A short day — 17 km — but along a mostly shadeless landscape. It was mostly natural paths, much of which forms the old paved Roman road known as the Via Aquitana. After a chilly morning (40 degrees), the sun came out and made it very warm by late morning. With few trees and limited water and no villages, it…
Category: Camino de Santiago
Day 18, Stage 16: Fromista to Carrion de los Condes
I left my house 3 weeks ago today and will arrive in Santiago 3 weeks from today, so I am at about the halfway mark; technically we will reach that spot in km terms tomorrow. Since today was “only” 21 km, I set out after breakfast and after sunrise at the reasonable hour of 8:30. I had decided to walk…
Day 17, Stage 15: Castrojeriz to Fromista
It was a 25 km day, so I set out before sunrise and without breakfast at 7:30. There were others on the road so I wasn’t alone, but I walked all day by myself and it was nice to have some quiet and no need to converse. The walk out of Castrojeriz was steep (12% grade) and it was windy…
Day 16, resting in Castrojeriz
I chose a small village for my rest day intentionally. Didn’t really need that bigger city feel that I had in Logrono and that many chose in Burgos. Castrojeriz has been a perfect stop for me, although I had hoped for a laundromat instead of the bathroom sink for my week’s worth of dirty clothes. After breakfast and a quick…
Day 15, Stage 14: Hornillos del Camino to Castrojeriz
The weather had suggested rain once again, but after a significant thunder and lightning storm last night it had cleared out so we had the most amazing clear day. The Casa Rural last night was homey, as was the dinner and breakfast and Kim and I were transported back to Hornillos by about 8AM, where we joined the Camino and…
Day 14, Stage 13: Burgos to Hornillos del Camino
It was meant to be a rainy day, all day,so I was dreading the 20 km to the next town. Dressed in rain pants (not the best look), and my rain jacket, with my pack covered in it’s own rain cover, I was all set for a foul day, but shortish walk. And it didn’t rain a drop! The sun…
Day 13, Stage 12: San Juan de Ortega to Burgos
Set off at 8AM this morning and the beautiful sunrise and complete solitude had me singing along the road. Unfortunately I can’t remember all the verses to most of what comes to my mind, but “Oh what a beautiful morning” got me going for a bit. The hotel breakfast wasn’t the best so I began to droop earlier than usual.…
Day 12, Stage 11: Vilamayor de Rio to San Juan de Ortega
The wonderful casa that I stayed in last night was about 1 km from the town of Vilamayor de Rio, and since I had about 30 km to do today I started out before dawn (which isn’t until almost 8AM here!) I left without breakfast (the entire casa was still quiet and dark), but I had been well fortified by…
Day 11, Stage 10: Santo Domingo to Vilamayor del Rio
I began today a bit later than usual, setting off about 9AM, since I only had 18 km to walk. The stage usually takes one to Belorado, another 5 km on, but my accommodation is just south of that larger town in a village of 50! Called Quintanilla del Monte, it is perched on a hillside and seems to consist…
Day 10, Stage 9: Najera to Santo Domingo de la Calzada
It was to be a relatively easy 20 km today (when did 20 km become easy??!?), so I didn’t need to leave in the dark, which was a good thing because there was some festival in Najera last night that included singing very loudly into the wee hours. It literally sounded as if there were groups of people outside my…