Casa del Cordón

Another great day! We can’t work out why the meseta has a bad name, and people get a bus through. We liked it in autumn, and now in spring it is sensational! But it has again been cold…Amr’s app says it was average temperature of 1° during the walk…so you can believe we felt chilly…and I still haven’t taken off my layers…they are the only ones I have, and luckily they don’t get wet and sticky and smelly in this weather!! This is the exact time we would have been walking between Burgos and Leon last year, and looking at photos then, everyone was walking round in shirts and short sleeves…global warming for you!

Anyway, it is far better to be cold walking, we spring along and it does feel good. And the countryside is just so gorgeous, with the bright green new leaves, and today was very undulating, but no steep uphills. As usual we started out sunny and fine, then clouds gathered and fluffed around above us, and we would welcome the times when the sun shone between them. It is so weird to remember these exact walks we did in previous times as such hot and unshaded stretches!! And when we arrived exhausted from the heat, and that was only in September - I hate to think of doing any serious walking in summer. So what I am saying is that we have been surprised by the cold, but really appreciate how bracing it is, and so much better than the heat…not complaining! The only thing I brought but haven’t worn so far is my shorts, and I expected to wear them every day.

We had an uphill rise during the first half, and then dipped right down to Hontanas which has a lovely church we visited. Then fairly flat till here, going via the ruined XXIV convent the camino takes you through just before reaching Castrojeriz. It is a lovely approach as you see the town in the distance, with a ruined castle on the hill above, and a large church you pass by at first. It was during this last approach that we felt 3 drops of rain (not snowflakes today) but as usual they didn’t last long. Sadly the church was shut, as it is a good one, and entering Castrojeriz is always weird, as it’s quite a long spread out town with about 3 parallel streets, and you have to walk a long way to the other end where the hotels are, but it is always totally asleep - no signs of life at all! The odd pilgrim wandering around, looking rather dazed…anyway, we found our hotel, and R and R found theirs, as we couldn’t be booked in the same place here, and each have dinner at our own hotels.

We have stayed at this place twice before, but always get a bit muddled, as there is a building where the rooms are, and opposite is the bar and dining room…and they seem to shut the main entrance to the bar, and you have to enter round the corner…a mystery. In fact, when we planned to meet R and R after we’d all wound down, we couldn’t find any bar open at all, except our hotel’s secret place, where we all had a drink…after they had climbed the hill to the castle, as a little post walk exercise!!

Now they are doing their thing, and we ours, and we’ll meet tomorrow after breakfast to set out for Frómista.Leer más