Category: Camino 2022

Walked Today: 5.2 mi/ Camino2022: 129 mi

This morning we began by taking a taxi from our hotel door to the hamlet San Juan de Ortega, named for an understudy of Santo Domingo de la Calzada. He also built roads and bridges in and around Burgos to help improve the pilgrim experience in the 12th century. San Juan probably built this church, too.

The taxi enabled us to skip a 7 mile stretch of the Camino that we walked in 2014 and 2017, but skipped in 2019 and today to avoid some difficult terrain without any services, and a logging road infested with aggressive, biting flies!

We stopped for breakfast at an albergue where we stayed in 2014, stopped for breakfast in 2017 and saw it was closed in 2019. It has a new owner, who has upgraded it from its former state to a very desirable property, and renamed it Fagus. Jim shared some photos we had from our 2014 stay and the owner seemed to enjoy them.

We finished our breakfast and left for Atapuerca, the next small pueblo. About a half-mile later, Jim remembered he had not paid for our breakfast. So we reversed ourselves and returned to Fagus to pay our bill of 7€. The owner was perplexed when he saw us return, but when we explained, began taking the blame for forgetting to collect payment. Actually, he and Jim were both distracted by looking at the old photos. But he very appreciative that we came back.

Atapuerca, site of several limestone caves near Burgos in northern Spain, is known for the abundant human (genus Homo) remains discovered there beginning in 1976. The site called Sima del Elefante (“Pit of the Elephant”) contains the earliest evidence of humans in western Europe—fragments of a jawbone and teeth date to 1.1-1.2 million years ago.

We passed the entrance to the site and walked into the small village, stopped at a bar and called a taxi to take us the next 12 miles into Burgos.

We arrived at our hotel at 11:00… much too early for the 2:00 check-in time. We passed the time ambling around the Plaza Santa Maria, just enjoying this fascinating, very old city, with origins reaching back over 2 thousand years. We didn’t do the Catedral tours, as in prior visits, feeling more like temporary residents rather than tourists. We found a outside bar off the plaza and ordered hot chocolate to break the chill from the cool breeze with our still damp clothes from our morning stroll of 5 plus miles… and relaxed…. until grabbing some lunch to occupy the remaining wait.

The rest of the day was spent just enjoying our comfortable room, making preparations and reservations for upcoming days and recharging our € supply via a nearby ATM.

Walked Today: 7.3 mi/Camino2022: 124 mi

We had a nice pilgrim dinner in the Abad dining room with about 25-30 pilgrims attending between 7:00-9:00. A French couple sat at the table beside us and provided a test for Jim as we discussed a number of Camino and non-Camino topics. We think Jim got a C+.

Walked Today: 7.3mi/Camino2022: 117 mi

The plan today was to walk to Santo Domingo de Calzada, have breakfast, then stop by the nearby turisto office to make arrangements for preferably a bus (4€) or a taxi (35€) to Belorado. We have a reserved room at El Salto, and transported our backpacks there this morning. El Salto, is a place we have never stayed before.

Our plan was precipitated by our nearly 10 mile long walk yesterday, and our desire to have a short walk today then a longer walk tomorrow.

We walked 3.5 miles to Santo Domingo, arriving at 8:05, and then our plan began to crumble.

Our breakfast place of the past 3 Caminos was closed up tight, with no signs of opening anytime soon. So we walked around town looking for any place that was open. After a 20 minute tour we found a single bar open and had breakfast. We took our time, anticipating a 10:00 opening time for the tourist office. At 9:45 we ambled to the tourist office and confirmed its 10 o’clock opening time and also, from literature on and around the door, it would not be a good source for getting us to Belorado. Around the corner was a town map and Jim discovered a building marked, “ Estacion Bus”. He took a photo of the map and we moved in that direction.

After walking around the target area on the map, we finally discovered the bus station was actually THE town bus stop with schedules and itineraries for all buses. A few minutes later we sadly realized the none of the buses went to Belorado.

It was now 10:30 and we realized our only option was a taxi and to our luck, a taxi was parked just a few steps away. It was the only taxi service and the only taxi in town. We approached the driver who was seated nearby and after several exchanges with equally ineffective telephone translation apps, we surmised that the driver was waiting for a prearranged fare. He said he could take us to Belorado next, maybe 15-30 minutes later and the fare would be 35€. We said ok, and settled on a nearby bench to wait.

After a 10 minute wait, the driver approached us and we eventually figured out that his other fare agreed for us to ride along to drop him and his bicycle at his location and we could then leave from there to Belorado. So we all hopped in and off we went.

Ironically, the taxi took us to the Cirueña golf course, where the other rider worked and where we departed from at 6:40 a.m. this morning for Santo Domingo!!

The ride to Belorado took about 30 minutes. We saw pilgrims along the way and remembered how long and hard the walk had been mostly along a heavily traveled highway, with little or no shade on our three previous Caminos. We both agreed it was a good decision to skip this 12 mile stretch, consistent with our Camino2022 paced approach.

According to our Booking and Wise Pilgrim apps, our albergue was located near the Hotel Belorado, so that’s where the driver dropped us off (the taxi driver had never heard of El Salto). So at 10:54 we began our search for El Salto. We got directions from people in restaurants, local residents, gas station attendants, a relative of a nursing home resident, until finally, Jim found it, tucked among some trees, without any signage on or near the Camino…at 12:15.

We arrived at El Salto and found “no one at home”, until we discovered the owner in the backyard, working with a crew to expand his deck.

He welcomed us, sort of, as he struggled with english, but not nearly as much as we struggled with Spanish. He said we couldn’t checkin because our room, the only private room, was still occupied by last night’s tenants and would need to be cleaned before we could have access. We also learned that no food is served or available and there is no wifi. But, our backpacks were delivered mid-morning, so somebody obviously has heard of E Salto besides us and the owner and Booking and Wise Pilgrim.

So, off we went back into Belorado to find lunch, dinner and backup provisions for tomorrow. By now, we had walked more than twice the miles we had planned for today.

We returned to El Salto at 2:30 to find our room free and clean, so we could get back to our routine and chill the rest of the day and evening.

Fernando, the owner, shared some information with us about El Salto.

It seems that he and his brother bought the property some 20 years ago and have been converting the original late 1800’s hydroelectric plant. It’s still very much a “ work in progress” and Fernando admits, more likely a life long one.

He and his brother also have a successful bicycle repair business and restaurant in Burgos as their “day” jobs.. Fernando and his family first lived in the property but decided to open up several rooms for overnighting cyclists and an occasional tourist or pilgrim, like us. It also has a small shop for minor bicycle repairs. Their current residence is nearby. Our conversation ventured into grandchildren and soccer and Fernando revealed that he played for Real Madrid when he was 17!

Bloggers Note: Some of our shared experiences may seem overly critical or negative to some, but they are part of what one can expect when walking the Camino Frances. We love the Camino and all it has to offer, it has affected our lives in so many fulfilling ways and we know first-hand that it truly provides. Many of our readers use our blog to learn more about what to expect. Many of the things that you read here, will not be found in Camino guides. We also document our frustrations and fears, which for us also become learning experiences and morph into chuckling memories that add to the richness of the our Camino experience.

Walked Today: 9.6mi/Camino 2022: 110mi

Our walk began in the dark. We didn’t unpack our headlamps, because even in the dark the first few miles are straight-forward and we know our way. Jim calls the initial half-mile “Proud Mary hill” because the first time we climbed Alto Najera, Linda turned up the volume on her phone and played the Tina Turner classic to help us get to the top.

Some 3.5 miles into the walk we stopped at the only village with services, Asofra, and had breakfast.

The walk from Asofra to Cirueña has little shade and winds among endless grain fields and vineyards. The following photos show the similarity of the view and terrain for most of the walk.

The last mile into Cirueña was a very steep grade and slowed all pilgrims down… the young, the not so young and those in the middle. It was particularly difficult, because it came at the end of a nine mile walk.

The entrance into Cirueña is shared with a very nice golf course. The pro shop snackbar has become a favorite stopping point for us before completing the last half mile to Casa Victoria, our traditional stop for the night.

Our Casa Victoria hostess offered to wash and dry our clothing for 6€, which we accepted without hesitation. She also reserved a place for us at their nearby Casa Victoria Albergue pilgrim’s dinner… 12€ each. So, with much of our afternoon tasks taken care of, we headed out for lunch at the only bar in Cirueña and relaxed with our remaining tasks while awaiting dinner at 7:00.

We had a nice dinner with 14 other pilgrims. Our table included a couple from Ireland and three ladies from France. We chatted about a variety of experiences on the Camino and elsewhere. It was fun and stimulating and a nice way to end the day.

Walked Today: 6.7mi/Camino 2022: 100mi.

When we got up this morning, Linda looked out our room window and was surprised how beautiful the view was with street lights still on at first light….

A prearranged taxi met us at our hotel door at 7:00 to take us to Ventosa. Najera is 10 miles away and we decided last night that we’re building our distance stamina at a good rate but not at the 10 mile level yet. The taxi ride chopped off just under 4 miles leaving us a more reasonable walk into Najera… continuing our paced Camino 2022.

The area surrounding the Poyo de Roldan is always a beautiful sight. The Poyo was the watchtower from which Charlemagne’s knights, led by Roldan, sighted the castile of Ferragut, the Syrian lord of Najera. Ferragut was over 9 feet tall and weighed over 500 lbs, and challenged the knights to a duel… and if any knight were to succeed, the Moors would give of their holdings in Northern Spain. None of Charlemagne’s knights had succeeded in defeating Ferragut, however, when Roldan had his turn, the duel went on for two days, with Ferragut falling onto Roldan, attempting to squish him. Roldan, according to one of the legends, pulled his dagger free and stabbed Ferragut in his achilles belly button, killing him instantantly. The Moors, as a result, abandoned Najera and headed south, leaving northern Spain to the victorious Christains.

We arrived around 10:00 at Pension San Lorenzo, but were informed (emphatically) that they would not deviate from their standard 1:00 check-in time. Bummer!

So we passed the next three hours….

Finally, at 1:30, we checked into our room with a light meal of sandwiches in hand. With “the evening meal” taken care of, we spent the afternoon and evening in our room doing chores, reading, blogging and preparing for tomorrow’s walk and having our evening meal ensuite.

Walked Today: 7.7mi/Camino 2022: 93mi

Today was literally a walk in the park. We initially walked through Logroño on well marked sidewalks for about 1.5 miles.

We then entered a park/green area between several apartment complexes for another mile.

As we left the residential park, we entered a park consisting of benches along a tree-lined concrete path for walkers& runners and a parallel bike path that extended another couple of miles,

…..then entered a camping ground/park that meandered for another mile or so.

We finally exited the parks for a narrow paved road that worked its way through an experimental vineyard focused on white tempanillo grapes, adjacent to a winery.

After climbing up and out of the vineyard, , we began walking on a paved path that was parallel to an expressway for another 2 plus miles until reaching the outskirts of the village of Navarrete, pop. 2952.

Our normal breakfast bar where we stopped the previous three Caminos, is no more… a probable casualty of the pandemic. Sadly we continued walking to the town center plaza to have a our standard breakfast. It was early, so we took our time eating and Jim scouted out potential lunch, dinner and snack spots and verified opening/closing times.

The Hostal Villa de Navarrete was only a few steps from the plaza and we were able to check-in at 11:00 and began our daily chores.

About 5 pm we walked a few steps from our hotel to a nice little bar with a patio covered with shady trees. The bar’s specialty is tapas, in particular, marinated mushrooms. Linda sampled these tasty morsels in 2019, which made such a favorable impression, it’s a primary reason we chose to stay in Navarrete.

Linda ordered the mushrooms again and was not disappointed!