsequent large towns to get new sim cards, because we have gotten used to the convenience.

Other than the ever increasing heat of the mid-day sun, the walk to Pablación de Campos and the casa rural, Amanacer en Campos (45€),

was not overwhelming and we were welcomed with a glass of sangria while our room was being prepared. We figured we could wait as long as the sangria kept coming.

Right after we checked into our nice room, there was a knock on the door. The sweet lady that runs the establishment, who speaks zero English, handed Jim her cellphone. Jim, without hesitation, said “Hola” and Rachel asked if there was a room available tonight. We began a three way conversation between the owner, Rachel and Jim, ending with Jim assuring Rachel that we had a single room for her at 30€ and we were holding it for her until she arrived two hours later.And the owner was noticeably happy that she had earned an extra 30€ + for the day. Jim decided not to ask for a discount. (Jim met Rachel later in the day. She was from Ireland, walking alone, her first Camino.)

We stayed here in 2014 and had a delightful experience, especially the food. This is where we were introduced to the Spanish version of lentil soup which has become a staple in Jim’s diet back in S.C.

Today for our 2:00 late lunch/early dinner we had the most delicious paella anywhere.

The most delicious paella we’ve ever had

All that was left of our delicious paella lunch/dinner

The simple salad of heirloom tomatoes and lettuce and “no-name” Riója red wine more than adequately complimented another extraordinary Camino culinarily experience.

Walked today: 6.5 miles

Walked Camino 2019: 177.2 miles

The first 2 miles of our walk was challenging, beautiful and Romantic.

Soon after leaving the town we picked up the dirt path and walked through what had been a swamp, when the Romans were beginning to transport gold through this area that they had mined in Galicia. They could have drained the swamp, but that would have taken years (at least 8) 😉.

So instead, they built a causeway across the swamp.

Linda walking across a 2000 year old causeway

Classic Roman design to divert water from bridge structure

Incredibly, we walked across that 2000 year old causeway this morning, before heading up top again.

The climb back up to the Meseta was very difficult, a sign said it was a 12% grade. Linda and her Fitbit rated it 45 floors.

When we stopped to catch our breath, we looked back toward Castrojeriz into the extraordinary views in spite of the rising sun dominating a cloudless sky.

Photo effort number 2

We took several photos trying to capture what we were experiencing, with limited results, but you get the picture.😜

Linda reaching the top

One last look back

We took a break at the top and took reciprocal photos of a German couple who had become engaged just 10 minutes ago after climbing the mountain.

They even were wearing and showing off their shiny, matching rings.

So, Roman or Romantic, we had it all during our first 2 miles.

After a brief rest and a banana snack, we moved on into the familiar flat grain fields,

back on to the plain, we thought…

but a mere 0.3 mile later,

Ooops!

straight down, no switchbacks like on the way up

we gulped at the 18% grade descent that would take us down into another valley as far as we could see.

The Meseta is boring? We don’t think so!

We walked for three miles through the fields before crossing the Puente Fitero. It was commissioned to be built in the 11th century by Alfonso VI and restored in the 17th century to its original Roman design, and is one of the longest bridges on the Camino.

The last half mile was a nice shady stroll beside a slow moving river, then through a small corn field and right to Puente de Fitero (40€) our place for the rest of the day and night in Itero de la Vega (pop. 177).

We felt right at home, having stayed here in 2014, ’17 & ’19. We had our clothes machine washed and Jim did clothes line duty.

Our room overlooks the alberge terrace so we can see other pilgrims passing by, some staying for just a break, others staying overnight.

Our room is roomy and comfortable but not modern. We normally don’t use the TV but this one probably only had black and white!

We had a simple, but tasty lunch/dinner at 3:30 and just coasted until bedtime.

This was an excellent, no-name, local wine for 5€!

We’ll never see this one in Total Wine back in the U.S., so this will be a once in a lifetime experience for sure on the Camino Frances.

Walked today: 10.1 miles

Walked Camino 2019: 170.7 miles

Note to followers: Several photos didn’t upload last night on the email you received due to poor wifi. With better wifi today, Day 23 is complete and can be seen by clicking on our photo to left of “Day 24” and scroll down to Day 23 to see the updated version.

We began walking out of the “bowl” this morning at 7:30 with a cool 54F wind at our back.

It took 2.2 miles to walk up the opposite side of the bowl that we entered yesterday into Hornillos. For comparison, “mule killer hill” only took 0.7 mile to come down into the Hornillos… making it 3 times steeper than this morning’s assent.

We walked along the Meseta for several miles until the next “bowl”, a smaller one, called San Bol (pop.2?) with a primitivo albergue as its sole structure.

Legend has it that pilgrims who soak there feet in the San Bol fountain will be cured of all foot pain.

Our feet still in pretty good shape, we opted to pass on the foot-soaking to conserve the fountain water for subsequent pilgrims in greater need.

Ruins scattered nearby are from the monastery of San Boadilla from the 11th century and for whom San Bol is named.

We climbed out of this smaller bowl rather easily and continued onward toward Hontanas.

The first sight of Hontanas is the steeple of Iglesia de la Imaculada Concepción, as this village is also in a valley, not bowl shaped, but with the Meseta all around.

After a brief rest and refreshment, we walked on through Hontanas (pop. 70), getting a quick inside look and closer outside look at the Iglesia then continued on toward Castrojeriz.

Leaving Hontanas, pilgrims can rejoin a dirt path or walk on a parallel road. We decided to take the apparently less traveled option as we were the only pilgrims on it for the next 3 miles

until the two paths merged shortly before we reached the ruins of the Convento de San Antón.

The San Antón church complex was started by the Order of St. Anthony, a 11th-century order dedicated to the 3rd-century Egyptian hermit whose relics it held.

A man brought his daughter to the relics and she was healed of a particularly pernicious disease reminiscent of leprosy. This disease became known as St. Anthony’s Fire, which caused a terrible burning feeling, loss of circulation and eventually gangrene. This disease was in fact likely ergotism, caused by a fungus that grows on rye bread. The order developed a reputation for healing this disease, though serendipitously, pilgrimage was an excellent antidote to the disease as vigorous exercise and plenty of wine helped to overcome it.

St. Antón is the patron saint of animals, and across Spain people bring their pets to be blessed on his saint’s day. The church ruins include a high archway over the Camino path, and the remains of rosette windows featuring the Tau cross (t-shaped), used as a symbol of the order. An unusual but beloved albergue now exists in the ruins.

We stopped at the albergue and were welcomed by a very soft-spoken and kind volunteer (2 months) who was the keeper/caretaker of the albergue.

The couple from South Africa that we met at dinner last night arrived here shortly after we did. They decided to stay here tonight even though there is no electricity or hot water. The communal dinner is by candlelight.

We had walked beyond our targeted 7 miles for the day and with another 4 miles to go to our reserved room in Castrojeriz, we called a taxi to take us the rest of the way.

Castrojeriz (pop. 873) occupies a perfect position for defense along the steep mesa topped by the  Castillo de San Esteban. The Romans used the castle, said to be founded by Julius Caesar, to protect the roads to Galicia’s lucrative gold mines. The city changed hands frequently and the Castle was used and built upon by the Romans, Visigoths, Moors and Christians.

We’re staying in La Posada (64€) in the center of the small town. It’s comfortable and has an adjacent restaurant which offers a Pilgrim Menu tonight at 7:00. We stayed here in 2017 and the owner recognized us when we checked-in at noon and cordially escorted us to our room.

We had an easy afternoon, decided to snack for lunch after our 10:00 breakfast and held off for cena (dinner).

The pilgrim dinner was just a menu available for pilgrims at 11€. So we occupied a table for 4 in the hotel with no other obvious pilgrims around, except for a quiet couple sitting across the room, the lady with a shell on her purse, appearing highly suspect.

For entres, Linda had an ensalada rusa, which is potato salad with some dressing up and Jim had gespacho, muy delicioso.

We both opted for a tuna steak with tomato sauce and dessert was flan for Jim and yogurt for Linda. Of course we were compelled to split a bottle of local vino tinto.

Tummies full, we took a brief reconnaissance walk to verify our path back to the Camino in the morning, returned to our room and turned off the lights around 9:30.

Walked today: 6.3 miles

Walked Camino 2019: 160.6 miles

We took a taxi to the edge of Burgos and began our walk, stopping at a bar in Tardajos (pop.856) for breakfast.

As we walked through Tardajos we noticed that several stork nests had been built in the belfry of the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asuncíon. But as we looked closer there were actually two storks in one nest.

The next village of Rabé de las Calzadas ( pop. 221) also had an impressive church and what appeared to be a convent attached.

Interesting mural as we walked out of Rabé

The earthen path out of Rabé started a gradual climb that continued for nearly two miles and carried us up to the Meseta.

on our way up to the Meseta

There is a saying that the landscape of the Meseta is not found in the land, but in the sky with its diverse colors and expansive clouds. Dreaded by some, relished by others, the Meseta has a distinct reputation for being boring, repetitive and bleak. However, the Meseta begins and ends with such vibrant cities as Burgos and León and there is a certain beauty and awe in the endless horizon and wide open space in between.

Sometimes, visible to the north are the jutting mountains of the Cordillera Cantábrica. Towns are often set down in shallow river valleys, that appear to be large bowls, practically invisible along the horizon until arrival.

The lack of trees means little to no shade. The Meseta can be blistering hot in summer and quite cold in winter and very windy with fast developing storms. The flat landscape glimmers with golden wheat and flocks of sheep ramble the area along ancient sheep paths known as cañadas.

In spite of the monotony, the Meseta can serve as a memorable wilderness experience with plenty of time for personal thought and reflection.

With the lack of stone in this area, there are more buildings made of brick or adobe. Many towns feature bodegas, wine cellars dug into the earth that resemble hobbit homes, as well as mudbrick dovecotes.

Upon reaching the Meseta, the expansive views are initially breathtaking, maybe a bit unsettling and humbling.

We walked on the Meseta for about two miles before approaching our first “bowl”.

Out first sign of a valley or bowl on the Meseta.

In the valley was Hornillos del Camino (pop. 61), our destination for the day.

But to get to the valley we faced a very steep descent, referred to by locals as “cuesta matamulas” translated, “mule killers hill”.

Taking on the “mule killer”

There weren’t any mules around but the hill into Hornillos was accurately named.

We had an early lunch at a nearby bar and checked into Albergue Meeting Place at 11:30, did our chores and spent the afternoon recovering, blogging and struggling with a weak wifi.

Most places in Spain, hotels, bars, albergues, etc. have wifi. Most pretty good, some not so good. We rely on a good wifi signal to upload photos and the daily blog. If you fail to get a daily post, it’s probably a wifi problem and not our falling off the end of the earth, which is located about 50 miles west of Santiago!😜

The pilgrims dinner tonight was a delightful experience. First of all, the albergue has been owned and operated by a brother and sister in their 20’s for 4 years. It is a very well run, well organized albergue with modern facilities.

The dinner was a simple green salad, freshly baked bread, homemade paella (we watched them prepare it this afternoon) and a delicious lemon pudding for desert with red wine or water to drink. They have served the same menu every night for 4 years.

There were 14 pilgrims at the family style meal from Denmark, Spain, Germany, South Africa, Korea, Colombia and the U.S. (Texas & New York).

Our conversation was interesting and engaging and though sad to end so soon, as we will all go our different ways in the morning, it was the kind of experience that makes the Camino so special for us.

Walked today: 7.9 miles

Walked Camino 2019: 154.2 miles

From Villafranca to the village of San Juan de Ortega is about a 6 mile stretch of difficult terrain including a three mile logging road infested with biting flies. We endured this in 2014 and 2017, but decided to take a pass this time. So a taxi picked us up at the hotel this morning at 7:00 and dropped us off at San Juan de Ortega, where we began our walk.

San Juan de Ortega or Juan Velásquez, was a young priest and disciple of Santo Domingo who was born near Burgos. San Juan helped Santo Domingo in the construction of bridges in Logroño, Santo Domingo and Nájera.

After Domingo’s death, Juan went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. On the journey, he was caught up in a shipwreck and prayed to San Nicolás de Bari to save him. When he survived, he returned to the Burgos area determined to serve pilgrims in the notoriously dangerous and difficult Oca mountains.

He is attributed with developing the road from Villafranca to Burgos (from which he took his name de Ortega, “of the nettles”) as well as a hospice and monastery in the wilderness. Along with being considered the patron saint of innkeepers, San Juan also became known as the saint of fertility. Legend says that when his tomb was opened, the air was fragrant and a swarm of white bees flew out. Queen Isabel la Católica was perhaps the most famous barren woman to pray at his tomb, which is inside the Iglesia de San Juan de Ortega. She visited twice and conceived two children, named Juan and Juana.

The initial mile or so was surrounded by forests, not nearly as dense as in San Juan’s day, but we couldn’t help ourselves, listening for possible bandits wanting to do us harm.

But before long, we emerged into more open spaces and saw the village of Agés (pop. 76) ahead hiding in the heavy morning mist and low hanging clouds.

We made our first stop at a “boutique” albergue, judging from the decor of the bar dining area.

We were soon off again, headed along the road to Atapuerca, an intriguing place known for its archeological finds. If we had the time, Jim would love to spend a day at the site to learn more about the findings here.

On the outskirts of the village of Atapuerca (pop.206)

Halfway through the village we left the pavement and followed the path uphill.

It became steeper and more rocky as climbed, eventually to a cross at the pinnacle, overlooking the valley ahead with Burgos in the distance.

The walk down was also steep, but not nearly as rocky.

When we got near the bottom, the signage was confusing (just kidding).

One more downslope and the path leveled our and for the next mile we walked on dirt road, then back on pavement before stopping at a bar in the village of Cardeñuela de Riopico. We had a cafe con leche while waiting for a taxi to take us into Burgos.

The rest of the way to Burgos was all on pavement, then around the security fence of the Burgos airport, then through an industrial section and city streets until reaching Plaza Santa María and the Burgos Catedral. We skipped the industrial section in 2014 via taxi, walked it all in 2017 and opted to go straight to the Catedral this morning, after already walking just under 8 miles.

Our taxi driver was not a real taxi driver. We think he was maybe the owner of the Cardeñuela bar or perhaps an employee. When he showed up at the bar we didn’t understand what he was saying and he didn’t seem to know any English. So he guided Jim back into the bar, determined where we were going and then directed Jim to pay 25€ to the lady tending bar. She took Jim’s 50€ bill and gave him his 25€ change from the cash register.

The driver looked a bit like a young, muscular, tatooed, Vladimir Putin.

During the 15 minute drive into the city, Vladimir was constantly on the phone, either calling or receiving calls. Most seemed contentious and soon he began commenting after each call to Jim, over his shoulder as if Jim understood. Jim began to laugh or gesture non-verbally in support or agreement, hoping to keep things cordial.

When we got near the Catedral, Vlad gestured toward several landmarks which we acknowledged and we even pointed out some landmarks of our own that we recognized from prior walks through the old city. Vlad obviously knew his way around old Burgos and made a stop at the Castile, ovetlooking the city and gestured for Jim to get out and take a photo, which Jim did and when the taxi was still waiting when he returned, Jim thanked Vlad profusely.

With our hotel now only a few hundred yards away on narrow winding streets, Vlad turned a corner and was confronted by a large tree that had just fallen and was blocking the road.

Rather then backup, Vlad opened the door, walked up to the tree and proceeded to move it out of the way.

Jim watched for about 15 seconds, gave Linda his camera and also exited the taxi and entered the fray not knowing whether to supervise or participate.

Doing a little bit of both, totally with actions and not words, the two comrades began breaking limbs, pushing loose-leaning branches and making progress in clearing the way.

A few other bystanders joined in and eventually Vlad determined he had enough room to get by and we both, triumphantly returned to the taxi.

Once in the vehicle, Jim offered a high five and Vlad returned it with a handshake and a smile. And we sighed in relief, as we squeezed by the remnants of the fallen tree.

We were further delayed a couple of minutes or so, having to follow a very slow-moving tour trolly but finally arrived at the Hotel Meson El Cid(133€). Vlad handed us our sack and we all exchanged a smile and a chuckle as Jim wished our new comrade a good day.

The rest of the day was less adventurous but still very pleasant as we enjoyed the Catedral views from our room and a short tour inside.

The Catedral view from our hotel

Jim also spent a few minutes in the Iglesia de San Nicolás, one of his favorites and right next door to our hotel.

Iglesia San Nicolás altar

San Nicolás (de Bari) if you don’t already know, lived in the 4th century and is the original Santa Claus! And to all, a good night.

Walked today: 7.9 miles

Walked Camino 2019: 146.5 miles

We walked almost a mile before leaving the streets of Belorado, then crossed a wooden footbridge, parallel to a stone bridge, attributed to San Juan de Ortega, a disciple of Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

The trail today was almost entirely on earthen paths, passing through frequent villages.

We were crossing through the remote Oca hills, infamous in medieval times as a dangerous route rife with thieves and ne’er-do-wells. Legend credits San Juan de Ortega, with clearing this path through what was then, a thick oak and pine forest with its dense undergrowth.

As we passed through the village of Tosantos (pop. 53) we looked for a place for breakfast but nothing was open, but to our right, as we left the village, we saw the Ermita Virgen de la Peña (” Our Lady of the Cliff”), built into the rock face above the town.

Legend has it an 8th-century statue of the child Jesus was hidden in this cave under a bell to protect it from invading Muslims.

At the next village, Villambista (pop. 47), we stopped for breakfast, having our usual and resting our feet, before continuing.

We can’t help but include photos like the one above. The scenery all around us on the Camino is a constant distraction for any discomforts experienced during a day’s walking experience. We’re sorry that these photos, being two dimensional, fail to capture the three dimensional texture of what we see and savor.

As we approached Villafranca in the distance, we recognized from two prior visits, the Iglesia de Santiago and our hotel, the San Antón Abad (74€), restored from the original Hospital de la Reina, which hosted up to 18,000 pilgrims per year during the 17th century.

We walked the remaining mile or so into Villafrance Montes de Oca (pop. 147) and sipped a glass of zuma naranja (freshly squeezed orange juice) in the hotel bar until our room was ready.

The rest of the day was occupied with washing clothes, hanging them out on the albergue clothes line (they were bone dry in one hour!), having lunch in the bar and blogging, reading and resting until the pilgrim dinner at 7:00.

Our pilgrim dinner was in the hotel dining room. Nice variety of food, good service and interesting conversation with a lady from Kansas and two ladies from Germany, from Munich and Dusseldorf. Both of the German ladies were between jobs, a common time for young folks to walk the Camino. They had both struggled finding places to stay on the Camino de Nord, so had recently switched to the Camino Frances in hopes of having an easier time of it.

We wished each other well and returned to our rooms. We were all staying in the hotel, not the adjacent albergue.