• Gabby TravelsCamino FrancesTraveler
    Belorado Mural
    1BeloradoBelorado2This woman was from the Czech Republic and was walking the Camino backwards with her horse Rudolph1Another room with a beautiful viewFrom my balcony - I would trade church views for a bath like the other girls though3Clancy waiting for Nan and Pop to come home, in the kitchen sink!!This was bloody good x2Look at that crackle

    Taking it easy

    June 5 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Day 12 Belorado to VillaFranca Montes De Oca 12.85km
    3.5 hours dawdling along
    272.16km walked so far - that’s like walking from Wangaratta to Melbourne! With some mountains thrown in for fun
    344323 steps so far

    Just a short 12.85km stroll today. It feels silly to say that, but 12km feels so easy compared to some of the days we’ve done and some of the days still to come.
    We rolled into the village before lunchtime after a really slow and dawdly walk and headed to our beautiful accommodation in Villafranca Montes de Oca. We’re staying at Hotel San Antón Abad and sleeping in a building that has been looking after pilgrims since 1377. Originally built as a hospital for Camino pilgrims, it has been welcoming walkers for almost 650 years.
    Beautiful room with a lovely view of the church and bell tower, although I think I would’ve preferred a bath.
    Very little photography today.
    We had a pilgrim’s lunch at the accommodation. It’s three courses for €18 here. I wouldn’t go as far as saying I’m loving the food. I’d be more inclined to say it’s functional food, aimed at fuelling walkers.
    Tomorrow night we’ll be in Burgos, a bigger city, and I’m looking forward to some pinchos, which are small, often single serves of food, similar to tapas. I had a big piece of pork belly crackling the other night and I’m hoping to eat more, it was so good but so bad .
    No new friends today, and I’m glad we don’t have many idle days because I have the urge to go to sleep this afternoon but can’t risk a sleepless night.

    It’s been nice chatting to my boys the last couple of days.
    I love that Mum and Dad love Clancy so much, and that she loves them. They got home from shopping on a couple of occasions and she had climbed up on the back of the couch, hopped on the kitchen bench and was sitting in the kitchen sink watching them when they arrived home 😳
    I love all of the encouraging messages I’m getting from home.
    There’s no flies in Spain. I haven’t seen one fly.
    They don’t season their food much and there’s never salt and pepper on the table.
    I’m a big girl now and know how to order a sparkling water — agua con gas 👍

    A few more Camino things
    The Meseta (we start this section Sunday)
    A long, flat section of the Camino that people either love for its simplicity or hate because it appears to have no end.
    Second Breakfast
    An essential Camino food group and toilet stop.
    The Yellow Arrow
    The Camino’s version of the Yellow Brick Road. Just keep following it, Dorothy. 💛    Read more