Days 17-18 Carión de los Condes- Calzadia de Los Hermanios

Day 17 Carión de Los Condes- Terra de Los Templatios

Today was a hard day because it was the first day we dealt with rain. We definitely had a few bugs tow work out in our rain gear setup. It was windy and cold and rainy but we pushed through another 26 km. A hot shower was wonderful to get the muscles moving again. Walking with wet feet wasn't such a good thing. At one point we were being nasty to each other and decided that we needed to stop and eat so we had a bag of potato chips and a boiled egg. 

Day 18 Terra de Los Templarios a Calzadia de Los Hermanios

We left this morning at 5:45 and walked a full two hours in pitch dark. We don't have we moonlight anymore with the bad weather. It was cold and windy and threatened to poor down on us every minute. It never did.  We had a constant crunching beneath our feat ( see picture above ) . We came into a decent sized town after 13 km of walking and had a decent breakfast and coffee. 

As we walked through the town the church bells were sounding and the air was energetic as it is in stormy weather. It was a good feeling. 

Since we left so early and walked so fast we got in early at around 11:30 am. We started walking with a little group of people, two Danish, two German, an English girl and a guy from Hong Kong who immigrated to San Francisco. They arrived to the rufugio after us and we cooked a big lunch and drank too much wine the all went for siesta.

 After siesta we did it all again sand all cooked dinner together. I made a garlic octopus pasta and Arwyn made salad. We had a good night discussing everything from finding our faith to how to make goat cheese. 

Days 14, 15 and 16

Day 14 Burgos- Hornillos 21 km

To be completely honest, I can't remember too much of the day. The camera ran out of space as well so above is the only picture we took. I guess what I am saying is that the day's walk passed quickly. We stayed in a very small farm town that was originally founded by the Romans. We stayed in the side building of a 15th C gothic church. The power was out so we ate salad with George, a fried of ours from France who is walking the camino for the fourth time and happens to be 84. It was a lazy afternoon. We stretched and ate peanuts on the steps in front of the church. 

Day15 Hornillos - Itero de la Vega 29.2 km

This was one of my favorite days so far. We woke at five and were walking by six in the morning. So the first hour and a half we walked in the dark. There was a bit of moonlight to keep us on track and it was magical. We have now been walking through the  plains with fields of wheat and hay. The landscape was amazing. We would cross a plain and then dive into a belly and come back up to anther plain on the other side. It all used to be the same elevation but erosion occurred and created the valleys. We were pleasantly surprised when we came across the ruins of an old monastery that had an arch over the road. The monks were known for accepting and treating lepers.

 We passed the town of Castrojerez with the ruins of a pre roman castle on the bill above it. 

Finally the treat of our day was that after walking about 18 miles we came out of the plains and stayed in a 13th C farm building restored by an Italian fraternity.

There was only room for us on the floor but they put two mattresses together for us in the loft. Out our window was a river and a 14th c bridge going over it. The picture above is of the refugio from the bridge  All of this was set amongst wheat and hay fields. The Refugio also had no electricity so everything was lit by candle. The two italian ladies who ran it led us in a prayer, washed our feet one by one, and cooked us dinner. We had salad, wine, and chicken noodle soup over candlelight. 

After dinner, the ladies passed around a guitar until someone would play it. I ended up playing for the dinner party but the only song the international crowd could agree on to sing together was "La Bamba." 

Day 16 Itero de la Vega - Carrión de Los Condes 37 km

Today we set out for our longest day yet. We walked 23 miles today and heard along the way that really bad weather was coming and to get off the road soon.  We pushed it though and made it to our goal. We definitely raced the aforementioned bad weather into town. 

When we got in the first church was full. We proceeded to the next place which is a convent. The sisters took us in right as the weather rolled overhead. Again there was no room for us but they put a mattress down for us in the halway. We had a sing along hour with the nuns which was fun. 

Then we went next door to the church and heard a classical guitar concert. This Spainard could play this guitar in ways I cannot express in words. The church was just about the best venue you could ask for as well. 

We were asked to stay afterwords for a benediction and the priest wanted to speak with all of the pilgrims and made a special blessing service for us.  We have felt very cared for in this town. Now we end the day on our mattresses in the hallway and are thankful not to be stuck out in the rain. After 23 miles our legs are throbbing with pain but we will push on tomorrow. I leave you with a picture of Arwyn with eukalele in tow. 

Day 13- Agés a Burgos

Well today was a good one. We had our bags packed the night before and were practically ready to go. We sat in Arwyn's bunk and ate yogurt, pears, and cold tortilla patata for breakfast. We are on a three day break from coffee, tea, wine, and beer so mornings can be a little tough. We set out on the road at 0700 and it was a cold one. It was so dark that you couldn't tell whether it was 2 a.m. or 7 a.m. We climbed a bit of a hill and when the sun breached, we could see all the land around us (picture above). 

Most of the walk was boring, mostly as we have become jaded. There were some cool towns, one with an old church that was in ruin. We did meet two girls from Ohio that showed us an alternative route that saved us from walking through industrial zones and suburbs on the way into Burgos and instead brought us in along parkland on a river. It was nice walking with new people as you get lost in conversation and next thing you know you put 10 Km behind you. 

Burgos is an amazing city situated on a river. It was the Capitol of the Kingdom of Castilla which was the bee's knees back in the 1200's. So about that time they built the Burgos cathedral which was the highlight of our stop here- second to that was a doner kebop for dinner.

 I don't know where to start with this. We have seen grand cathedrals. We have been to Saint Peter's, but nothing that we have seen surpasses this cathedral in detail. There was detail everywhere. 

Around the main chapel were smaller chapels like shown above. Each one had its differen style of architecture and art therein. The old king and queen of Castilla were buried there. 

  It was all just so much to take it. We have so many more pictures to share when we get home, but for now it's lights out in the refuge. I will leave you with a picture of us waiting in line for the refuge to open. It's a 15th century building which was renovated inside. 

Days 11 & 12- St. Domingo de la Calza- Agés

Day 11- St. Domingo- Belorado 23 km

We have walked out of the grapes and olives land and into wheat and sunflower country. The sun is hot but the nights are cold. This day was beautiful and we walked through about six little pueblos. These are places you would never see from the main road. We watched an old German Shepard lazily walk into the square with a cat and climb up for a drink from the town fountain. 

We stayed in a parish of another very old church (circa 1400). It was Sunday and everything was closed so Arwyn and I had to dig deep for leftover food in our packs. 

 Behind the church were some cliffs with cool cave houses built in. This is a popular thing to do in Spain. 

Day 12 Belorado- Agés 27 km

Today we ascended further into a more plain-like country. We got to the point where everyone was goin to stop and mustered together a little more to continue to Agés. 

We had a beautiful walk into town. We splurged and had a nice dinner and walked around town. 

We hung around the yard of the church for an hour laying in the shade. You might notice big nests on these church towers. They are stork nests. They fly to Africa to mate then return to the same nest every year. Some people saw some today and said they appeared like teridactiles.

Day 10 Azofra - St. Domingo de la Calzada

Today was an easy day of only about 16 km. We stayed in a convent and went out for lunch in the square. 

There is a beautiful cathedral here but they were charging to get in so we passed. We found out though that there was mass and a choir concert later that night so we made an early dinner and went and saw it. It was a great cultural experience. It is one thing to tour the churches when they are empty but another to see them in use. 

We are meeting many cool people along the way. Sometimes you don't see each other for a whole but then they will turn up in the town you stop in. One of the cooler guys we've met is George. He is an 84 year old French man who is walking the camino for the fourth time. When asked if he will do it again he says he will probably be dead, god willing. We try to help him with things like opening sardine cans and figuring out those damned new fangled electric stove ranges. 

Days 5-10

It has been hard to find the energy to write and find Internet. Arwyn and I are still chugging along and have walked about 160 miles now. Arwyn has had some pretty nasty blisters but has held up much better than me. It seems my body likes to fall apart each day after 15 miles. The one really concerning thing has been my right knee which twisted and strained on day 5. 

We found a walking stick that helps on downhills but it is feeling much better now. So now for us both we are just sore- really sore. 

Here is where we have walked:

Day 5- Puente la Reina- Estella

Day 6- Estella- Los Arcos

Day 7- Los Arcos- Viana

Day 8- Viana- Navarrete

Day 9- Navarrete- Azofro

Today- Azofro- ???

I would have to say the highlight of our trip so far was staying in Viana where by luck we stumbled on their festival of San Mateo where they celebrate the upcoming grape harvest and run the bulls in the streets. Pamplona is most famous for it but all the villages in Navarra do their own. 

We also found accommodation in the parish of the cathedral in the town center so we were right there for all the action. Two padres ran the parish and cooked a family dinner and took great care of us. 

Down the street was a 12th century church in ruins. The town has shorn up the ruins and made it a park which allows one to see the construction techniques. 

There are many great side stories to be told but for the most part we have been trudging on through valleys of grape vineyards and olive groves. We are having fun and feel healthy. 

Day 4 Cizor Menor- Punte la Reina

Today felt good. The gear is breaking in, we are moving quickly, and we felt alive when we got to our destination. We walked 20 km from Cizor Menor to Puente la Reina. 

Along. The way there were more blackberries than we could eat, but we made a dent for sure. 

It was a nice hike through some good farmlands. We are in more hill country now and you can see the chain of villages across the valley since they are all built on hilltops and have beautiful church bell towers.

After getting showered and settled at are place, we went to check out a couple local churches. The churches and religious history in general here  are ancient and magnificent. A lot of what you see is from 1100 this or 900 that. It's impressive. 

I will sign off now from our bunk room in the basement of the nice hotel. I joke that we are in steerage class. There is an oppressively loud cacophony of snoring in here, but hey, that's par for the course. 

Steps taken today: 25,528