Day 17: To Castrojeriz

I was able to get out of my albergue about 7:00 this morning and start my hike to Castrojeriz.
I had a minor emergency yesterday evening when I discovered I must have left my towel at my previous albergue, (albergues don’t provide towels, they’re strictly BYOT) so I was unable to take a shower and needless to say, every little village in Spain doesn’t sell lightweight fast drying microfiber towels (or any towels for that matter). So, my solution was to stay in an inexpensive hotel this evening and purchase one of their hand towels until I can get something better. (They actually ended up gifting it to me.) Simply going without a shower isn’t really a viable option…

Shortly after starting out this morning I met Katarina and her daughter Julia from Sweden.
On the trail today there were more spectacular poppy fields. (I never get tired of those.) so my Swedish friends and I took the opportunity to take each others photos with the pretty background.

About two and a half hours into todays hike, below us in a little valley, the village of Hontanas suddenly appeared. It was the perfect time to stop, take off our shoes and get some coffee and breakfast before continuing.

A couple of hours later we came across the Monastery of San Anton ruins. It seemed pretty incongruous to have such a large structure literally in the middle of nowhere. (It was very cool though.)
A little history….
The convent was founded in 1146 under the patronage of King Alfonzo VII and was dedicated to care of the pilgrims and treating the “Fire of San Anton”, a desease that spread during the Middle Ages. The huge arched entrance was added in the 1400’s.
(That’s the end of today’s history lesson….)
We stopped and took our shoes off for a bit (never miss an opportunity) before heading out again for Castrojeriz

Approaching the town you see the Castillo (Castle) de Castrojeriz up on the hilltop and a large Catholic Church below surrounded by scattered poppy fields below. (The village climbs up the hill to the left, but you can’t see it in my photo.) After passing the church I made my way up the hill into the village. (When you’re walking, villages seem to always be on hilltops even if they are down in valleys.) Although it was still early afternoon I had walked over 22k and was feeling pretty beat so I settled into my hotel for a (much needed) bath. Then I went down to the bar for the 12€ Menú del Dia (includes the wine) and took the afternoon off. Back to my previous comment of some considering the Meseta to be ‘dull’, it’s actually pretty spectacular in spring.Read more