Grandpa's on the Camino

Several days ago I got what I thought was a cramp or a muscle pull in the arch of my left foot. I tried walking through it, but could not get it to go away. I was able to put up with it by favoring that foot until the last few kilometers of yesterday’s walk when the pain got really severe. There was no way I would be able to walk any distance today. This morning we took an ALSA bus to León, the equivalent of two days of walking. The view from the bus confirmed that the terrain in this area is very flat with mountains along the horizon to our right (north). We went through Mansilla where there is a historic bridge only wide enough for a single lane, so there is a traffic light to let vehicles over, first one way then the other. How different from the U.S. – we would tear down the old bridge and replace it with a nice wide one so no one would have to wait. From the León bus station we headed toward the central part of the city and got directions to an urgent care clinic. The doctor diagnosed my condition as planter fascitis and prescribed an anti-inflammatory (stronger than ibuprofen). I was told that I cannot continue walking 20 to 25 km a day, but have to cut back to no more than 10 per day. We decided to take a train in the morning to Sarria to give us more than 12 days to walk the final 100 km to officially complete the Camino and earn the Compostela (certificate of completion of the pilgrimage to Santiago). Needless to say, this is not the way we planned or expected things to go, but all we can do at this point is to make the best of things. After checking in at the Santa Maria de Carbajal albergue we attended evening vespers and mass with the Benedictine nuns and received the pilgrim blessing. I am giving thanks that I am not having to give up the Camino and should be able to complete it. 

Day #19

León 

Population 130,000 / Elevation 840 meters

Albergue Santa Maria de Carbaja

Distance traveled today 44.8 km (bus)

Weather sunny and warm.

One more boring day in the meseta. As you can see in the photos below, today was another level and straight path and senda after another. And at our destination another modern albergue with a 4-person room with private bathroom.

After I showered, I found the most amazing surprise waiting for me on my bed. A Father’s Day card from my grandchildren, transported all the way from Georgia by my wonderful Isabella.

Day #18

Bercianos del Real Camino 

Population 200 / Elevation 850 meters

Albergue La Perala

Distance walked today 23.5 km 

Weather cool and foggy early, then sunny and warm.

Like yesterday, today’s walk was kilometer after kilometer of straight and boring. The photos below may look pretty much the same, because they are, but each was taken in a totally different location. We walked nearly 5 kilometers along a straight gravel path to the first tiny village, then another 12 kilometers to the next small village. As if for variety, the final stretch was along a senda (like yesterday). No interesting churches, no interesting much of anything. It’s easy to see why the meseta has a reputation for being difficult. There are, however, a couple of bright points to report: We  reached the halfway point in our Camino today; and we are pretty much in the lap of albergue luxury tonight – our room only sleeps 4 people in a pair of bunk beds, and it has its own bathroom.

Day #17

Terradillos de las Templarios

Population 100 / Elevation 885 meters

Albergue Los Templarios

Distance walked today 26.8 km 

Weather sunny and warm.

Today’s  walk consisted of kilometer after kilometer of level, straight, and boring sendas (pilgrim footpaths next to a highway) punctuated with a small village every 3 or 4 kilometers. It was so level and straight that you could see the next town as soon as you left the last one. The nicest break was stopping in Villalcázar de Sirga to visit the church of Santa Maria la Blanca. There’s even a sculpture of Santiago Apóstol resting here before going on. Unlike Iglesia San Martín yesterday, this is an active church. Besides taking lots of pictures, I took time to pray before the blessed sacrament, a wonderful chance to remember all of you who are so generous in supporting Isabella and me in this endeavor. I prayed one of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 139, which seems so appropriate to this journey. Our rest day yesterday seems to have paid off – we both felt so much better today – and we made it to our albergue where we were graciously received by the kind nuns.

Day #16

Carrión de los Condes

Population 2,200 / Elevation 840 meters

Albergue parochial, Santa Maria 

Distance walked today 19.3 km 

Weather sunny and mild.

Isabella and I have been struggling the last couple of days and needed a rest day, but did not want to get behind schedule , so we took a taxi to Frómista instead of walking. Since Frómista is best known for the Iglesia San Martín which dates from the eleventh century, we had to check it out. It is reputed to be one of the finest examples of Romanesque architecture in Spain. Unfortunately it’s actually a tourist destination, not a functioning church, but it is really beautiful. Our albergue is right on the Plaza de San Martín, so it is ultra convenient. We are sharing a small room with just two others, a mother and daughter from Iowa, who we met a couple of days ago. Mainly we relaxed today and are hoping to be rested and ready to walk tomorrow.

Day #15

Frómista

Population 840 / Elevation 790 meters

Albergue Municipal 

Distance today 24.9 km (taxi)

Weather sunny, cool early, warmer later.

Today was our first full experience of the infamous meseta. As we had been told, there are long stretches of high plateau interspersed with narrow valleys, each with a small town with much appreciated bars offering a variety of food and drink. The guide book warned of lots of sun and heat with little shade – we got lots of sun, but kept our jacket and sweatshirt on because it was so cool and windy. There are still lots of rocks, now larger ones piled up along the edges of the fields and often covered with wildflowers. A few days ago when asked if we had seen any wildlife, I mentioned slugs (large), snails (small), and ants (large). I forgot to include that we are sometimes annoyed by what seem to be the Spanish cousins of Georgia gnats. (Sorry, no gnat photos.)

Day #14

Castrojeriz

Population 500 / Elevation 810 meters

Albergue Orion

Distance walked today 20.1 km.

Weather very cool and breezy.

Leaving Burgos we passed an arch with an active stork nest (we’ve seen a number of stork nests over the last several days). A park on the edge of Burgos has a statue of Domingo de la Calzada, an early promoter and developer of the Camino. Today the way entered the meseta with its endless grain fields, wheat on the better land and barley and oats on the poorer land. There are an unbelievable number of rocks in the fields – so many that we jokingly wondered how soon they would be ripe. It turned windy and cold, then with blowing light rain as we got to the higher altitudes. Our destination, Hornillos del Camino, has a beautiful church with a most unusual cemetery behind it. Dinner was at a small bar (restaurant) with a typical pilgrim menu.

Day #13

Hornillos del Camino 

Population 70 / Elevation 820 meters

Albergue Municipal 

Distance walked today 21.0 km.

Weather very cool especially at higher altitudes, windy with light rain second half of the walk.

After being greeted by a gorgeous sunrise it started to rain, and it rained most of the day. The cold and rain were so miserable that even Isabella’s optimism was challenged. We passed a pen of sheep who did not seem nearly as happy as the sheep we saw in the Pyrenees. We passed Atapuerca where what are considered to be the earliest human remains ever discovered in Europe were found. We finally made it to the edge of Burgos, the largest city we’ve encountered so far. We still had several kilometers to go to get to the center of the old city and to our albergue. The Catedral de Santa Maria, reputed to be one of Spain’s most beautiful, is nearby.

Day #12

Burgos

Population 180,000 / Elevation 860 meters

Albergue Municipal 

Distance walked today 24.2 km.

Weather very chilly and cloudy early, cold with light rain most of the day.

We got our earliest start yet, about 6:20, just before sunrise. We wanted the early start because we had a little further to go today and the terrain is quite a bit more challenging. The first half of our walk was through beautiful rolling farmland and forest. We stopped at Villafranca de Montes de Oca to pick up bocadillos (sandwiches) and refill our water bottles before starting the steep climb up 200 meters in elevation to Alto Mojapán, then 100 meters down past the Monumento de los Caídos, and back up 100 meters to Alto Pedraja before starting a gentle 100 meter descent to San Juan de Ortega. Our day started very cool, then even colder and breezy at the higher elevations. Then it started raining as we reached Alto Pedraja. The albergue at San Juan de Ortega was a welcome sight with the hope to get warm and dry. The San Juan church is one of the oldest we have seen so far. We had a great pilgrim mass followed by a communal pilgrim meal at the albergue that included the famous garlic soup that has been served here for many years.

Day #11

San Juan de Ortega 

Population 20 / Elevation 950 meters

Albergue San Juan

Distance walked today 24.2 km.

Weather very chilly and cloudy early, cold with steady light rain starting before noon.

 

Today’s path took us through rolling hills covered with wheat fields as far as the eye could see. Most of the walk was on dirt and gravel roads along side a busy highway – not the more natural environment we enjoyed a few days ago. We stopped in Villamayor del Rio for lunch and enjoyed spending time with our Camino friends from New Zealand, 7-year old  Dayton and his grandmother Gerry. We’re pretty tired tonight and will have a pilgrim dinner in the albergue where we are staying.

Day #10

Belorado

Population 2,000 / Elevation 770 meters

Albergue Cuarto Cantones 

Distance walked today 22.4 km.

Weather warm and clear.