Susilla to Aguilar

Last day walking! I had two reasons to put pep in my step today. One was that I wanted to be sure to arrive in Aguilar in time to visit the Romanesque church Santa Cecilia. And second was because Rebekah and Ana were coming from Moratinos to meet me in Aguilar!

I left early, once again, using my super duper Petzl headlamp. And boy was it chilly! I am so glad that I brought my lambswool gloves.

The stage took off-road routes between villages, and in one village two big dogs started to follow me. For at least an hour, they would run in front of me, then come back to me, then run in front of me again. About five minutes after they seemed to have finally lost interest in me, a small white van stopped and asked me if I had seen two dogs. They had been gone since last night, he told me, so imagine his relief when I could tell him where I had last seen them.

I got into Aguilar with plenty of time to visit the church and also the castle above it. The last time I had visited this church, I had gone to the priest’s house, where I had given him my passport in exchange for the key to the church. Now there’s a little ticket booth, and if you can believe it, a 10 minute “sound and light show.“ But the capital of the slaughter of the innocents is still one of the most beautiful Romanesque capitals I’ve ever seen.

Right around 1 o’clock, Ana and Rebekah arrived. It was so wonderful to see them! We went back into the church, and Ana pointed out that the soldiers who were slaughtering the innocents had face coverings — just like ICE she said!

What followed was an excellent lunch at a restaurant that Rebekah somehow found. La Dolce Vita. Go there if you are ever in Aguilar de Campóo. Goat cheese salad, lubina (sea bass— best I’ve had in a long time) and then for dessert, a tarta de cuajada. If you like cuajada, you would love this!

The long lunch had to end, but it was just about as perfect a camino ending as I could imagine!Read more