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Ruta de la Lana, 2023
  • Laurie Reynolds

Ruta de la Lana, 2023

Un’avventura di 38 giorni di Laurie Leggi altro
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  • Laurie ReynoldsRuta de la Lana, 2023Laurie Reynolds
    1
    12

    Atienza to Retortillo

    2 giugno 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    I was like a little kid on Christmas Eve last night. I lay in bed and I thinking about the crazy little trip I had cooked up for today. When I was a junior in college, studying in Spain in 1970, I took a course on the history of Spanish art. This course entailed weekly visits to the Prado with a tutor and two days a week of lectures with the tremendously esteemed Professor Azcarate. . This is where I learned about Romanesque and about the Camino. The Prado has many of the original frescoes from a tiny Romanesque church, San Baudelio de Berganza. The church is about 30 km from today’s stop in Retortillo. How could I be so close to the church whose paintings were the start of my love of Romanesque? And how I learned about the Camino? So I called a taxi located in a town close to the church to see what it would cost. Since his proposal was less than half of my mental euro limit, I jumped at the opportunity. So today, at 4 o’clock, I will get a chance to see San Baudelio. Never mind that most of the paintings were spirited away by the Prado Museum and several rich Americans. I just want to go inside and see it.

    Today’s walk was on the short side, and very enjoyable. We are clearly in a part of the country that has been less impacted by the drought. There were tons of wildflowers, including some that I think were lupines. The walk really had three different parts. First an ascent up to a pine forest that extended for several kilometers. Then a descent and a long stretch on flat open fields. And then third, the rocky steep ascent to the border between Castilla y La Mancha and Castilla y León. No rain, some clouds, beautiful views.

    I spent a lot of my walk today thinking back to that year in Madrid. That was more than 50 years ago! I remember our cute little apartment on Galileo 82, second floor. It’s now a very gentrified part of Madrid, but when I lived there, it was a pretty normal neighborhood. A few cows down the street in a little shed, and tons of little shops. My roommates were Gail, daughter of an army colonel who was a surgeon in Vietnam, and Nicole, daughter of the Senegalese ambassador to Italy. You can imagine that we had a lot of fun. Our biggest challenge was to figure out how to get to the end of the month on our small budgets. It usually meant that the last few nights our dinners consisted of fried onions and popcorn. An unusual aspect about living in Madrid at that time was the”sereno,” This was a man, usually inebriated, who wandered the streets of the neighborhood all night, with a huge ring of keys that opened every front door of every apartment building. When you needed to get in, you just stood on your doorstep and clapped, and he would eventually show up. Oh, the memories.    Leggi altro

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  • Laurie ReynoldsRuta de la Lana, 2023Laurie Reynolds
    21

    San Baudelio de Berlanga

    2 giugno 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Promptly at 4 pm, Berlanga de Duero’s only taxista showed up at the Hostal Muralla. It was about a half an hour to the church, through some pretty amazing landscape. Very barren and very rocky. We were the only ones at the church, and it gave me goose bumps. I could see the outlines of the frescoes that had been removed, and there were good pictures that re-created the inside of the chapel. Lots of horseshoe arches, a second floor private oratory, and an altar. There is also an entrance to a cave , where a hermit possibly lived. When this church was built, 10th or 11th century, it was right on the Christian-Muslim border.

    Apparently the church was part of a small (long disappeared) monastery complex. When it was all abandoned, ownership passed to private hands. Then in the 20s, when US treasure hunters were lusting after Romanesque, and the churches in Catalunya wouldn’t part with their treasures, they descended on Soria. The private owners apparently were happy to sell and after a five-year court battle, the Supreme Court approved the sale. There are now pieces in Indianapolis and Cincinnati. Though I don’t understand how it happened, Spain was apparently able to recover a lot of the frescoes (a trade made with the Cloisters, perhaps?) and those are now in the Prado, where they introduced me to the beauty of Romanesque in 1970.

    After our long visit, the taxista offered to take us through her town, Berlanga de Duero (though the Duero River is about 8 Km away). The castle is pretty amazing, and we also went to the interpretive center of San Baudelio. It explained the process of removing frescoes and then replacing them on different walls but I couldn’t understand it. The technique is called “strappo.”

    Clare snd I will be sticking quite close tomorrow. The first part of our walk is off Camino, and the second part goes through a canyon which may have a few tricky parts. Weather looks good!    Leggi altro

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  • Laurie ReynoldsRuta de la Lana, 2023Laurie Reynolds
    1

    Retortillo to Caracena via the GR 86

    3 giugno 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    There are two halves to today’s walk. Retortillo to Tarancueña and Tarancueña to Caracena. The camino puts you on the highway for the first half. But there is a GR alternative of about twice that distance. Since the second half is only about 8 or 9, we decided to go for the off-road 24-25 Km option.

    What a day. Lots of having to check the GPS, especially during the first half of the walk. That first part had lots of squishy ground, lots of meadows with high grasses, sometimes even having to cross cultivated fields. We saw tons of structures built against the rock face. According to one very nice man in Valvedenizo, those structures were used for animals. He also showed us the beautiful mushrooms he had just harvested and was going to use to make a revuelto (scrambled eggs) for him and his 100 year old mother. Those two constituted one of two families in the town.

    The last part of the walk, from Tarancueña, was through a canyon. It was a little bit tricky in places but nothing beyond our meager abilities. There were some rocky places where we had to ascend 4 or 5 feet but there were always little crevices or protrusions for our feet to grab. We had several stream crossings, and once I planted a foot in about 6” of water but nothing too bad. We saw some huge birds of prey circling over the canyon. Cool.

    We have a place to stay in Caracena. Rodrigo, the son of the bar owner, who used to allow pilgrims to stay in his house but then moved away, is back. He has taken over the bar/restaurant and is converting a house into a Casa rural. He has also gone to culinary school and his menu is quite upscale. We have eaten a very yummy meal — lamb and mushroom ravioli, some fancy rice snd pork dish, and I had cuajada for dessert, which is one of my favorite foods on earth.

    The casa where we’re staying is still a workbench progress. But it is finished enough for us to stay — comfy beds, good shower, washing machine — what more could we want?!    Leggi altro

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  • Laurie ReynoldsRuta de la Lana, 2023Laurie Reynolds
    2
    1

    Caracena to San Esteban de Gormaz

    4 giugno 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Today’s walk was a little longer than the last few days. My GPS showed almost 34 km, but that’s also because I took a few detours to visit a church and to go to a grocery store.

    If I didn’t have a day like this one, it would not be a Camino for me. This was a day when I sort of went on auto pilot in my own little bubble. The rhythm of my steps as replicated by my hiking poles and the pat pat of my feet was all that I could hear . So there I was, just me and my thoughts — no spectacular landscape, no outstanding historical or cultural monuments, just putting one foot in front of the other. No earth-shattering thoughts either, just thinking about whatever came my way. My mom’s birthday is in a few days, so I thought about her a lot.

    There were a few distractions — an 8 inch green lizard, an apple orchard with dark netting all across the top, a few small towns, and a few tractors out in the fields. This was the first time, really, that I had seen farm vehicles. Though the drought is still very much in effect here, I think they have a bit more optimistic forecast for at least some of their crops.

    Today I crossed the Douro/Duero on arrival into San Esteban de Gormaz. I went quickly to see if I could find an open supermarket (it’s Sunday). We are very low on food supplies, and tomorrow we will be sleeping in a town with absolutely no services. We’ve been carrying canned tuna and instant soup in our packs for a few days, but I was hoping to find some fruit and yogurt.

    I found an open store, went inside, and asked about fruit. No fruit in the store, the owner told me. But there is another store about 600 m away, which is also open till 2pm, and which sells fruit. The wife of the owner volunteered to take me in her car to their competitor to buy my supplies. She invited me to their house for lunch (I declined) and also took me on a tour of the town. Finally, she took me up to the place where we were staying and insisted that she had to take off her house slippers when I took her picture. A really special woman.

    Clare and I had a decent menú del día in a crowded restaurant, where a family was celebrating the 94th birthday of their patriarch. He started to cry when they sang happy birthday. It made me think of my own parents and brought a few tears to my eyes too.

    After lunch, I headed up to the castle, or should I say, what used to be the castle. Lining the ascent, there are hundreds of bodegas (small wine, cellars built into the hills), which is not surprising since we are in Ribera del Duero territory. Two beautiful Romanesque churches here, both locked up but both with typical Romanesque capitals.

    I am expecting that tomorrow will be similar to today. Maybe a little longer and with a little more ascent, but basically a very similar terrain.    Leggi altro

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  • Laurie ReynoldsRuta de la Lana, 2023Laurie Reynolds
    1

    San Esteban de Gormaz to Quintanarraya

    5 giugno 2023, Spagna ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Having been able to stock up on some fruit, my pack was heavy for the walk to Quintanarraya. It had rained last night (don’t ask me how I know, but it has to do with the skylight window snd was a real mess), so I was prepared for mud. But we were pleasantly surprised.

    Many would call this a “boring” or “dull” stage, and it is true that again today there wasn’t much going on, either scenically or historically. Crop lands mainly (many actually looking pretty good), some ups and downs through scrub oak forests. But if you’ve walked any camino, you probably have experienced the centering and peaceful monotony that come from this kind of day out in the wide open spaces. It’s hard to explain, but it’s great.

    A few kms outside the village of Villavaro, there’s a tiny Romanesque chapel. It used to be the parish church for a now disappeared village. The camino has been re-routed to go right by it, and that means 4 or 5 kms more on dirt tracks rather than on the road, so it was a win-win re-routing.

    In Alcubilla we saw the 16th C palace that had been a hotel restaurante till the man with the concession died suddenly. It’s municipally owned and they have been unsuccessful finding someone new. That meant that Clare and I had to walk on 10 more kms to the tiny hamlet of Quintanarraya, where there is a basic 5 bed albergue in the old school. Toilet and shower, hot water, clean. The mayor checked us in.

    During the last 3 or 4 kms of today’s walk, , I could see very dark skies and rain to our north. About a half hour after arrival, it rained, then stopped, then rained. There is now thunder and lightening all around us. We are hoping it moves on by tomorrow morning.

    We have feasted on canned tuna and powdered soup. A couple pieces of fruit and some dark chocolate. Tomorrow our packs will be lighter!

    Tuesday a.m update. At the suggestion of a helpful local man, I have found a little bit of cell phone coverage on the way out of town near the bodegas.(caves in the hill, where people stored and made their wine.).    Leggi altro

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  • Laurie ReynoldsRuta de la Lana, 2023Laurie Reynolds
    434

    Quintanarraya to Clunia to Huerta de Rey

    6 giugno 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Some would fault us for taking another “tourist” day, but with the Roman ruins and amphitheater at Clunia just 4 kms off route, we couldn’t resist. We had briefly considered taking a detour there on our way into last night’s destination but that would have given us a 40+ km day. My body told me when I hit 70 that I’m past my time of 40 km days. So here we are with a short day under 20 and a detour off the camino.

    Since Clunia doesn’t open till 10, and it’s only about 4 km from our albergue, there was no need to get moving early. We had been told that no bar or restaurant opens there before 10, (thanks @Bachibouzouk) , so we took our time.

    On the way in, we decided to check out possible walking routes for going from the Roman ruins to today’s destination of Huerta de Rey, which is back on the Lana. We could go back to our albergue in Quintanarraya and proceed on the Lana from there. But it seemed like there would be an easy, direct route. We asked a few farmers, and had a good track for after our visit.

    We spent two hours at the site. Watched a video and then took our time going from theater to baths to villas to the forum. Lots of good information, and I was happy to see that after many similar visits, I know the differences between frigadarium, tepidarium, and caldarium.

    The town of Huerta de Rey isn’t exactly a glorious town, but we have a good room in the Hostal del Cid and have had a good lunch in Meson de las Herrerías.    Leggi altro

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  • Laurie ReynoldsRuta de la Lana, 2023Laurie Reynolds
    1
    141

    Huerta de Rey to Santo Domingo de Silos

    7 giugno 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    I have walked into Santo Domingo once before, when I walked the Camino Castellano-Aragonés (very highly recommended, btw). But this time a forum member alerted us to the fact that there is a spectacular gorge very close to the Camino that also goes into Santo Domingo. So once again, we decided to take a detour off the “true“ Camino route.

    The first 15 km had a little bit of elevation up and down through some really nice pine forests. From the village of Peñacoba, we went off Camino, following a GPS track that was supposed to take us on a trail through the woods to the starting point of the gorge. Once we got a few kilometers in, however, we realized that the track had not been properly recorded. It was essentially a couple of straight lines. So there we were, pretty high up and trying to find our way down to the trail head to go through the gorge. We had a general idea which way to go, and thankfully, Clare is much more adept at reading contour lines than I am. So after a couple of slightly hairy kilometers, we found our way down. I would not have done this by myself, or with anyone else who skills were not as great as Clare‘s. We were never in any danger, we were far from the cliffs, and the worst thing that could have happened would have been for us to have to turn around and backtrack. But thankfully we didn’t.

    The path through the gorge is pretty cool. It is all on a metal path with a railing that is attached to the rock face. We saw lots of birds of prey. Even though it’s very short, it was in my opinion worth the detour (and those adventuresome kms).

    We arrived in Santo Domingo early enough to have a lunch. It was edible and expensive. Then we visited the Romanesque cloister, which is one of Spain’s absolute best. We went to vespers in the monastery’s church at seven. The monks here are very famous for their Gregorian chants. They released a recording in the 90s, and I read that more than 2 million copies were sold in the United States. There were more than 20 of them, I’d say, ranging in age from late 30s through very ancient. The chanting was soothing and kind of mesmerizing, but I cannot imagine that they do it six times a day!    Leggi altro

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  • Laurie ReynoldsRuta de la Lana, 2023Laurie Reynolds
    2
    1

    Sto Domingo to San Pedro to Covarrubias

    8 giugno 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Another detour for us today. Instead of a straight shot 13 kms to the pretty little touristy town of Covarrubias, we decided to take a detour to visit the monastery of San Pedro de Arlanza. This monastery was built in the 10th century, with of course lots of modifications and damage. The government spent many millions and took many years to finish the renovation. It is perched on the Arlanza River and was too close and too tempting to pass up. It turned out to be 29 km with 700 m elevation, so it was a good work out.

    The route we put together with various wikiloc trails took us first to the Sad Hill cemetery. For anyone else who is interested in making that visit, I would recommend not following our trail, but simply following the town’s signs that go directly to the site on a wide road. We followed GPS tracks that I had found on Wikiloc. At some point during our ascent, followed by crawling through a hole in a barbed wire fence, and descending on a rocky path, Clare muttered, some thing like— Laurie, you and your wikiloc trails.

    For those who are uninformed about Sad Hill, like we were, this is an iconic set from the movie The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Many fans come here to visit the site of the famous Clint Eastwood shootout scene in the cemetery. In fact, we met a British couple last night in the hotel who were planning to go there — their own pilgrimage, they called it.

    It was fun to see it, and I think we are both now inclined to see the movie someday. We learned that lots of famous people have come here and put their names on some of the 5000 crosses in the cemetery. I had read that Metallica had done it, and I was happy to find that particular cross, because it’s one of my son’s favorite groups!

    Much as we may have been messed up by Wikiloc on a couple of occasions, the rest of the day was really flawless. We had a great trek to the monastery, a wonderful visit there, and a good walk into Covarrubias, another one of the “ pueblos más bonitos de España.” It was 3:30 by the time we got to town, but today was our lucky day. I went into the restaurant in the main square, jampacked with people still eating., and the owner graciously said we could still eat!!!    Leggi altro

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  • Laurie ReynoldsRuta de la Lana, 2023Laurie Reynolds
    112

    Covarrubias to Modujar de San Cibrian

    9 giugno 2023, Spagna ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Here’s an unusual combination— a long day and a late start. About 34K today and 700 m, so normally I would be leaving by 7 AM. But just 9 km from here is a 7C Visigothic church that doesn’t open until 10:30. So there’s no point in leaving before 8-ish. It felt really weird to be sitting in my room with nowhere to go till such a late hour!

    On my way to the church, as I was thinking about how it was possible that I was going to see a church that is 1500 years old, I came across some dinosaur footprints from 144 MILLION years ago. My head can’t even compute that.

    The church is but a small portion of what used to be there. The decorative panels outside must be typically visigothic, because I have seen many similar carvings in other places. I love the carved panels inside and was able to be in there all alone.

    Clare and I started out at different times, but we met up somewhere after Revilla de Campos. I had been walking for hours with the sun shining on my back and ominous black clouds in front. Soon after we met up, the rain started, but it was just for a few minutes. And for the next couple of hours, though there were black clouds and thunder all around, we just had a few short bursts. Lucky again.

    We’re only about 19 kms from Burgos. The town we’re in, Mondubar de San Cibrian,, has a couple of interesting things—an old traditional chimney, and a fountain made with medieval or Roman sarcophagi, but not much going on. The mayor has taken the church keys away from the owner of the little casa rural where we’re staying, so the list of things to do has now been exhausted.    Leggi altro

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  • Laurie ReynoldsRuta de la Lana, 2023Laurie Reynolds
    45

    Modubar de San Cibrian to Burgos

    10 giugno 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    A pretty uneventful walking day, much of it on a Via Verde that is on the now abandoned and once highly touted train line from Santander to the Mediterranean.

    As we got closer to Burgos, there were more and more people out for a weekend ride or walk. A fair number of people even said Buen Camino to us! We have not heard those words much at all on this Camino.

    Walking into Burgos was not a very emotional moment for me. The Ruta de la Lana ends here, but it just didn’t make much of an impact. We went to the Cathedral to get a stamp, and then checked into our respective places. First things, first, shower, and clothes washing. And then the matter of eating lunch. I remembered having a very good hamburger with Rebekah when I walked here in 2015. Sure enough, the place was still there, still serving hamburgers, And they were still pretty good.

    In the afternoon I went to the Museo de Burgos, where I had never been. Its pre-history section has been overshadowed by the museum of evolution, but I very much enjoyed the archaeological portion. One side of the tomb of Santo Domingo de Silos was on display, and it was by far my favorite piece of the museum. It looked just like one of those Limoges pieces, but apparently it was made here in Spain. Same kind of enamel and gold covered copper. Jesus and all the apostles and it was just beautiful. There were also a couple of Limoges boxes, but this was the stand out.

    After the museum visit, I climbed up to the castle, what little remains of it, and enjoyed a great view down over the city of Burgos. And then a trip to a Tienda de Chinos in order to buy some bubble wrap for the olive oil that I will be bringing home to daughter and family. Some rituals never change.

    Burgos has never been one of my favorite cities in Spain, and the cathedral is too over the top for my taste. But I have to say that it does impress in the plaza.

    Clare and I met up with a forum member and spent a couple of hours immersed in Camino talk. He is cycling the Camino Francés and writing a book about the geology along the route. It was a really fun get together.

    I’m not having any grand wrap-up thoughts or pronouncements about the meaning of life. But I have so very much enjoyed walking with Clare and Alun. I think I have decided that I don’t want to walk anymore solo Caminos. Though I love walking alone, it is much more fun to have company at night. So that’s my plan for next year!    Leggi altro

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  • Laurie ReynoldsRuta de la Lana, 2023Laurie Reynolds

    Day in Burgos

    11 giugno 2023, Spagna ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    I woke up at 5:30, as usual, but today, I just turned over and found that I could easily go back to sleep. It felt very decadent to wake up at 8:30, use up the last few granules of my instant coffee, and sit in bed with nothing to pack up and lug around on my back.

    It had rained a LOT last night, but when I left the hotel around 10 am, it was cloudy but dry. I had never been to the Monasterio de las Huelgas, and Clare, being the good sport that she is, came along.

    It was extremely interesting to learn that 23 cloistered nuns still live there, more than a thousand years after the convent’s founding. They run a laundry, and sell some baked goods.

    I wish I could keep my Spanish kings straight, but the infant king Enrique I is buried in this monastery. Such intrigue—he was injured by a falling rock while playing with friends,
    and his “handlers” brought in a “doctor” to try some experimental surgery, which involved cutting a hole in his skull. He died four days later. Our guide believes it was murder.

    There was an amazing room filled with clothing from the 13th century, in extremely good condition. That was my favorite part, even more than the Romanesque cloister!

    We met Juanma for lunch, my friend who owns an albergue earlier on the Francés (shoutout for the Albergue Maralotx in Cirauqui). We went to a place serving the Burgos specialty of roast suckling lamb. And the Burgos specialty of morcilla. I have to retract all the many bad things I’ve said about morcilla over the years because this was very good (maybe because the Burgos morcilla has rice added) and the lamb —yum. Thanks for driving so far to see us, Juanma, and thanks for taking us to this very non-touristy authentic asador. It was a great way to put a punto final on my Camino 2023.

    In early evening, we had a vino tinto in the Plaza Mayor, and on my way back to the hotel I ran into the Corpus Christi processions.

    Tomorrow, late morning bus to Madrid. Then home on Wednesday.    Leggi altro

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    Fine del viaggio
    15 giugno 2023