Boadilla2

There were 2 really heavy downpours at 8.30 and 9.00 pm in Castrojeriz as I was sitting up in bed reading. Rain was also forecast for the following day, but hopefully not so much.

I arranged to send my backpack on ahead with Jacotrans, since it was a 19 kms walk to Boadilla via Itero de la Vega (where there were no nice places to stay). I left town in a continuous steady drizzle, the first time I'd had to walk in wet weather on this Camino. The path led across an ancient paved causeway across marshland and ahead was a steep climb. A sign told us the ascent was 12% for 1.5 kms.

I reached the Alto at 10.20 am. There was a pilgrim shelter surrounded by rubbish. An old crone in a flapping wet cape was busy taking photos of the litter in order to alert the authorities in the next town! Some hope! She seemed to speak many languages but preferred speaking to the Italian lads who had been staying with her in the Albergue last night! 

There was quite a descent down of some 350 m only, and the path had been concreted to make it safer. I finally came to the ancient hermitage of San Nicolas, which had been converted into a primitive Albergue by the Italian Fraternity. It was in the process of being closed down for the winter. Two local ladies from the town were busy packing up all the portable items into their cars. I sat down and rested out of the rain for a while. Apparently this Albergue maintains an old tradition of washing the feet of pilgrims who stay there.

The Camino then crossed the river into Palencia and then onto the small town of Itero de la Vega. I knew that there was a bar in this town which served bacon and eggs, so I was determined to track it down and was finally rewarded with a delicious brunch and some lemon tea to warm me up!

The way into Boadilla (8kms or so) seemed long and I was the last person on the track, apart from a few stragglers who had walked 30 kms or more that day. The sky looked alarmingly dark, with lovely cloud formations, but no more rain fell, and I finally reached my destination at 4.00 pm.

The Albergue En El Camino has been under the same family management for many years. There is a lovely garden and a good communal dinner. They have recently built a hotel next door, which is where I stayed along with a few other pilgrims who prefer their own space. There is little else in the quiet town so they are onto a good thing!