Wednesday, July 24: Boadilla del Camino to Carrion de la Cueza

25.2 km today! But it was boring as watching paint dry. 

 

The morning started off nice. I walked with Vance and the camino followed a canal all the way to Formista where we saw the 1000 year old church. 

There is a chance in elevation and donkeys used to pull the boats up the "steps". 

As we walk into Fromista I see Roisin with her daughter who joined her staring in Burgos for a few days. Maria went on ahead. Roisin and her daughter wee hanging out in Fromista till tomorrow when her daughter goes back to Ireland.  Vance and I sat and joined them for a quick breakfast. 

Leaving Fromista we the camino Stayed by the highway. At the next town there is a choise to keep walking by the road or take a path a little out of the way to walk by the river. The river sounded less hot. 

For the first 3km there was no river, only farms. When the river appeared I took a break in the shade near the bridge, ate a sandwich and fed some ants for entertainment. Vance went on ahead and walked with he girls from England.  We already had plans to meet up for dinner!

The rest of the walk by the river was ok. Not enough shade but less monotonous than walking by the highway. The last 6 km was difficult because it was a boring treeless path  for hours along the highway. 

I stayed at Albergue Espiritu Santo for €5. It is run by nuns and is part of a church complex. It has wifi, a nice kitchen with an oven and no bunk beds, all single twin beds. All the people in my room seemed to know each other and traveled as a group doing like 30km a day. So I probably won't see them again.

 

Tuesday, July 2 3: Castrojeriz to Boadilla del Camino

I walked 20 km today. 

Vance from Alabama caught up with me before the end of town. He walked with me all day. He told me the stories of Saint Ignatius and Saint Constantine. 

We stopped in one of the towns to get some lunch and Vance had the guy making the most complicated sandwich in Spain. And he used ma as a translator. It's a good thing it was about food because that is half my vocabulary. Vance wanted a tomato cut in half which he then rubbed into the bread himself, lots of olive oil and ham and cheese. For Spain that is a real complicated sandwich. At most there are one or two things on the bread. 

I was so excited to see sunflower fields. I thought it was to early for them as most have been green. 

A small pilgrim hospital/albergue where they offered advice on foot ailments 

Right after this picture Vance and I were standing on the bridge and two bus oil tanker trucks zoomed by. We were looking in the opposite direction and didn't hear them coming. They came within inches of us. It gave us quite a startle. 

We decided to stop at Boadilla del Camino and stay at the albergue with a pool, Albergue En el Camino, €6. This albergue is so cute. It has a nice courtyard with a beautiful garden and several metal sculptures. 

The two teachers from near Manchester England, Lucy and Lindsey, met a history teacher in one of the villages. He just started talking to them while they were sitting at a cafe. He even brought them over to his house and then told them he would pick them up at the albergue and take them to see some of the local churches. The girls invited Vance then Vance invited me. 

So at 6:00 we met Jose with his car. It was the First time in I have been in a car since mom dropped me off at the airports little over a month ago. 

Santoyo- St John the Baptist- beauitiful Baroque organ, 6th century baptismal fountain and a series of reliefs of the life of John the Baptist behind the alter. No photos allowed inside. 

Tamara-San Hilpólito de Real built in 1037 to commemorate the battle of Tamara which united the provinces of Castillo and Lyon. The most beautiful of the three. Only 50 people live in the town today but it used to be a real big town. 

Formista- San Martin boult around 1066, almost 1000 years ago! It was rather plain inside compared to most Spanish churches. I think they wanted to showcase the original architecture, especially the carvings on the tops of the columns. 

In Fromista we ran into Maria and Roisin again. They are just so nice. They great you with hugs and enthusiasm. 

Before we got back Vance and Jose made plans for dinner tomorrow. Vance is obsessed with the roast lamb in the area having heard it is the best anywhere. So tomorrow Jose it taking us to the best restaurant for lamb. 

Lucy, Lindsey, Jose and Vance

We made it back to the albergue in time for dinner, which is a good thing because there isn't a grocery store in this town. Dinner was delicious. They brought out the first course family style. Two big bowls, one of garlic soup which is made using yesterday's bread and a stew with chickpeas. Both were so yummy and I refuse to even eat chickpeas back home. The main course was a choice of fried fish, roast chicken or stewed beef. I chose the chicken of course and it was delightful. It was juicy and well seasoned. It also came with a side salad. They brought us each a freezer section ice cream cone. 

Our bellies full we headed off to bed. The guy on the bunk below me moved non stop, shaking the bunk all night. And I don't understand why people think they can just close the window in the middle of the night. It gets too hot. If you are cold use the use your sleeping bag, don't have one use blanket they provided you. Stop closing the window. 

Monday, July 22: Hornillos del Camino to Castrojeriz

I walked 20 km today. 

According to legend the natural spring at Sanl-Bol is rumored to cure pilgrims feet. It is a 100m detour off trail but I went to check it out. I took off my boots and knocked my right boot into the pool of water. Oh this is just a great start to my day. I fished out the boot as quick as I could and dried it off with my wash cloth.  I soaked my feet for a few minutes in the freezing cold water.  I put double socks on the right foot and then my wet boot. I don't know if it was the spring or the socks but my right foot didn't hurt for the next 5km and it was a small miracle I didn't get any blisters from the wet boot. 

Small chapel of St. Bridgette in Hontanas

Ruins of the monistary of San Anton and lunch rations. 

Church and castle ruins in Castrojeriz 

In Castrojeriz I stayed at the Albergue San Esteban. There are some bunks and some just mattresses on the floor. I was glad to get the latter. There is a fridge and microwave but no stove. Breakfast is also provided which is a treat: toast, butter, jam, cookies, coffee and tea. No wifi. 

 The walls of the dormitory are covered in photos taken of/by two pilgrims who completed the Camino in 2006. They took a train leaving Santiago and lost their lives when it crashed. Very sad. 

Roll call: Grace and Malcolm from NY are here. Vance from Alabama. The girl from Quebec with the black and pink hair. The French couple I have seen everyday since July 11th. New tonight is Daniel from Denmark, his second day in the camino. 

Even though it was siesta I headed out to get as many errands done as possible and get the law of the land. I finally got stamps to mail postcards from a sweet old lady in a we-sell-a-little-of-everything shop. I found the pharmacy closed till 5. No Santander bank but I needed cash badly and used the ATM at another bank. 

 I was sitting in the park talking waiting for the supermarket and pharmacy to open.  Malcolm and Grace joined me. This town is on the side of a hill and we didn't want to walk back up the hill to the albergue. So we chatted then we played cards. First we played Pitch and then they taught me Golf. Then Garret and Dirk from Wales joined us and we all played cards waiting for the end of siesta. We came up with a plan to make a big dinner in the park.  

We bought all the food splitting the cost. Garret and Dirk had a small propane stove and made a meaty chilly with garlic,  onion and red pepper. Grace and I hiked back to the albergue and used the microwave to make baked potatoes. While they cooked I finally took a shower. 

Grace and I borrowed some supplies from the albergue and took the baked potatoes back to the park. Andy from Gremany woke up from his nap in time to join us. I tore up the lettuce and added the tomatoes and cucumbers the guys cut up and everything was ready to eat.

We had such a spread:

cheese, chorizo & olives

bread & butter

Salad with tomatoes & cucumbers dressed with oil and vinegar (the only way it's done in Spain)

Baked potatoes with butter topped with chili

Cookies for dessert

And lots of wine and beer 

We hung around chatting till the sky threatened to rain. We packed up in a hurry and sought  cover back at the albergue chatting and hanging out. Garret, Dirk and Andy were planning on walking at night but Andy wasn't feeling well. He said it was a hernia and was going to get a hotel and go back to Burgos to the hospital. I hope he is ok. 

 Garret and Dirk played a few songs on the guitars they have been carrying for the whole camino. They started somewhere in France and have already done 1200km. The hospitalera said it was time to lock up and lights out for the evening. So we all said our good byes. 

Vance is in the next bed. His mattress is six inches from mine. There are thirty other people all six inches from each other.  It is kind of weird in the real world way. But this is the camino and it just doesn't matter here. 

 

Sunday, July 2 1: Burgos to Hornillos del Camino

20.5 km today. At least. I think they didn't count the kilometers it took to get out of Burgos. That took forever. 

I woke up all through the night. I had been debating staying an extra day in Burgos. But by the morning I wanted to do nothing but leave Burgos and the creepy sketchy hostel/albergue behind. 

I was on the road by 6:15 and who do I see right but Roger from Britain. I was so glad to see a familiar face that I just started following him. A few blocks later he asked a cop where the camino was. The cop sent us back through all the parts of Burgos I had seen and past the municipal albergue Roger stayed at last night. Oooppps. 

We walked past the cathedral which everyone says is amazingly beautiful inside. 

Right as I walked in to Hornillos del Camino there was a store and albergue. This albergue wasn't in any of the info I had but the sign out front said  it had a kitchen and wifi for €9. Done!  

Nadine from France, Lillian and Cora from Belgum are familiar faces here. I met Malcome and Grace from upstate New York. And there's a guy named Vance from Alabama who kind of looks like George Bush. 

The albergue here is really nice. It is in the home of the couple that runs it. They have a bed room on the ground floor. But the kitchen, living room and dining room are communal.  The internet is super strong. The back yard is small but cute. Upstairs are three bedrooms and a bath. Two rooms of 6 and one of 12. 

I made my staple cucumber and tomato salad and pasta with hotdogs for dinner. I had a lovely 50 minute chat with my Mom and Dad which was so nice. I love Skype. 

 

Saturday, July 20: Atapuerca to Burgos part 2

Instead of the bus driving me back to Arapuerca I asked if it could drop me off at the camino. There is a camino alternative that goes around the mountain that day and the bus goes right by there. In America this would be like a "no" or a let me check with the manager.  Here the college intern tour guide said ok and told the bus driver. I think the tourist side of this operation is run by college students as I have yet to see anyone over 20 but the bus driver. I walked from the entrance to the dig site property past the closed second visitor center and across the highway to the camino. It was about 3:00 and I was 15km from Burgos. 

I walked past the town of Ibeas de Juarros were there was a big block party going on in front of the church. The further I walked the darker the sky got, with rain clouds. I was afraid of getting caught in the storm again. After about 5km in the afternoon heat I ducked into a local hotel to seal shelter. It was a swanky place, too swanky for my grungy pilgrim self. I sat at the bar and ordered an orange soda anyway. The staff was nothing but nice. I even got my first little tapa with my drink. A dollop of some green stuff on top of a crustini. I nursed that orange soda for an hour while playing solitaire on my phone. I was waiting for the rain but it never came and when I left the hotel the sky was blue again. 

I made it to Castañares after 7:00. With another 6.6 km to go I afraid I was going arrive in Burgos after the albergues closed.  And there isn't anywhere but expensive hotels on the route I walked today. Well I took one bus today so I might as well take the bus to Burgos too (€1). 

I got off the bus when I thought I saw a camino sign. I was a bit off so I asked for a map at a fancy hotel. The kind lady there pointed me in the right direction.

 

Across the street from the municipal albergue there was a dinner kabab place. I got a chicken donner wrap,  Which I ate later. It was delicious and was the best thing about my entire time in Burgos. 

Then it started to rain. The municipal albergue ended up being full. I don't know how because there are 150+ beds and only in one albergue in Logorño has been full all trip. I think people are scamming and saying they are pilgrims just to get a cheep bed in Burgos. 

Out side a guy was laying in wait for people turned away. He said he knew another albergue with space and to follow him. He had long grey hair and gray pants and a white shirt that were not really clean. I followed him back through the only part of Burgos I had already been through and then a bit further. He took me to a hostel to check in but said the albergue was a few doors down for €25 a night. I said I had to see it first. This was feeling very sketchy already and I should have just said no. But it was late and I was tired. 

A few doors down to an unmarked building we went, up to the 4th floor and down the creepy hallway. The door opened to a series of about eight individual rooms. The rooms were like standard hotel rooms but about 30-40 old. There was a bathroom,  two beds and a TV. And I may have to share with another pilgrim. 

I said ok and paid back at the hostel. I took my keys and back at the room I realized the door didn't have an internal lock. I braced my stick across the door and took a shower. I watched a little tv, and as time wheat on I felt more and more like this was the beginning of one of those scary movies. At 10:30 I realized there was no way I was going to get a good nights sleep with my imagination running wild. So I moved my bed and pushed it tight up against the door. No one was getting in now. Gradually I drifted off to a fitful nights sleep. 

Saturday, July 20: Atapuerca part 1

I had been thinking about this question/problem for a while. What is the trade off between walking far each day and/or taking time to see some of the historical sights along the way? Just outside Atapuerca is an archeological dig site. It is famous for the discovery of the oldest pre-human ancestors found in Europe.  This is the kind of thing I think is cool, pre-history, evolution... And its not another church.

So my choise today was to hike 20km over the mountains to Burgos or go see the archeological site and figure out how to get to Burgos later.

Not walking won! I slept in an extra hour, took the time to grab breakfast in town (a warm, flakey ham and cheese empanada, yum!) and walk to the visitor center.  The 10am tour for the dig site was full but there was room on the 1:20 tour. And I would have time to tour the archeological park at 11:30. All the tours were in spanish. Ok maybe this will work. 

I read in the lobby for a while then I walked the 300m to the archeological park. The archeological park showcases different aspects of pre historical life and has different types of primitive dwellings. 

Our tour guide Beatriz was very informative. I understood and learned a lot but I wish my Spanish was good enough to understand it all.  Beatriz demonstrated how to make tool is sharpens rock using another rock to chip an edge on it. She also demonstrated making weapons with flint chips of rocks. 

We moved from section to section and the guide talked about tools marking bone and rituals of burying the dead. One section was on cave paintings. They used three colors: black from carbon (burnt wood) and yellow and red made from grinding certain types of rocks/minerals. Most of the meaning of the paintings is unknown but there are two types, positive: like the drawings of people and animals and negative (not referring to bad): spraying paint over your hand will leave a non-painted spot where your hand was. The second method is interesting because not all the hands used all five fingers. They don't know if this is do to a missing finger or made as a symbol by bending one finger down. 

Beatriz demonstrated the evolution of some of the weapons: spears, throwing spears, spears using a fulcrum lever tool to whip them and bow & arrows. She let anyone who wanted to try, mostly the kids. 

In the larger more recent dwelling, she talked about the benefits of fire. Then she made it by using a bow string to spin a dowel fast and make a coal which she transferred to a nest of something that catches fire easily. She blew on it and spun it around till it caught fire. Very cool. 

I made a sandwich for lunch. Next it was time to board the bus to the dig site, thus ruining my no transportation streak! 

The excavation site is important because it led to he discovery of a previously unknown pre human ancestor called Homo Ancestor. They ate their dead. This is know because of the tool marks on the bones discovered. Beatriz also compared the skulls of the modern humans and Homo Ancestor. The last photo is of what a tribe of Homo Ancestor might have looked like and it may not be suitable for children of all ages. 

There were also animals in this region of Spain that we commonly think of as African animals: tigers, rhinos, elephants...