CAMINO DE SANTIAGO -WEEK FOUR

SUNDAY, 18 MAY 2025

I left my apartment at about 07:15, headed for the Camino. If you remember me telling you the other day about the trouble I sometimes have with finding the Camino in towns and villages, stay tuned. I have found a solution that is blindingly simple and the solution also caused me to spend much of a morning thinking about my Mom.

Here is the solution: At its most basic, the Camino de Santiago is a Catholic pilgrimage route that has been in existence since the Middle Ages. Logically, if it is a walking track and the towns along the track through which the Camino goes all have churches and cathedrals in them, the Camino will go by the church. That is the solution. IF YOU ARE NOT SURE, GO TO THE CHURCH FIRST. See, it is blindingly simple. It only took me three weeks to figure that out.

Now I will tell you what that made me think of my Mom. My mother loved the Lord and was solid in her faith. In her later years when we would be in a car going to some kind of doctor's appointment or Walmart, she would sometimes see a sign or something on the side of the road that would make her say, "That would make a good sermon." She would then tell me what she was thinking about. It was always off the cuff, but usually spot on. I think I get my fondness for writing from her.

As I was pondering the "lost on the Camino" problem, it occurred to me that I think this solution would have been suitable for her analysis.

If you are not sure, go to the church first. Isn't that what we should be doing anyway? A God fearing church is always a good to start working on any problem.

Like I said, I left my apartment at 07:15 on Sunday. I wanted an early start because I had a twelve mile walk through bottom land growing wheat and snow peas. I am out of the vineyards now. It was a cloudless day and promised to be hot. My first mistake was I completely forgot to eat anything in my haste to leave. I remembered at about 11:00. It had indeed warmed up and there was just a bit of breeze. I sat under a tree and ate an orange I had in my pack. I eat the whole thing. I peel the orange, eat the peel and then eat the orange slices. I like the peel and it is very good for you as well.

I looked at my watch when I started walking again and it was 11:20. I figured to have about three hours of walking left before I reached my albergue for the evening. I was mistaken! I got to the alburgue by one p.m. I checked in, got my bunk, and had a shower by 2:30. By 2:45 I was eating my biggest meal yet while on the Camino. I had onion rings to start, mixed paella with chorizo, ham and clams as the second course and pork tenderloin medallions with fries and roasted peppers. They asked if I wanted dessert, but I said no. I had three onion rings and three roasted peppers left. I let that digest for an couple of hours and it was then time for church. Since I am six hours ahead of Silver City, GA, church at Concord starts at five p.m. I tuned in on YouTube and watched the service basically live.

When church was over, I was in bed by 6:30 p.m. I know it was still light outside. Another reason for having eyelids.

MONDAY, MAY 20 2025

I left even earlier this morning at 06:45. I had a 14 mile day today. I wanted to finish mid-day again today because today, instead of heat, rain had been forecast.

Where yesterday had been walking through bottom land growing wheat and snow peas, today was a series of four small villages and then a steep upward climb that reminded me very much of the Appalachian Trail.  Walking out of the last village, I immediately started climbing up a steep incline and into the woods for about a mile. I used to try to climb as fast as I could. I don't do that anymore.  I just go slowly.  I get there when I get there. After the mile, the trail flattened out a bit for about another half mile. Then over the crest I went and started down the other side. As steep as the front had been, the back was much flatter with a gentle slope. My knee and my ankle approved. 

Just over the crest of the hill, there is a memorial to 300 people built by their families. The 300 people were killed in 1936 by supporters of Francisco Franco who had come to power during the Spanish Civil War. I know it has been 89 years, but that is sad.

On my map of the Camino sections, there was a yellow blob on today's section.  I had wondered about that. I now know what it is. It is a pine thicket. This stand of pine timber is huge. I wonder if they have a lot of pulpwood cutters in Spain like they used to have at home.

When I got through the pine thicket, I could see San Juan. It also started to rain. I wasted no time in finding an albergue for the night. Tonight I am staying in a converted barn. It is of post and beam construction. The beams are peeled logs. It is raining and I am warm and dry.

This is a picture of the roof underwhich I am sleeping tonight.

If the roof does not fall in, I will have a 16 mile day tomorrow. 

TUESDAY, 20 MAY 2025

It is 05:47 and I am trapped. I came down to the door to leave this morning and the door was locked and a chair was under the knob. I hope to leave here at 06:00 at the latest so I can get a good start on my day.

I did get to get out by six. I started walking with a headlight. It was perfectly clear this morning after the rain last night. The moon was half full and shining off the water in the road. I used my headlight to keep myself out of the puddles.

The Camino turned after about 500 yards to the left and into a pasture. I knew it was a pasture because there was a cattle crossing at the fence. I have not seen a cattle crossing in years. They used to be everywhere. 

I followed the trail up and through a stand of trees. It was about 06:30 now and the eastern sky was just turning red from dark blue. I love this time of day. Everything is starting a new day together.

The cows (las vacas) were still lying on the ground from their night's rest.  As I was passing the first three or four, a guard dog jumped up and started barking at me. I did not stop or even slow down. I did start whistling at him. At first he cocked his head like he was pondering what this fool barging in on his cows was doing. When he realized I was just passing by, he stopped barking and sat back down. Las vacas had not even moved. They knew they were safe.

In about 30 more minutes I came through the little village of Ages. Apparently in the past, this village was known for grinding the wheat that is grown around here into flour. There are still random pieces of mills lying about in the village.

I did not stop in Ages because everything was closed at 07:30. I think it is neat that in these little villages, the town restaurant, the bar, sometimes the grocery store and sometimes the hotel will all be in the same building. These are not big buildings, either. There is usually seating for a dozen or less and the counter in the front is where all of the business is done.

After Ages, I made it to Atapuerca. This is the sight of the archeological dig of the remains of the oldest humans that are known in Europe. I really wanted to see this, but it was closed today. I guess they will get along without me OK.

I did stop in Atapuerca for the usual coffee and some bread. This was in a tiny mom and pop grocery store. They really only sold produce and a few canned items, but they were friendly.

After Atapuerca it was a nonstop walk to Burgos. When I left the little store, it was about 08:15. About 100 yards from the store, the Camino turned left and started up and out of the basin. It was not too steep and the morning was cool so I was making pretty good time. At the top where the ground is flat, there is a large cross that you see in a lot of pictures of the  Camino. It is the last thing you see on the eastern side of the basin.

Just as you get started down the western slope, you get your first of Burgos. It is a big town. It is also a long way from that slope. It took me two hours to walk from the top of the basin down to the road that officially is the outskirts of Burgos. From there, it is another 1.5 to two hours to walk to the city center. That is where I am now. I walked a little more than 16 miles today to get to Burgos. My walk tomorrow is supposed to be 13 miles. I look forward to the break.

WEDNESDAY, 21 MAY 2025

It is 11:15 a.m. and I am sitting in front of my hotel. I am here for two reasons. The first reason is that I booked this place through booking.com. I like the website, but you have to pay close attention to the places it suggests, even after you have put in the city in which you want to stay. The website will list those first, but then it will widen the circle and suggest more places using the same list. If you are not careful, you will book something in a nearby town just like I did.

This mistake actually worked out for me today. This section was to be a walk of twelve miles in total. The terrain was very flat and there was not a lot of road walking like Tuesday. I decided I would try to go without my knee brace for the first half of the walk and see how it was feeling at the six mile mark. I am still wearing my ankle brace all day because there is one place on my foot that tightens up and remains sore. Every morning and evening I put arnica on the spot and massage it until it loosens up. While I am walking, the spot stays pretty flexible. When I stop for a while, it complains a bit.

I left the hotel in Burgos at just about sun up. I wanted to see the big cathedral on my way out of town, and it did not fail to impress. According to UNESCO, the cathedral was begun in 1251 and completed in 1567. I am not an architect or an engineer, but those people built a building for the ages. Planning and logistics alone would require a legion of people, and then material acquisition would be huge as well. As I think about it, essentially there was a cathedral building factory in Burgos for 300 years. Generations of workers and craftsmen were born, trained, worked, and died in Burgos. The business was self-sustaining for three centuries.

After seeing the Cathedral, I stepped off and walked the out the other end of Burgos. By my shotgun math calculation I am pretty sure I walked east to west the entire width of Burgos on basically the same road. I just walked down the side of the road all the way across town.

In about 30 minutes,  me and about eight or so other intrepid Pilgrims were back on the trail and back in the fields. I hope I get to see the combine harvesting of the wheat before I go home. You talk about logistics...

This twelve mile day had Pilgrims entering the Maseta in the second half of the day. The Meseta  is basically a plateau that is high, flat and dry. That walk will take usually two days. This was why I had planned a knee / ankle wellness check when I hit six miles. I was going to have to climb up and onto the plateau. I did not want to reinjure either by not paying attention. 

When I reached the town of Tardajos,  it was about ten thirty. I had made quite good time this morning and was at the six mile mark. Both joints were working well with no pain. I had just walked six miles without a break. I decided to see how far it was to my hotel. I was expecting six or seven miles. My map said 8 MINUTES! I had actually walked a couple hundred yards past it on the way into town. I was sitting and drinking coffee when I realized I was here and without a refundable booking. Before I retired, this would have driven me up a tree. The new, more retired me just decided to take a nero today. A nero is a "nearly zero mile day". It works well for my plan. I can now rest the knee and ankle and start the Maseta in the morning on fresh legs. Who knows, I might not even have to wear the ankle brace either!

THURSDAY, 22 MAY 2025

Well, I did wear my ankle brace today, but only because I wanted the added support. The washed out places around here on the field roads get filled in with little river rocks that are a little bigger than a golf ball. These stones are sometimes hard to walk on and I did not want to reinjure my ankle. It has been getting better, to the point where I do not actively think about it when I stand up. I hope it will not be too long until I do not give it any thought at all.

This morning I left my room at 08:00. That is later than I normally like to get out. I had hung around because yesterday when I checked in, I was told there would be breakfast beginning at eight a.m. Technically that was true, but I was looking for a buffet kind of option. This place had only ordering from a menu available. I did not want to devote that much time to my meal, so I pulled out. I walked out of Tardajos, got on the right field road and started walking. Today I was walking the Meseta. This is a high flat plateau covered in wheat fields that has no drinkable water available for about ten miles total.

The one saving grace is that there is a tiny village right in the middle of the ten mile span that has a little grocery store. Every Pilgrim stops in to go to the bathroom and get a snack. I bought a banana,  a bag of chips, a Coke and a disposable razor! The shop keeper had a tiny, two blade version for about 75 cents. I have not been able to trim my beard and shave my neck since I left home and I was looking pretty shaggy. I put the razor in my pack and the rest in my stomach. I like to eat chips when I am hiking because the salt helps replace the electrolytes you sweat out. Also, they don't fill your stomach so you don't feel full for an hour after you eat them. The banana is an excellent source of potassium that also helps replace what you sweat.

It was not a hot day, but walking up to the Meseta across the first half and down into the valley to the store was hard work. I rested on a bench in front of the store while I watched these guys with a van load luggage. On the Camino,  you can pay a service (these guys) to transport your luggage from yesterday's ending point to today's ending point in your daily Camino walk so that when you arrive, your stuff is already where you are staying for the night and you did not have to carry it on your back. Each trip is about six euros, or about seven dollars. These guys are moving a huge amount of baggage every day! I will just carry mine for now, thank you.

I finished my snack and started back up to the Meseta for the second half of the journey. Many people split this high, flat walking into two sessions on two separate days. Since I messed up yesterday and had a half day off (nero), mine is going to be a marathon, one day walk. Much like the first half, you have to walk about a mile to get up on the plateau. After that, it is basically flat and straight. The Camino follows the field road that separates the huge wheat fields. I have been wondering if private individuals own the land or if the state or a corporation owns it and leases it to the farmers. I know it is not my business.  These are the things that rattle in my head when I am walking along with the wind whistling in my ears.

At about one thirty, I started down for the last time today. I was finished with the Meseta. I walked about 60 yards into the tiny town of Hontanas and there was my tiny hotel! I am in for the night. I am showered, fed and watered and I am resting my feet!

FRIDAY, 23 MAY 2025

I left my tiny hotel this morning at six thirty. I think I was the first to leave. I did not want to leave before daylight because I did not want to go through town using my headlamp. I am good with it in open spaces, but I am a little hesitant to use it in town because I cannot see the Camino signs very well in towns because they are small. 

When I went downstairs to leave, there was no light on at all. I could see the front door as I left my room key on the bar. The front door was locked! I stood there a minute and then I started feeling around for the lock. Apparently I am not the first to leave early because the owner had left her keys inserted in the lock. One twist and I was outside. Across the street was an albergue and bar that was open. I went in there and ordered a Neopolitan ( croissant with chocolate inside), freshly squeezed orange juice and a café American (large black coffee). I consumed this food and was headed out by six forty-five. I wanted to make as many miles today as early as I could because I had not made a reservation for this evening. If you book on the internet, more than likely your choice of town or villiage will show to be full. When you get to where you want to stay, it has been my experience that there are usually open spots to be had.

It did not take me long to leave the village of Hontanas.  It is small. I would say it is less than a mile from end to end. I went out the west end and crossed back onto a field road that wound it's way around wheat fields that are well on their way to being ripe. If it stays warm and dry, I think it will be ready to cut in about three weeks.

After about three miles, I came to the small town of San Anton. Right at the town limits is a ruin of a 14th century monastery. To be 700 years old, it is in remarkably good shape. Basically anything that was wooden is gone. The stonework, however, is still solid. The actual road that goes into town goes through it to this day. 

I decided this was a good place to stop and get a snack. I usually wait until about ten or eleven, but since I did not really know where I was going to end up, I stopped and had a grilled ham and cheese sandwich on homemade bread. It was pretty good. As you may know, I do not like cheese as a rule. This cheese was not strong at all. I did not mind it. 

Fifteen minutes later I was out the door and walking out the western side of San Anton. San Anton sits in a valley of sorts. When I got to the west side of town, I could see what lay ahead for me. Imagine that a huge dump truck poured out a load of dirt and gravel about a half mile high. The pile is round with a little trail that basically goes up the side at an pretty steep angle.  This is what I was in for. Rising out of the valley floor is this pile of dirt that is 6/10 of a mile high and has a pig trail winding up one side. Right at the beginning of the pig trail, a sign says that the grade is 12%. In case you might not know, that is a lot.

So, with head down and my trekking poles digging in, up I went. Earlier that morning a bicyclist on the Camino had come buzzing by with her little warning bell dinging like she had won a jackpot on a slot machine. She was now off that bike, pushing it up that pig trail. One tends to have no sympathy. One foot in front of the other, using those poles for any leverage I could get, I wound my way up and up. I topped out sixteen minutes later. The wind was blowing and the sun was shining and all was right with the world. I even smiled at Camino bike girl. Still no sympathy, but I smiled.

After about a mile or so across the top, it was time to go down the other side. This side had no pig trail. It had what amounted to a paved ramp that was at about sixty degrees straight down the side. You could walk down it, but if you stumbled you would roll for a while. I was slowly making my way down, using my poles to hold back and keep my knees and ankles from doing all the hard work. A lady with a heavy Slavic accent comes up beside me and says, "Please, you must zig and you must zag. It will help legs." She then proceeded to show me how. I started to do what she was doing and it actually helped get me down. At one point I looked back up to see if I was cutting anyone off with my zigging and zagging and half of the people on the slope were doing it as well. A good idea is just a good idea.

When the crowd got to the bottom where it was flat, we once again spread out into the little groups where we belonged. It was about four miles until we got to the state line. I say state line because I don't know what to call it otherwise. There was a river we had to cross on a very old and narrow bridge. On this side, we were in Burgos. On the other side we were then in Palencia. There was a sign there and everything.

The crowd walked across the bridge to Palencia and then up the river for about a half mile. We had just entered the town of Itero de la Vega, Palencia. (See how I think it looks like a state name?) There is an albergue there that is run by Ukrainian ex pats. I pulled in there and ate lunch. When I checked my mileage, I was at thirteen for the day. That is right at 21 kilometers if you are wondering. I decided this was plenty for a Friday. I stopped at a mom and pop albergue just up the street. They have a seven bed albergue, a grocery store, a bar, a restaurant, and their house all in one building. It is clean and they are proud of it. As I am writing this the time is 3:45 p.m. It is the middle of Siesta.  The store and the restaurant will reopen at five. I don't know if the bar closes.

SATURDAY, MAY 24 2025

I was out the door of the tiny albergue this morning at six thirty. It was about 43 degrees and clear. I have said I like this time of morning and it is true. Everything is new and fresh, and the sun just makes everything shine. I also like starting early because it puts me a little bit ahead of the breakfast crowd that leaves about seven. I also finish a little earlier in the afternoon before it gets really hot.

So with Itero de la Vega in the rearview, I was heading west once again. I started the morning on the smoothest field road I have ever witnessed. The dirt around here is very high in clay content. It holds water very well and for a long time. Since that is the case, when puddles form, they get "wallered out" (it is a technical term, ask somebody from GA Tech) deeper and deeper over time because the ground stays wet and soft. This road was not wallered at all. It was flat, straight and level. I was proud to walk on it.

By nine thirty, I had walked eight miles and was now in Fromista. I rolled into the little restaurant on the corner and ordered a hamburger and two Cokes. They had the little, 8 ounce bottles. All of it was very good too!

While I was sitting there eating, I was looking around like I always do. I see this machine beside me that was about the size of a small refrigerator. It was not a fridge at all. It was a cigarette machine! How long has it been since you have seen a cigarette machine that works? I don't remember how long they have been illegal to use in the U.S.. 

This one was new and fancy. Just insert your money and press a button. Here come the smokes! As interested as I was in the machine, I forgot to look and see how much a pack costs in Spain. If I see another machine, I will remember to look.

I finished eating and went outside and started making my way through town. This town has a lot of rebuilding going on. I do not know what the source of income is for the town, but things are happening.

After about two miles, I went up a small hill and realized that the hill is the earthen side of a canal. There is a quite large canal that runs through the fields here for irrigation this part of the canal is probably two miles long from where I walked up the hill to the dam. What is cool about that to me is there is a narrowboat in the canal and you can ride all the way to the dam. I am told the mileage still counts toward your Camino total! 

After that I walked another six or so miles for a daily total of 17.5 miles. My cumulative total is now 225.8. As a reminder, the total Camino de Santiago mileage is 495 miles.