Day 10: Vilabilla to Castrojeriz. 37 km

PW: The longest day ever. Started at 7:30am and arrived around 5pm. 7 hours of walking. 5 km per hour. We had a most pleasant night in Vilabilla, which was 5 km short of our destination of Tardajos. Enjoyed a pleasant menu del dia with liquid supplements. So today we had to make up that and then go an additional 32 km.

Only redeeming feature is that the walking is flat and fast in the Misetta. It is also quite beautiful in a barren, parched windswept kind of way. We were blessed with a hot day and a relieving and cooling north easterly wind on our backs.

I spent the morning walking with Manolo, a larger than life Galician Spaniard of my age. We had no common language but were pushing each other over the first part of the Misetta. I wished my son, Sam, was with me to help with translation. I was curious about the life he’d lead in Galacia; did he have a family? What was his work? Why was he walking the Camino for the 14th time? In the end it didn’t matter. We gave each other a massive hug at the end of the section because we’d kept each other company, and pushed each other, in a non verbal type of way.

Spent lunch in Hontanas. A charming town. Paul and I getting used to having a beer and Spanish omelette with bread for lunch. Seems to get us through. Lunch was spent talking with a Berlin based German psychotherapist just out of her training; Paul N wandered off looking for other action. The great thing about doing a Camino is that you can reacquaint (or not!) yourself with the pilgrims you meet briefly as you walk the different sections.

Serious issue of competition of hostel beds. There are LOTS of pilgrims on the trail. Small Paul and I are already competing for accomodation and it will likely get worse the closer we get to Santiago.

We finally got to the beautiful historic pilgrim town of Castrojeriz late in the day, exhausted. Next day should be shorter - 25 km! - and we are winging it by going into the next town (Fromistra) without any booked accomodation. We are relying on the intercession of the Camino angels…En savoir plus