Hornillos del Camino to Castrojeriz

Tonight we sleep in Castrojeriz on the Spanish Meseta, a town which has had some human presence for 4000 years. A beautiful ancient town built on the slopes of a hill topped by a castle. See the photo.

Todays walk was in two halves, each equally beautiful. We left Hornillos at first light and walked the first 11km on an easy gravel path across a classic featureless Meseta landscape under a cool cloudy sky. Perfect walking conditions. Contemplative. We lunched in Hontanas, a classic Camino village at the halfway mark. Hontanas is 700+ years old and in a tiny valley in the Meseta landscape. The cloud cleared after lunch and we walked most of the way to Castrojeriz through the valley of the river called Arroyo del Garbanzuelo. It is a completely different landscape to the high plains. Many trees both conifer and deciduous. We stopped for a rest and drink just short of Castrojeriz at the long abandoned Convento de San Antón.

We have encountered a three generation group of New Zealanders comprising grandparents, married children and a couple of toddlers over the last few days and are staying at the same hotel tonight. Very nice people and coping well with the needs of travelling the Camino with little ones.

After 2 weeks plus walking 20km+ most days our bodies seem to have become somewhat accustomed to the rigours of the Camino. Kevin’s knees are now doing their job better than before leaving Boston and my (J) dodgy feet are cooperating as long as I do my post walk stretches. I must admit to including anti inflammatory meds as an essential food group for the next few weeks.Read more