Author: Ben & Joon

Apr 16. Day 21. 28km. Departed 0713 hours, arrived 1345 hours.

How does a 17km stretch of walking through open countryside with nary a commercial establishment sound? This is undiluted, unadulterated, core essence of the Camino.

Leaving Carrion de Los Condes early morning.

View of the river as we passed by in the early morning hours.

The monk quarters of San Zoilo monastery have been converted into a 4 star luxury hotel!

Interesting road side plaques near the Monastery San Zoilo.

Now, we come to the 17 km section of today’s Camino.

Loved how the early sunrise colored the trees a golden brown

A camped pilgrim at a rest area in this lonely stretch!

A row of trees.

Cyclists, with their florescent jackets!

This picture epitomizes the expanse we encountered today. It was easy to let others pass so that we can have this ‘solitary’ experience!

Tilled ground contrasting the blue skies.

In the last 6km stretch into Temperadillo de Templars, we opted for the longer countryside route then along the freeway. This is what greeted us!

We stopped for a 10 minute rest and bite, during a six and a half hours walk today! A tremendous experience that required some internal fortitude.

We treated ourselves to a proper lunch and dinner at the albergue we are staying tonight!

Apr 15. Day 20. 19.8 km. Departed 0713 hours, arrived 1150 hours.

Weather forecast was for 50% chance of precipitation during thunderstorm at 11am. The Spirit smiled upon us as a brief downpour only happened at 1.45pm, after our check in (one of our earliest) and lunch!

We both are fully recovered from our respective colds and coughs. Our sleep is sound and deep after daily hours of walking.There was a decision to be made 3.5km after leaving Fromista, as one exits a smaller village of Poblacion de Campos. Taking the right detour takes one to a quieter walk, while the left over the bridge is alongside the roads and takes one through various towns. Since we had our guidebook, we confidently took the right detour. We saw about 6 pilgrims who were backtracking from this quiet detour route, perhaps they did not like how the initial stretch of the detour looked like and were unsure. How invaluable it is to be able to consult ‘x’ at crossroads.

A sculpture as one leaves Fromista.

Don’t miss the ‘cut out’ is showing one the way! It goes hand in hand with the first one!

Fromista in the sunrise

Why did this house hang no longer wanted music CDs? Chirp, chirp.

The family homes on the detour route immediately after Pablacion de Campos. Sized optimally.

Canals feeding water into a well to replenish groundwater? It seems there’s a meta-physical or spiritual equivalent of replenishing our interior reserves.

This tree is the lonely one outside the orchard. Was it planted there? Non-conforming? Not straight like its siblings? Hmm.

Santa Maria del Camino in Carrion de Los Condes.

The lighted up main altar.

One of the best lunch time meals under the Menu of the Day (Euro 11) at restaurant La Cerve. This entree is the cheeks of the pig! Lentil soup and cheesecake mousse too.

We were fortunate to witness a procession of the Jesus statue after evening mass on Holy Monday.

An evening stroll to the park.

Another memorable day to treasure.

Apr 14. Day 19. 25.5 km. Departed 0745 hours, arrived 1440 hours.

Today was a pleasurable blend of experiences. The hike up to the Alto de Mostelares (907m) was within the first 20 mins after leaving our lodging. The flat portion allowed us to stretch the legs before the climb. It was rated 12 degrees over 1050m. It seemed steeper when you are on it, but it was gentle when you aren’t carrying a full backpack. Both views (backwards and forwards) from the summit were stupendous. Thus, we were full of energy when we did this.

The walk through the Meseta plains, with its vast flatness, was soothing. For us, the tiredness comes in after 20km or so, when either our day packs begins to weigh on us or the feet begins to feel every stone or unevenness in the ground.

The final 5-6 km into Fromista was along a canal, which was on the right of the trail. To the immediate left of the trail was a line of trees, which gave some shade from the sun. A blissful tag teaming by canal and trees.

The sun rise as we were leaving Castrojeriz

Part of St Nicholas church as we reached the outskirts of town

We liked how the sun rays colored part of this clouds

Before reaching the base of the hills, we had to cross the San Miguel bridge, with some arches from the 12th century. It’s part of a Roman causeway (to cross the marshland).

San Miguel bridge

This was a second bridge. Scripture reference is thought provoking.

Part of the river and marshland, viewed from second bridge.

A helpful ascent sign. The descent sign showed a gradient of 18% over 350 m. And someone was jogging up when we were descending!

A view of pilgrims making their way up.

Selfie moment at Alto de Mostelares. There was a flat portion that we walked for 10-15 mins before descending.

The views of the wide valley expanse if the Meseta plains

Hopefully, this panaramic picture shows up well.

As we walked along the plains, the clouds and green fields were iconic.

These buildings are dovecotes, sheltering doves. There are no windows and one small entrance (for maintenance purposes). Just outside Boadilla del Camino.

Our first views of the canal as we approached the trails that ran alongside it for several km.

Another look at the canal.

Rides can be arranged when service is in season!

Today is Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week.

We give thanks for all our blessings. And contemplate and work at internalizing the first Beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Apr 13. Day 18. 27.4 km. Departed at 0740 hours, arrived at 1308 hours.The famed ‘Meseta’ section starts from Rabe de Las Calzadas. The Meseta stretches to the horizon, with a uniform feature and landscape.

Early meeting sunlight warmed up the trails before us.

Even the trees were welcoming the sunrise

About an hour and twenty minutes, we reached the top of the first ascent for today. A gorgeous view of the valley before unfolded before us.

Joon and the valley views

Note the descent.

As we climbed back up, we could see the hill top that we descended in the horizon!

After this valley views, the section was mainly flat except for one more steeper ascent.

What an excellent opportunity to contemplate, as one will be walking 5-6 hours.

Today’s reflections is about a particular state. If I ask one to reflect on the happiest or joyful moments in life, most if not all, can readily recall such moments. Examples of former might be weddings, of latter, the birth of one’s children.

What about being in a state of inner peace? Total peace with one self. This might be a more difficult task.

Achieving this may require one to consciously consider two balms – Giving and Seeking Forgiveness.

All of us have suffered hurt, pain and perhaps injustices. Unfortunately, if we harbor anger, retribution, Unforgiveness, we allow these to perpetuate and cause life long damage. Even if the offender doesn’t seek forgiveness, by forgiving, we cleanse ourselves of these scars. Peace begins to reign in our hearts. Gandhi said, ‘The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong’.

Sometimes, we may be the offending party and thereby, harbor guilt. If possible, seek forgiveness from those we have hurt. If one is of faith, seek forgiveness from God too. Complete Peace comes over one.

There two Greek words that can convey the concept of forgiveness. The first has the nuance of ‘graciously conferring a gift upon another’. The second had the nuance of ‘letting go’.

Let Go, Be at Peace.

Looking back can shed a light that guides our forward progress.

To end, there are three other factors that influence the difficulty of a day’s walk, besides the distance. First is the weather (rain, windy, cloudless sunny day, etc). We were very fortunate that it was mostly a still day with a light breeze (despite passing wind turbines that were installed at ground level where we passed, not on distant hill tops). Secondly, is the elevation changes and the gradient of the ascent/descent. Most of the gains were by gentle inclines. Finally, is the terrain itself. We had a rocky uneven section of 2-3 km which puts a lot of stress on the ankles, knees and soles. Good footwear mitigates somewhat. But it feels good at the end of the walk to put on sandals!

TIP: Supermercados close at 2pm Sat and all day Sunday. Learning this the hard way.

We look forward to the rest and sleep tonight.

Apr 12. Day 17. 13.3km Departed 0830 hours, arrived 1200 hours.

Today’s walk was shorter than expected as our hotel booking was not in the town that we had expected, i.e. Hornillos del Camino (latter is another 7.5km).

Getting out of Burgos wasn’t as bad as getting in. But the terrain wasn’t particularly scenic. The sunny day compensated for that.

The morning route took us past the Cathedral one last time!

We opted to walk through the park (rather than along the main road).

A fellow Pilgrim and his best friend, his dog.

Entrance into St James Chapel. Note the skulls on the roof ridges.

Inside St James chapel. We decided to pray a bit here as we had time.

Today’s walk allowed us to get our walking legs back. The rest days re-energized us as we enthusiastically look forward to the walks ahead. We met two Welsh ladies at tonight’s lodging who haven’t and did not plan to take any rest days!

The afternoon allowed both of us to reset to the Camino pilgrimage. I read a bit, Joon wrote in her journal and color sketched.

Here are some pictures of our dinner tonight. Menu del Dia (of the Day) at our highly rated lodging, Hostal-Bar La Fuente.

Lentil soup, with bits of sausages and bacon

Fish hake

Meatballs

Custard

Flan

Tomorrow will be a longer walk, about 28 km with several hills and one deep valley!

Post Script: No traffic noise at all in this small village. Camino route passes outside our lodging, Hostal-Bar Restaurant La Fuentes. Breakfast is included in the room rate! Happiness!

What an excellent and generous spread at breakfast! Coffee was served after picture was taken.

We were pleasantly surprised when we checked out and paid our bills. We were each given a bottle of water and a small ‘Miraculous’ medallion. The generosity of the owners/proprietors and their good heart is truly touching. We understood later how important that bottled water was as the distances were long in between civilization.

Apr 10; Day 15. Santo Domingo de Silos.We took the opportunity to attend the 7.30am Laudes, 9am Eucharist and 7.00pm Vespers. Listening and participating in a Latin Gregorian chanting is very special. Later that morning, we walked to the La Yecla canyon, about 2.5km away. We were able to see the many vultures that hang out in this canyon area. Later that afternoon, we took a drive to ArTlanza, a quizzical theme park of home facades and rooms built entirely from salvaged materials. Amazing! We dropped by Mecereyes to see some ‘hobbit’ homes built into the hillside! That evening, we toured the cloisters and museum in the Monastery.Santo Domingo de Silos Monastery.Inside the cloisters of the Monastery. It’s worth taking the tour to see the artwork and sculptures in the cloister. In addition, one goes into the inner rooms including the museum where priceless artefacts are displayed (no photography allowed inside). Finally, there’s a store where one can buy music CDs of the famous Gregorian chants.This twisted pillar columns has capitals (column tops) depicting key scenes from life of Jesus.One of the scenes depicting Jesus washing the disciple’s feet.Inside the La Yecla canyons, 2.5km outside Santo Domingo de Silos.More than 30 vultures were flying overhead at one time!ArTlanza, a theme-village constructed by one man, all the materials are recycled or salvaged. He also creates great ceramic art sculptures.While most of ArTlanza were facades, there were a significant number of interior rooms and museos decorated with artefacts (wine cellar, barber shop, chapel, etc). In this bar, that pillar provided the central support for all the ceiling beams!!Inside the chapel. You can see how the body of this altar piece was salvaged and the head was an added painted piece.Some of his ceramic art pieces for sale in the shop.Hobbit homes! Built into the hillside. Two rows, approximately 40 homes?

Apr 11. Day 16. Burgos.Leaving Santo Domingo de Silos, we detoured to Lemar, where the Queen of Spain was due to visit. There was a heavy police and special forces presence. We didn’t stay long and headed to Burgos. We had a great visit at the Mirador de Castilla. And an exceptional time at the Carthusian Monastery of the Lady of Mirafores. A walk around Burgos in the evening and that brought out rest days to a close.

Views of the Burgos Cathedral and surroundings from the Mirador de Castilla.

The magnificent Burgos Cathedral.

The Carthusian Monastery of Our Lady of Miraflores is the most beautiful monastery we have visited so far. It’s a Must-Visit if you are in Burgos. There are two altars by the side, with the Virgin Mary in the center, in the mystery of the Immaculate Conception.

Close up. The Latin inscription means ‘Joyful Gate of Heaven’.

The main altar in this Monastery is beyond wonderful. There’s so much detail to contemplate.

The circle is a group of angels. The Cross is held by the Father (left) and the Holy Spirit (right). At the top of the Cross, a Pelican feeds her young with blood from her heart, symbolizing Jesus own sacrifice for the salvation of our souls through the shedding of His own blood. At the foot of the Cross are the Blessed Mother (left) and St John, the beloved disciple (right).

In a side chapel is a ceiling chapel of the Coronation of the Virgin Mary.

What blessed imagery that we have been able to see with our open eyes.

Apr 9. Day 14. 15km. Departed at 0830 hours, arrived 1200 hours in Burgos.

Today was a short walking day due to yesterday’s long walk.

The route into and out of Ibeas de Juarros is along a major freeway, where trucks rushed by. It was probably about 6 km before Burgos, that we got to the river trail (we missed the earlier turn off at Castanares; seems unscruplous merchants paint out the yellow arrows, and we didn’t consult the guide book as we should have).

This part of the river had swamp islands in the middle

There’s a fish ladder to the side

We visited the Cathedral Burgos. It’s worth paying the Euro 7 to get an audio handset and visit the interior. One can easily spend two hours.

Posing with a sculpture of St James in front of the Burgos Cathedral

The central altar in the Cathedral

A closer up of the central panels which show the Virgin Mary’s Assumption and Coronation

One of many chapels. This depicts the Virgin Mary’s coronation by Father, Son and Spirit.

After which, we had some coffee before picking up our rental car to drive to Santo Domingo de Silos for two nights. We wanted to catch the Gregorian chanting and just soak in the atmosphere in this region.

Evening view of the monastery at Santo Domingo de Silos. We were able to catch the 1900 hours Vespers. Beautiful chanting in Latin.

Much has been experienced since the start of our Camino. Time to absorb.