Day 17: Moratinos to El Burgo Ranero

I left Moratinos at 08:40. It was a foggy morning. I talked for an hour or so talking to an Italian guy, Marco. He was part of a trio along with an older Spanish guy named Francisco and an Argentine guy named Victor who resembled Anthony Bourdain. We walked through the hamlet of San Nicolas del Real Camino. Then, I went ahead and walked with Mario, who left St. Jean Pied de Port on the same day as me. Eventually we got to Sahagun, which is a large town for the area. By this time it started to rain. I thought about stopping for lunch at a restaurant in town to escape the rain, but instead I just decided to keep walking. The temperature must have been right around the freezing point because there would be intervals of freezing rain and snowflakes.

The walking was easy, mostly flat and on a gravel path along a road, but the cold and wetness made it a very miserable day. The rain was blowing sideways. No matter how good your rain gear was, eventually you would get wet. The gravel path was flooding in many places. I moved over to the ajacent road to avoid having to walk through water and inch or two deep on the gravel path. I pushed on and made it to the town of Bercianos del Real Camino. The town was dead. I could not find any bars or restaurants open to warm up in. I made the final push to El Burgo Ranero. Just before town, Marco, Francisco, and Victor caught up to me. We checked into the municipal albergue, which was a building made of mud. There was a €5 donation. There were seven other people there. Five I knew from the previous night in Moratinos. The two I did not know were a Korean couple who just stayed for a couple hours and then left on the next train to Leon because they were so miserable from getting soaked and walking in the rain all day.

The remaining pilgrims six pilgrim, including myself, spent the next few hours warming up by the wood-burning stove and drying off our clothes. For dinner, I walked across the street to a bar called Piedras Blancas. It seemed they were only serving beer and tapas, so I left and went down the street to a bar called El Peregino. There I had a 1906 beer and a two course dinner: potato salad with tuna, followed by a veal steak with French fries. The food was not the best, but it felt good to eat after a miserable day.

A pilgrim statue in Sahagun.

The path leaving Sahagun.

Finally reaching El Burgo Ranero.

El Burgo Ranero.

Day 16: Poblacion de Campos to Moratinos

I left La Finca at 08:15. The day was cold and foggy similar to two days ago when I left Burgos, but not quite as extreme. I passed through Revenga de Campos and Villarmentero de Campos. When I got to Villacazar de Sirga, I was going to check out the church there since the guide book said the white Virgin statue inside had performed many miracles. I walked around the whole church and tried all the doors. It was locked up and I had wasted a good five minutes I could have been walking.

Around 11:30 as I was getting close to Carrion de los Condes, it began to snow. I got into Carrion de los Condes by noon. This was the largest town I had been in since Burgos. I walked on through. On the way out of town I looked down from the bridge over the Carrion River and saw a trout about fifteen inches or longer swimming in the river. I stopped at a gas station on the far end of town to get some candy bars and another bottle of water. After Carrion de los Condes, there is a seventeen kilometer gap with no services. The day before, Mark, the Argentines, and the couple from Barcelona all said they were going to do a short day and stay overnight in Carrion de los Condes.

Shortly after leaving the gas station, I had to stop to get my rain jacket out and put on my pack cover. The snow was coming down heavier. The snow eventually stopped around 14:30. It was not much below freezing, so it did not accumulate on the ground. The long walk across the gap was very flat but seemed to take forever. I did not see another pilgrim the whole day.

Eventually I arrived in Calzadilla de la Cueza. There was an open albergue there, but I still had energy, and there was almost two more hours of daylight. I got to Ledigos at 18:15 as the sun was going down, and found the albergue, La Morena, that was supposed to be open according to this website. The door of La Morena was closed. There was a sign that said to check-in at the attached bar. The bar was also closed. I rang the doorbell and knocked on the door. I was in a pinch. It was now dark and getting colder. I found a guy down the street and asked him if the albergue was open. He said it would not be open until tomorrow. I called my mother long distance to see if the website had changed the winter albergue listings since I left Poblacion de Campos in the morning. La Morena was still listed as being open. There were also two open albergues six kilometers further down the Camino in Moratinos.

I set out in the dark at 18:45, walking along gravel farm roads with my phone's flashlight function. I passed through Terradillos de los Templarios and finally got to Moratinos at 20:15. I walked into the Moratinos Hostal, and the eight pilgrims eating dinner inside the dining area all stopped and looked at me funny. The proprietor at the hostal said the owner of La Morena died two days ago, and that was why it suddenly closed. I got a private room instead of sleeping with the others. I walked forty-six kilometers and needed a good night's rest. I got dinner for €10 downstairs: bread, lentil soup, two pork chops, fries, and a banana for dessert. One of the eight pilgrims was Mario. He came over to catch up with me. All the other pilgrims thought I was crazy walking forty-six kilometers and walking in the dark.

A statue in Revenga de Campos.

The church I tried visiting in Villacazar de Sirga.

Walking into Carrion de los Condes.

Carrion de los Condes.

The flattest I've seen Spain.

Calzadilla de la Cueza.

I thought my day was about finished at this point.

Day 15: Castrojeriz to Poblacion de Campos

I got a late start from the albergue in Castrojeriz, leaving at 08:45. I had been talking to a Spanish guy from Madrid at the picnic table outside. His name was David. It turned out he was the guy I saw camping the day before. I started out walking in the rain, first on an old Roman road, and then up the side of a big hill. Once I reached the top, there was not the epic view promised by the guidebook due to the fog and rain. Eventually it was time to walk down the back side of the hill at an 18% grade. I took it slow and walked backwards part of the way to ease the pressure on my knees and ankles.

Right as I finished the descent, the rain stopped and Mark caught up to me. He had stayed in Hontanas last night and left there in the dark. We walked together and talked for most of the day, catching up on how each of us had broken up the stages since we last walked together. We stopped in Itero de la Vega at Fitero, the only open bar, for lunch. I had horrible heap of macaroni and an orange juice. A couple from Barcelona that stayed in Castrojeriz with me the night before stopped to eat with us.

We then continued on to Boadilla del Camino. My feet were hurting and I needed a rest, so I told Mark to go on ahead. He was planning on getting a hotel in Fromista. I rested up, then walked with three Argentines from Boadilla del Camino to Fromista. They were a 53 year old guy and a couple in their 30's. The older guy spoke English, so I talked to him for the next five kilometers. He was doing his third walk to Santiago, although it was the first time he had walked on the Camino Frances. The group had started in Burgos, and they were on their third day. He told me how his wife divorced him and that is what made him turn back to God. He started going to church everyday, and the trio prayed the rosary while they walked. We followed the Castile Canal into Fromista and then parted ways by the dam complex.

I walked through Fromista, only stopping to go to the ATM to replenish myself with cash. I continued three kilometers past Fromista to Poblacion de Campos and checked in at the La Finca albergue about 17:00. I was the only one there. I took a shower and put some clothes in the washing machine. Eventually fifty minutes later, the Spaniard, David, who I talked to at breakfast that morning arrived. He likes to talk alot. He almost had one credential booklet already filled with stamps and needed to buy a second one. He was really into the Camino de Santiago compared to many of the people I had encountered earlier in the trip.

David and I had the pilgrim dinner for €10. It turned out to be a good deal because the host gave us alot of food, more than we could eat: cooked vegetables, salad, pork, eggs, fries, bread, and wine. We both ate until we were full, and there was still food left over.

This was from the top of the hill. Too bad visibility was poor with the rain and fog.

A horse outside Boadilla del Camino.

The Castille Canal that runs between Boadilla del Camino and Fromista.

The canal dam complex just before Fromista. I think these were locks when the canal was used.

Fromista.

Fromista.

Day 14: Burgos to Castrojeriz

I left Hotel Abadia at 07:50 and walked through the rest of Burgos. Right then, I knew this day was going to be different. It was the coldest it had been since I'd been in Europe. The sidewalks were slick with ice. I made my way out of town in the fog. Everything was frosted over. I made it to Tradajos and Rabe de la Calzada. I saw one backpacker coming up behind me in Tradajos, but then he disappeared, probably into a coffee shop. From then on, it was just me and the frozen windy fields. I did see a pilgrim camping out in a rest area on the way to Hornillos del Camino. It looked like his tent was so wet he could not get it packed. I waved from a distance and walked on.

I was hoping to get something to eat in Hornillos del Camino when I got there at noon, but everything in town was closed. It was like a ghost town. I pushed across the meseta to Hontanas. Once again, everything was closed. I did see three Spanish pilgrims, a dad and his two sons, in Hontanas waiting for an albergue to open. It must have never opened because they ended up following me to Castrojeriz. The fog finally lifted around 15:00 and the frost melted.

Walking into Castrojeriz, you can see the castle above the town on the hill. I ended my forty kilometer day about 17:40 at the municipal albergue. It was €5 for a bed. Most of the albergues, hotels, and restaurants in Castrojeriz were closed. I ate at the only open bar: La Taberna. I had spaghetti to start, pork loin as the entree, and ice cream for desert. A beer and bread were also included for €11. It was not the best value, but I was glad to get a hot meal after a long day of walking.

I have now caught up to a new group of backpackers, none whom I've seen before: six Spanish, three Argentine, and one German.

The Arlanzon River.

My view for most of the day.

Everything was covered in frost, even my hat and backpack.

A tractor in Hornillos del Camino.

The skyline of Castrojeriz: the monastery and castle on the hill.

The castle above Castrojeriz.

Castrojeriz.

Day 13: Ages to Burgos

I was the second one to leave the municipal albergue in Ages around 07:45. It was still dark out. I proceeded down the road to Atapuerca. Outside Atapuerca, there is a UNESCO archeological site where hominids from over a million years ago are being dug up. I stopped to refill my water jug at the fountain in Atapuerca, and watched the Spanish guy who was speeding ahead of me miss the sign to turn off the road to the left onto a dirt path. He was out of shouting distance, so I figured he'd just have to figure out his mistake.

Next, it was a climb up a hill with sharp and loose rocks. There must have been sheep grazing there at one point because there was a fair amount of sheep droppings amongst the rocks. After reaching the summit of the hill, it was downhill towards a quarry and then down into the quiet town of Cardenuela Rio Pico.

From there, I walked further downward toward Burgos. First, I had to walk along the fence of the airport. Then it was miles of walking through an industrial district. There was a Gala factory that makes ceramics like sinks, toilets, and bidets. Then there was a Bridgestone tire factory that smelled like burning rubber. There were also alot of car repair shops and car dealers. As I exited the industrial area, there was a McDonalds right on the Camino de Santiago. It was 12:45, so I went in and got lunch: a quarter pounder, potato wedges, large Coke, and an Oreo shake. It was okay, but did not taste the same as the McDonalds back home.

After lunch, it was city walking. I had to stop to cross streets and deal with pedestrians and cars as I headed to the old part of Burgos. Eventually I made it to the Burgos Cathedral. My guide book said it was free to enter on Tuesdays after 16:30. Since I still had an hour until 16:30, I continued walking until I got to Hotel Abadia near the University of Burgos. I kept waking up at the albergue in Ages last night, so I needed  to get a good night sleep in a real bed. I checked in, showered, and then took a taxi back to the Burgos Cathedral at 17:00 to get my credencial stamp and tour the inside. While inside, I saw the Spanish guy who missed the cut off early in the morning. We waved to each other.

The taxi that dropped me off told me there was a taxi station somewhere near a bridge. Since international calls from my phone are expensive, I did not want to call a taxi. I'd have to find the taxi station. I wandered out of the old part of the city to the east for twenty minutes and by some miracle found two taxis idling near a bridge. I got a ride back to the hotel.

There was a Telepizza about a block from my hotel, so I got the individual menu again: a pizza with onions and green peppers, cheese sticks, and a Coke.

The archeological site near Atapuerca.

Entering Burgos.

McDonald's, I'm lovin' it.

The retablo of the cathedral.

The dome of the Burgos Cathedral.

Burgos.

Day 12: Belorado to Ages

I left Belorado at 07:50 and navigated the rest of the town through the dark. On the way out of town, I saw a Repsol gas station. I got a 1.5 jug of water that would last me for the coming day.

I passed through Tosantos, which is known for having a chapel in the side of a cliff. I then walked through the hamlets of Villambistia and Espinosa del Camino. Then it was a steady climb to Villafranca Montes de Oca, which was half hidden by the clouds. The road through the town is tight, with some buildings occupying the shoulder of the road at spots. Trucks were literally flying through the town on N-120, coming within a few feet of hitting houses. I sat on a bench for awhile to rest in Villafranca Montes de Oca. I was quickly surrounded by a dozen cats looking for food I think!

Unbeknownst to me, the real climb came after Villafranca Montes de Oca. It was a steep climb out of town through the forest. The path then follows a firebreak at the crest of the hills. The path was muddy and had me dragging a few extra pounds of mud on each foot. Finally, the Camino de Santiago descended down into the hamlet of San Juan de Ortega. From there, it was a relatively easy 3.6 kilometers into Ages. I passed through a field of cattle on the last leg.

I checked into the municipal albergue in Ages at 15:45. It is located above a bar and restaurant called La Taberna. I was the first person there, but eight more backpackers showed up later. One of them was Alesandro. He is a vegan and was hoping there was an open grocery store in town, but there was not, at least in the winter. Ages is a very small town, and La Taberna was the only place to eat in town. I had patatas bravas and an egg tortilla for dinner, along with three beers. I watched the local people in the bar, then went to bed early.

Walking into Villambistia.

Swarmed by cats.

Walking through a field of indifferent cattle.

Ages.

Day 11: Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Belorado

I left Santo Domingo de la Calzada shortly after 08:00. Everything was closed as it was Sunday. I headed out and was in Granon by 10:00. I got some Powerade and a serrano ham sandwich from the vending machine on the main street, then walked to the end of town to eat it on a bench. A blue-eyed cat sat down near my feet and stared at me eating. I gave in and gave it the last bite of the sandwich, which it seemed to enjoy. After I left Granon, I passed a sign noting that I'd now be entering the third region of Spain on the trip, Castile and Leon.

The rest of the day composed of walking through four small towns (less than 300 residents combined) and doing most of the hiking next to noisy N-120. The towns were Redecilla del Camino, Castildelgado, Viloria de la Rioja, and Villamajor del Rio. A stray dog befriended me for a while in Castildelgado. It kept following and giving me a look that it wanted to be fed, but I had no food. Eventually, it disappeared. Viloria de la Rioja was notable for being the birthplace of Santo Domingo de la Calzada (St. Dominic of the Causeway) exactly 1,000 years ago.

As I came into Belorado, I saw a Jeep pull off the road and onto the Camino with a wild hog tied to its grill. This makes sense since I heard rifle shots early in the morning. I made it to Hostal B about 15:00. The hostal has shared rooms and private rooms. I opted for a private room.

The Hostal provided dinner for €11.50, so I took that option, since it would make things easier. I should have just eaten out. The starter was a mixed paella that was reheated in the microwave. The entree was a veal steak with peppers and fries. The veal had alot of fat that needed to be cut away. I went to bed early in preparation for a hard day of walking up to Villafranca Montes de Oca.

Walking into Granon.

Leaving La Rioja, entering Castille y Leon.

The stray dog that kept following me.

Viloria de Rioja

Belorado

Storks nests on the church in Belorado.