From Castojeriz we walked through autumn days westward through Spain. The map below shows our progress, outlined in dark blue-green.
We stay the night at the beautiful monastery of San Zoilo on the outskirts of Carrion de los Condes, a small Camino town. Once a fine and powerful institution, it has been converted to a four star hotel while maintaining it's ancient Spanish character. I had strolled the grounds and forgot to tour the cloister until it was almost closing time, at dusk. They reluctantly allowed me to enter so late in the day, as it was completely without electric lighting. I was all alone, walking down the loggia to the entrance of the fine, sparsely adorned gothic church. I entered the cathedral; my footsteps were the only sound. On each side of the aisle were the tombs and effigies of twelve ancient abbots and bishops. It was silent, as nightfall here has been for nine hundred years. It was almost as if they were waiting to see what I would do in their consecrated space. So, I sang "Gaudete", a Christmas song in Latin they might have known in life. The echos and acoustics were wonderful and the whole church was filled with my voice They exhaled in their eternal silence and were pleased.
Here is "Gaudete", by the Mediaeval Baebes!
Leaving Carrion de los Condes the next morning, Jack Frost had painted the leaves for us.
Days are growing cooler, the shadows longer.
Another gothic church along the Camino; such soaring spaces.
Day 16 A tomb effigy of a church official. This one still bears it's original paint.
Day 16. Having lunch with another pilgrim.
Day 16 Lyn and I warming up with hot Castillan
garlic soup and crusty bread. Yum!
Day 17 dawns cool and clear.
Day 17. It rained in the afternoon, a gentle shower for a few hours.
I was glad to have a full rain suit.
Across a centuries-old bridge, we approach the half way mark!
Yellow arrows, some artfully done, point the way to Santiago.
At last! Fabada Asturiana, my favorite bean stew!!!!
Day 18 At the end of the day, we visit the Church of the Peregrina to receive a special certificate to mark the occasion of passing the halfway mark. This church was built by artisans from Moorish Spain, and intricate geometric patterns were carved and painted into wet plaster.
Day 18 A typical view, pilgrims nearing the end of the day's walk.
Day 18 Another day on the flat mezeta, for a total of about six. A Spanish friend says that on the mezeta,
hot days are hotter, windy days are windier, cold days are colder . I believe it.
Spanish style and playfulness can be seen everywhere.
Day 19 We passed a shepherd and his flock, with his two happy dogs who
love their jobs! The sound was of tinkling bells around their necks.
Another church, each beautiful for the architecture and feeling of sanctity
At last we enter Leon. We are staying at the San Isadore Casa de Espiritualidad; another monastery made into a hotel, preserving wonderful paintings, furniture, fabric hangings, and frescoes for another generation.
At the Pantheon of St. Isadore, vivid and artful 11th century frescoes.
I had to sneak this photo, so that's me peeking into the picture.
We go out in the evening to see Leon. Spaniards dine quite late,
so we settled for tapas and great wine.
This is the cast of a Roman soldier's bootprint, found in Leon. These are used to indicate that the streets
we walk on were part of the original footprint of the Roman garrison town .
The cloister at St. Isadore monastery we stayed at.
A lion, the emblem of the City and old Kingdom of Leon.
Leon's gothic cathedral, impressive outside, and absolutely brilliant inside.
Dogs were just as silly and beloved in the 11th century as now.
Over a thousand square meters of stained glass, made in the early middle ages.
Really quite breathtaking.
The tomb of a longdead cleric.
Detail of the rose window in Leon.
Madonna and child surrounded by 12 angels playing music.
As we walk the Camino out of Leon, we watch a fly fisherman in the river.
These "bodegas" are built into the hillside. Originally the housed wine presses and cellars, cooled naturally by the earth. Many now are made into little cottages for their owners to enjoy, like hobbit houses.
But first, a last view of Leon. The cathedral spires in the background, Gaudi's stately home on the left,
and Leon's signature street lights along the fashionable Calle Ancha.
Gaudi designed this for as a home for two prominent families of Leon, at the request of his friend.
He used locally sourced materials such as limestone and slate.
It's pretty hard to find time to create a timely post, to have a fast connection to create it, or to have the energy to expend on it We walk 20-30 km each day, about 6-7 hours of walking and are so tired and happy when we arrive. The weather is golden and the shadows are growing longer as the days move along into autumn. It smells like fallen leaves and farm animals. We pick a bunch of grapes from vineyards along the road to munch on, and gather wild berries and nuts for fun. The Spanish peregrinos showed me how to collect and crack almonds to get the nut out. Thousand year old villages, some tiny and quiet, dot the Camino, and we stop for a coffee or glass of wine and a bocadillo, or sandwich on a crusty roll. Or a tortilla, a Spanish frittata full of tender potatoes. Life is good. As with sailing, the weather and maintaining the equipment(our feet) are the most important things we pay attention to.
Here's the next six days of travel along the Camino
Day 9 We departed Santo Domingo de la Calzada, a 21 km walking day.
Soft morning sunlilght illluminated the ramparts of a fortress wall.
Day 9 A checkpoint . Still too many miles to think about!
Day 9 Walking through the wine growing region of Rioja. A glass of
very nice wine costs from .80 to 1.80 Euro!
Day 9 Rolling hills of harvested wheat. We enter the flat region called the Mezeta.
Day 10 The local people celebrate the Camino and treat us pilgrims well.
Day 10 Walking 24 km to Belorado . Eating rich roadside elderberries!
We also picked figs, grapes and blackberries.
Day 10 into the mezeta, the flat wheat growing region.
Four days of walking without hills. Follow the yellow arrows!
Day 10 Local people gather walnuts, and almonds.
They shared them with us. To Belorado was 24 km, to Burgos,
to San Juan De Ortega was 24, and to Burgos was 27km.
Day 12 Burgos Cathedral from my hotel room. It rained buckets that day, which I didn't hike through because of my mangled toe and blistered heels. It was Santa Maria Del Pilar day (Columbus Day) Spain's national holiday, and the cathedral bells pealed for 15 minutes to commemorate it. Stunning!!! A sound we never hear in the States.
Day 12 The medieval gate in Burgos.
Day 12 Outside the gate, an exhibit of Henry Moore bronzes was on view.
A view of the cathedral square from my balcony.
An avenue of topiary and espaliered, grafted plane trees was inviting.
Verginio and Guilio took us out for diner of mussels, shrimps and
various Castillan foods. Delicious and loads of laughs .
We ended withtiny shots of grappa!
Day 12 Burgos Cathedral at night
13 The dome above the tomb of El Cid, Spain's hero.
Cathedral tour was interesting and so much beauty. Handcrafted centuries ago.
Santiago, St. James the Moor Slayer. All of Europe celebrated the deliverance of Spain from the Moors by making pilgrimages in honor of the Miracle of Santiago's appearance in the battle.
An autumn view of polars lining the Camino, breaking the wind across the fields
Day 13 Riders on the Camino. It looks a lot easier!
13 The Camino goes ever on and on.
As you can see from the last picture, it's hard to find a place to go to the bathroom.
So......we needed a Shrubbery!
Day 14 walking 20 k to Hornillos.
The days move steadily along, and for the four or five days it takes to cover the meseta the landscape is much the same. But we meet up with trail friends and chat with others who become new trail friends, and the days are so pleasant . Even when it rains a little. The weather will probably close in as we approach November, and Galicia and the Atlantic Ocean with it's winter gales.
