Castrojeriz to Boadilla del Camino 17km

Great excitement last night with a sudden thunderstorm with huge hailstones coming down, bouncing off the ground and filling up the drains. Everybody was filming the event on their phones and posting the news back home. It was really spectacular!

Boots were brought inside out of the downpour.

 Dinner was served after all that. I sat opposite two young German pilgrims who spoke perfect English. We enjoyed Chicken noodle soup, followed by roast chicken and salad.

Huge hailstones outside.

After dinner, the Hispitalero took us all on a tour of the ancient wine cellar. This had existed for hundreds of years below street level:

I slept well and was just about the last person to leave next morning. It was another lovely day for the Camino, though it started off very cold (8 degrees) with fog in the valley. My first task was to find an ATM as the Albergue had only accepted cash and it had cleaned me out. That accomplished, I set off on my way. First, the trail crossed an area of wetland via a Roman bridge:

This was followed by a steep climb up (12 %) then 16% down the other side. Lots of people were milling round at the top. I had my photo taken with a Korean guy:

The Camino was beautiful today: “fifty shades of green”. Going downhill to Utero was a breeze, and I stopped briefly here to chat to an Irish guy on an electric bike:

Then I pressed on to Itero for lunch:

This bar soon filled up, but I managed to order a beer and a portion of paella before the crowds got here.

Hontanas to Castrojeriz 9 km

My room last night at Santa Brigida was in an unfortunate position in the centre of too much coming and going. Avoid Room Number One! It’s near the main staircase and is the recipient of noise from the bar (where the staff shout at one another) as well as the Albergue’s entrance where pilgrims drag their bags and suitcases about. It is also a disabled room. Do I look that dicrepid?

Dinner at 7.00 pm was another version of the previous day’s menu: paella, mixed salad and the Spanish favourite (and mine): flan.

I was soon joined by two Canadian couples, and blotted my copy book by referring to them as Americans. They had just done a 30 kilometre day from Burgos, which was inconceivable to me, since Clint was carrying a fair amount of excess weight (to put it mildly!)

Setting off at 8.15 am this morning.

Another lone pilgrim.

It was a day of wildflowers.

I arrived at a significant spot: the ruins of San Anton, with its spectacular arch spanning the road. There is a small Albergue with 10 beds, no electricity and very little water. This has to be delivered from Burgos by tanker. They are running low at the moment. Today the place was buzzing with people. On my last visit, there was just the Italian Hospitalera. I sat and talked to her for half an hour.

On the road to Castrojeriz.

My little private room at Albergue Ultreia.

View from my window: netted against bugs.


Same view after sudden hail storm at 6.30 pm.

Hornillos to Hontanas 10 km

El Alfar is a very well-managed Albergue. A husband and wife team have everything under control: they could run a training course for Hospitaleros. This is them serving dinner:

On the menu was Paella, Mixed Salad and Lemon Mousse. That’s what they put on every day.

Dinner was a very convivial affair. I sat next to Joy, a liberated and assertive Korean girl who has worked in Melbourne for 10 years as a pastry chef, resisting her parents attempts to get her to come home.

I also met a lovely Hungarian girl who spoke many languages. She had just come from doing a language course in Italy, where most of her classmates were young Russian men escaped from Putin’s conscription. She was travelling on a budget, looking for “donativo” Albergues. El Alfar is not such a place and was already full when she arrived, but they let her sleep on the sofa. What a kind thought!

I managed to get some sleep. People went to bed at 9.30 pm when it came dark, but of course they woke up at 5.45 am, well before the crack of dawn, shining their headlamps and rustling their bags as is the tradition. I waited till most of them had gone so that I could have a bit of space to sort myself out. Breakfast was DIY from a selection of goodies left by the owners who don’t stay on the premises overnight. I have decided that it’s best to eat a modest breakfast before a morning’s walking on the Camino and to indulge later in the day. 

I set off at 7.30 am. Most people were interested in avoiding the heat. I was overtaken by just about everyone as I go at a really slow pace these days. Eventually I was joined by a very friendly French woman, Katherine, from the Champagne region. She wanted to walk with me for a while, maybe to practise her English. She told me how champagne production is carefully controlled. Growers can only produce a certain amount ever year and have to waste their excess grapes. Oh well, I never buy French champagne. We make perfectly good Australian Sparkling at a fraction of the price!

My halfway spot on today’s walk was San Bol. This is a tiny Albergue in the middle of nowhere, just off the trail so few people go there. This was my second visit. No-one was there but the door was unlocked. I imagine the Hospitalero had gone shopping. I went inside for a sit down and a rest, and also used their toilet. There is nowhere to “go” out on the Meseta!

There are only 10 beds and pilgrims write glowing reports in the Visitors Book.

Then it was time to carry on towards Hontanas:

I couldn’t check-in till 1.0 pm, so I enjoyed a shandy and a cheese sandwich while I was waiting. This is my home for the night: Santa Brigida. It’s the first place you see on entering Hontanas, a brand new place with dormitory beds and private rooms:

I noticed the white van parked outside. It was Jacotrans, delivering backpacks (including mine). When it drove away in the narrow lane it was obliged to reverse some distance to allow the yellow Correos van to get by.

Rabe to Hornillos 8.5 km

Last night I was keen to visit the Convent, as I’d read that the nuns sing Vespers at 8.00 which is rather beautiful. However, nothing remains the same. There were only six nuns and a priest who came to say Mass. The nuns are getting on in years. There are now only eleven in residence. It’s more like an aged care home. The music came from an iPad.

Leaving town at 8.30 am, pilgrims were happy to see some cloud cover:

There has been a heatwave in Spain over the last few days, it was reported. Someone has been busy painting murals all over town, including this memorial to Denise Thiem. She was a Chinese American who was raped and murdered on the Camino a few years ago:

Since then the Guarda Civil have stepped up patrols up and down the Way. Not a day goes by without me seeing them.

The Spanish countryside looked lovely this morning. The path stretched on ahead, little birds were singing and wind turbines were turning lazily because there was hardly any wind.

Time for a little break at the Fuente de Praotorre before the “mule killer hill”.

Camino on horseback. Hornillos in the distance.

There has always been a shortage of accommodation in Hornillos. Now there are five Albergues but they are always full. The first time I was here, I stayed off route at Isar and they provided free transport for the 3 kms. Last time, I stayed in the Albergue Meeting Point but today it’s completely full with a bus load of Koreans. I saw all their suitcases lined up outside in the garden.

I have been obliged to settle for a bunk bed in a dormitory of ten at Albergue El Alfar. The good news is that it’s a bottom bunk near the window and most of the others are young Korean girls who are very sweet and polite. I managed to have a shower while everybody else was having lunch. Fingers crossed for a good night’s sleep!

Burgos to Rabe 13 km

A beautiful day for walking and surprisingly warm for Burgos. I’ve been frozen here in the past at this time of year. My first job was to find a bank. I wanted to change some Australian dollars into Euros. They offered me such a lousy rate in Madrid Airport that I couldn’t bring myself to accept it. I was out of luck as Banco Santander had no currency exchange. I had to settle for an ATM using my Barclaycard.

It was a familiar route for me going out of town: no need to take a bus to avoid industrial suburbs in Burgos. Walking along the river was a pleasure, with birds singing, cuckoos calling and plenty of dog walkers with tiny pets.

I passed the University area and then the prison, then I was out in the countryside. I felt out of practice and unfit on this Camino. I stopped at Tardajos for some lunch at 1.00 pm. Unbelievably, I’d once been here for breakfast! Today I enjoyed a shandy with a slice of tortilla and some olives. I wished I was staying here, but I had another 2.5 km to do to Rabe. I was joined for this last part by a couple (she was French and he was Spanish, and they had walked from - wait for it - Jerusalem! They used to keep the vegetarian Albergue in Hospital de Orbigo, but it had been sold so they thought they’d just go on a Pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

I finally reached Rabe where I had a booking at the HR La Fuente. I went upstairs for a long siesta. This is the place:

On Spanish soil

The final leg of my flight was enlivened by conversations with a young Spanish couple sitting next to me. They keep a B and B in Tasmania and were flying home for 2 months. She was full of piercings and he was full of tattoos but I won’t hold that against them! They spoke fluent English and almost an Aussie accent. They were quite impressed by all the Caminos I’ve done.

Arriving at Madrid Airport was even more intimidating than the flights, because of the huge crowds and LONG walks to get anywhere. It took half an hour to get through Passport Control, then an underground train shuttle to retrieve bags and then another really long trek to the bus station. I only had 2 hours before the bus departed for Burgos. The worst part of the nightmare was discovering that there was no ticket counter at the bus station. Everything had to be done online.  I had no wi fi at this point. What to do? I was desperate. Two young Mexican girls came to my assistance and made the booking for me and I paid them cash. It was €31.5 for seniors. I rounded this up with a big tip for helping me out.

This was my ticket.

The bus, when it came a few minutes late, was a new vehicle with comfortable seats, including single seats on one side of the aisle and free wi fi. All my emails started coming through and two going out. It was a warm sunny afternoon, but I was tired after a poor night’s sleep. It felt good to arrive in Burgos. The bus station is a stone’s throw from the cathedral, which is right near the hotel, Maison del Cid. I have stayed there every time in Burgos and it felt good to know my way around. This year I found myself in a tiny single attic room on the fifth floor; they have started charging extra for the rooms-with-view of the Cathedral.

There was no time to relax. I needed to find a phone shop to buy a Spanish SIM card. There was an Orange store near the Plaza Mayor which was open till 8.00 pm. After that I made my way to the Albergue to get a Credencial del Peregrino, a pilgrim’s passport. People were sitting outside enjoying drinks and tapas. By this time it was almost Spanish dinner time. The restaurant at by hotel was closed for some renovations, but they recommended another one (la Favorita) which I couldn’t find. I ended up having a Menu del Dia at Las Espuelas del Cid (meaning Spurs of El Cid). This is what I had:

A plate of mixed veggies, Spanish style with lots of fresh peas, followed by grilled Lubina:

… and a big glass of white wine. And so to bed on Day One.

Pilgrimage

“Now that April’s here”… it’s time to go on Pilgrimage.

Not that I follow tradition of actually carrying a shell. It’s all extra weight, so I leave this one hanging on my balcony at home.

First you have to get yourself to Spain, no mean feat from Australia. The Emirates flight was not the best. In fact I might say it was the worst! Perth - Dubai was absolutely packed: not a single spare seat. Dubai - Madrid was almost as full. This meant the staff were rather overwhelmed and meal service was agonisingly slow. Eating dinner at midnight was no fun! I just wanted to sleep. I think it was one of the oldest planes in the fleet and I found the seat hard on my backside - but it is what it is and Emirates got me there on time.

Approaching Dubai.


Snowy mountains in Northern Italy.

Dry countryside near Madrid.

My window seat paid off. It was a lovely clear sunny day with lots of good views. Better than the Movie selection on Emirates, though I did watch Mrs Harris Goes to Paris.