Goal- Get smiles, worked for us!

Last night as we looked at the terrain we were going to encounter, we decided our destination should be Villafranca Montes de Oca. We had to get an early start to reach our 19 mile destination. We chose to end at Villafranca since we wanted to be fresh for the 7.5 miles of ‘no food or beverages available’ enroute for the steep climb to Alto de Pedraja.

This morning it was cool and misty when we left, which turned into light rain. By mid morning the sun was out and we had a nice afternoon to complete our trek.

We have entered into a new province- Castilla y Lyon, and we are now in the Burgos district of that province. The terrain we see is now mostly wheat and sunflower fields, but there are still several large vineyards in the area.

Shortly after Belorado we saw 2 guys approaching us ( they we walking from Santiago) – one had a huge white teddy bear on his back! That ridiculous sight made us laugh! We took our picture with them. The told us they are on a mission to make people smile on the Camino, and also raise money for toys for kids. Their destination is Barcelona.

In Tostanos we saw the Ermita de la Pena, an isolated shrine built into the cliffs. It reminded us of Petra.

We had lunch in Villambistia, and when we found the Inglesia San Esteban, ( Church of St Steven), I made Steve stop for a photo.

Tomorrow our destination is Cardenuela Riopico.

Pilgrims Communal dinner at Al. Santa Fe

We left Villafranca at 7:30 for our very long trek up hill. It was very scenic, most of it through wooded areas, with an occasional opening for magnificent views.

After a couple hours hiking we came to “el Oasis de Camino”. There were benches, and an eclectic mix of flowers, flags, and wooden art. It was a pleasant respite.

We arrived at St Juan de Ortega in time for an early lunch.
We passed through the cities of Ages, and Atapuerca, (in cave excavations outside of Atapuerca, remains of early humans- over 1,000,000 years old have been discovered). None of them remain here – they are in museums in Burgos).

After Atapuerca we had another steep climb. This was a very difficult route through trails of loose, large rocks and a varied large rock rough terrain.

We were very happy when we could see our destination of Cardenuela Riopico off in the distance.

Today we walked over 17 miles, and 123 flights of stairs. In talking to other pilgrims, we all agree – the days have not gotten any easier!

We stayed at Albergue Santa Fe. I booked a private room with ensuite – a nice treat after a long day. They had a communal pilgrim dinner- which we really enjoyed! It’s always fun to meet up with other people and share experiences. At our dinner there were 8 Italians and a couple – Bill and Joy from New Zealand.

Steve really enjoyed talking to them since they sailed around the world. A dream Steve had that I didn’t share!

River route to Burgos

After researching the way to Burgos, we decided to take the alternate route. This is the same distance as the original route, but takes you along a beautiful tree lined parkway along the river. It was a great walk! We saw lots of local people out biking, jogging, or just a Sunday stroll.

We heard from others that took the original route to Burgos, that it was a horrible walk along a busy highway passing by factories.

We dropped our backpacks off at our hotel, and ran into Michael, who we met at the Albergue in Villava. It was fun to catch up!

We went to Mass at the Cathedral, and walked around the surrounding area.

We visited the Museum of Human Evolution ( with the remains excavated in Atapuerca ) in the afternoon since we found out that
Museums are closed on Mondays.

After the museum we headed back towards the Cathedral district for dinner. We found a good location facing the Cathedral. There was some organization that was gathering for a procession. We had no idea what was going to happen, but as it came together, we were glad we had dinner in that spot to watch it come together.

We walked 14 3/4 miles today, but only 13 flights of stairs!

Camino parallel to freeway

Our original plan was to stay 2 nights in Burgos. It is a beautiful town, which we really enjoyed, but with most things closed on Mondays, we moved on to Tradajos, about 8.5 miles away.

We left after a late (8:00 am) breakfast. Steve was very happy to finally have a good and plentiful breakfast to enjoy – eggs, fruit, meat, assorted breads and cheeses, as well as juices and coffee. The typical pilgrim breakfast we get is a small cup of coffee, and OJ, and a piece of toast!

You don’t need to be jealous of our trek here! It was hot, dusty, and unspectacular views along a highway! Nothing to distract our progress.

We stopped in a bar in Tradajos for a break, and to call ahead for a double room. We were finding all doubles sold out. As we were leaving we noticed above the bar was Pension Mary. It is owned by the bar- small and clean and a great value. It’s just not marketed well, so people can’t find it!!! We have the place to ourselves!

Nice people run the place- their daughter was extremely helpful translating for us to get a place for tomorrow night.

Camino on the highway, not our favorite

Originally I was hoping to start today’s post with- ‘We were lucky today!’

Not so much! We left early this morning, and heard rain as we were getting ready. We put on our rain gear, and when we went outside, it had stopped raining. After about an hours walk we took off the rain gear. We had lots of peaks of sunshine, so we were cautiously optimistic.

We passed many wheat fields, saw farmers baling straw, moving and stacking straw bales.

Perigrinos had added artistic expressions to a field of sunflowers, from happy faces, hearts, and graffiti. We reciprocated the photo opp with a couple from Germany that are bicycling the Camino.

We walked for over 5 1/2 hours and then things changed! Dramatically!

We were less than a mile outside of Hontanas, (where we planned to have lunch) when the winds picked up to what seemed like ‘hurricane’ level – at least 45 – 50 miles per hour! The wind mixed with gravel, and rain was coming on so strong it hurt! Thankfully we had already put on our rain gear!

We were planning to go to Castrojeriz today, but decided we did not want to chance the repeat of our earlier experience. We are happy with todays 13.5 mile stretch, and can make up time, if needed on another nicer day.

We enjoyed another communal dinner this evening. We exchanged ‘caught in the rain’ stories with those that were sitting around us. One couple (Don and Marie from Canada) sought refuge in the cab of one of the farm implements – until the farmer returned to drive it away. They were surprised to get ‘caught’ and also surprised the farmer that didn’t notice them until they climbed out as he climbed in!

We are still having a great time! Everyone is in a great mood no matter what happens that day. We all know we ‘signed up’ for the Camino, and God gives us what we need to go on.

Looking at what we get to climb

What a difference in temperature as we headed out this morning. It was 48 when we left, so we dressed in layers. The wind made it cooler, so we added a later after we reached the first town of San Anton.

San Anton welcomes you into the city thru the 14th century medieval arches that used to connect the monastery with the church. Awesome sight!

We continued on to Castrojeriz, (where we had planned to spend last night). As we approached we could see the remains of the castle on the hilltop. This was a nice village with a very long and narrow Main Street we walked on.

After leaving Castrojeriz, we had a stretch of flat trail, as we approached today’s mountain – Alto de Mostelares. It had a fairly steep grade as we went up – and a long flat area. Then we got to the descent – it was an 18% grade! Not the easiest for our old knees- we had to zig zag our steps going down!

We entered into a new Province today- Palencia. We had a late lunch in Itero de la Vega. We noticed threatening clouds and based on accommodations available in the next town, and a double room here, this is where we are spending the night.

We covered 13.5 miles and walked up 63 flights of stairs.

Sewer Pipe bedroom, Vicki vetoed this one

Our packs feel so much lighter today- that’s the good news! The bad news is we are wearing almost all our clothes because it’s so darn cold!

Today we left at 6:30 with a 48 degree temperature, and winds at 25 with gusts to 35 mph! Within a few minutes of departing, it start to sprinkle, so we put on our rain gear. The winds we so cold, and the sky was threatening, so we kept our rain gear on as a wind break and just in case it started to rain again.

We needed to walk 18.5 miles today- which we did, since our walk tomorrow includes a 12 mile section of no services. We are holding up well, and our feet, and knees are in good shape!

As we entered Fromista, we noticed they had a large weatherproof book with the village history. The bookmark is a large chain. It was interesting to look at even though we couldn’t actually read it. The village also had an interesting canal system that continues through the northern provinces for over 200 km.

We wanted to stop in Revenga de Campos for lunch. It is a one bar town, and we found out when we got there the owner closed for a couple of days for vacation. We had to walk another hour to get to the next village. We saw Teepees in the distance, and since we were so hungry we ended up stopping at that Albergue for lunch. It was an ‘interesting’ place in a odd, weird, unusual sort of way! You could choose to sleep in a teepee, a tube, (a sewer pipe), or a cottage that is the size of an outhouse, or a tent! Free range chickens – actually a menagerie of animals were all over the place!
The people there were just weird- a collection of leftover 60’s hippies, including the owner.

We are very happy with the double room with ensuite we booked. Unless the alternative is sleeping outside, I won’t be sleeping in a bunk bed again. We are booking a day ahead, and that is working out well.

We were pleasantly surprised when Michael and his girlfriend walked into the same restaurant as we were finishing dinner. We enjoyed catching up with them once again.

This was our view for over 12 miles today

We were on the trail by 6:30 this morning, knowing that we had a long day to Ledigos. The temperature was nice, started out in the mid 50’s and ended up in the low 70’s. The wind was light- a pleasant change from the past couple of days.

We headed to the village of Carrion de los Condes. The village had a few interesting monasteries we walked by.

The rest of the day was about as boring as a long walk can be. 12 miles along a straight road with nothing but harvested wheat fields.

Today we walked 19 1/2 miles and only 24 flights of stairs.

Tomorrow will be a lighter day as we head to Sahagun, which claims to be the midpoint of the Camino!

Half way certificate from Sahagun

After a few grueling days, we decided that today would be easier on us. Our goal was Sahagun – which claims to be the half way point to Santiago. There is a bit of a conflict as to where the Camino actually starts- and whether Sahagun is the halfway point, but we are going with; ‘We made it half way!’ We walked 15 miles.

We met Karen again- we first met her on the bus ride into St Jean, which was our starting point. We have seen her regularly on our walks. Today we were debating on where to have lunch, and picked a restaurant that wasn’t as busy as the others – and there was Karen! We had a good laugh and have decided we are meant to keep in touch!

We went to the Santuario de La Pererina, and got the stamp and certificate for completing the Camino half way.

We spent the afternoon walking around to see the sights in Sahagun. The Arco de San Benito welcomes you into the city. In the ‘Old City’ we saw the 12th century Monastery ‘Torre del Reloj and the (churches) Iglesia de San Tirso and Iglesia de San Lorenzo. Close to our Hostal is the 17th century church, Iglesia de San Juan de Sahagun.

We went to the Plaza Major for dinner, picked a restaurant for a pilgrim dinner and found Bill and Joy there ( the New Zealand couple that sailed around the world). We joined them for dinner and great conversation.

Tomorrow we head to Leon!

Another chance meeting with Karen

After several aggressive days of walking, we decided to avoid the industrial stretch that enters into Leon. We took the train from Sahagun to Leon this morning. We walked from the train station into central Leon, and dropped our backpacks off at our Hotel Infantas de Leon, so we could walk around with a lighter load. Our walk today was 7 miles. One of our light days, but we needed it!

We went to Mass at the Cathedral of Leon. We were surprised when we saw all of the priests process in- there were 9 priests concelebrating!

After Mass we walked by several interesting buildings including Gaudi’s Casa de Botines, that features a turret on each corner. We saw the 16th century Palacio de los Guzmanes, which now houses the provincial court. Two of the roundabouts we walked through were very nice; one has a fountain, and the other a statue dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.

We also walked to see the famous hotel – San Marcos. It was featured in the Movie ‘The Way’, as well as many other movies. The parking lot was filled with more than 150 Porsches today! The Porsche Espana club had a three day gathering in Leon.

Tomorrow we are headed to Villar de Mazarife. The Camino splits, so we had to figure out which route we want to walk. The one we picked is a little longer, but is said to be more scenic and doesn’t follow along the highway!

We headed to the Cathedral Square for dinner. In our conversation on the way, we were saying we hadn’t run into Karen today. (We met her on the bus on the way to St Jean- we have seen her frequently in the last couple of weeks). Soon we heard our names called- and there was Karen with her walking buddies! They shared a funny story about booking a hotel in Leon. They were using  an internet booking site to find a hotel in Leon. They found a great deal on a room with 3 beds! When they arrived, they couldn’t find the hotel, and checked the confirmation – only to find out the hotel they booked was in Leon, Mexico! Since we found that we had to really watch locations when booking online, we knew how easy that can happen!

It’s so great how you meet up with some of the same people you start the Camino with over and over again!