Atapeurco (18.2km / 263.2km)

A perfect sunrise to get us ready for a steep uphill climb after many days of gentle rolling hills. The climb wasn’t bad and we enjoyed the tree lined path through the forest. At the top of the hill there was a local who made our day. He had strong coffee and lovely fresh oranges. He was so friendly! He had painted lots of wooden stumps with birds , piano keyboard, chess board, etc. Jane spotted a painted bird that looked like a hoopoe. She asked him about it and he got really excited and pulled out his bird book. It turns out the Hoopoe migrates from South Africa to Spain. We also saw a pied kingfisher! Anyway a lovely unplanned coffee stop.
The rest of the walk was uneventful although the landscape is becoming less green! Just before Atapuerco, in the caves outside of town, the remains of early humans have been discovered, some as old as 800,000 years.
We arrived in Atapuerco, our village for the night. I think it is the original “1 horse town” and was half expecting to see John Wayne walking down the deserted main road toward me with his revolver! (A cowboy movie star for the younger readers).
It’s a pity because it is a lovely little town that obviously survives on Camino Pilgrims and not much else. The church is Saint Martin and large but sadly locked.
While we were sitting on the stair outside the church, hoping it would open after Siesta, a Canadian lady came to check too and we got talking. We mentioned a detour we are planning tomorrow (more on that tomorrow), she got really excited as she had planned the same detour (and even staying at the same hotel) and was looking to share a taxi - they say “the Camino provides”.
Well, we have just returned from dinner and Wow! A fine dining experience! We had an outstanding 3 course meal and wine at Camino prices. It didn’t make sense in this tiny town but we believe that it is the restaurant that tour groups visit when doing sightseeing in the area. Lucky us!
We joined an American couple, Robb and Susan and the Canadian lady we will share the taxi with tomorrow (Danielle). A lovely evening! Beunos Noches.Read more