Sigüenza

I had been debating whether to add 6 kms to the 31 Km day, so that I could visit Carabias, with one of the first porticoed Romanesque churches in Spain (at least I think that’s what I remember). The original idea was that Clare would take a cab a few kms out and then we’d go to the church. But there was no cab availability, so she was going to walk the shorter route. So, hmmm, did I want to add those extra kms????

When I got to the turnoff at Palazuelos I looked at the weather and saw that rain was forecast for 11-2. Since there was no way I’d get to my destination by 11, I decided that since I was going to get wet anyway, I might as well go see the church. I’m very glad I did, it’s beautiful. Locked up tight but beautiful.

A few kms outside Carabias, my wikiloc stopped working. Oops. And at that point, I wasn’t on the Camino, so there would be no arrows to follow. I pulled up Google maps and in about 4 km it got me back onto the Camino, right at a junction with a humongous salt factory.

At promptly 11am it began to rain. And it rained for the next few hours —nothing too heavy. I even took a quick rest sitting under a tree and was reasonably well protected.

At about 5 kms out of town, Atienza appears. The castle on top, dominating the town. After checking in, and doing the normal post-camino things like showering and washing clothes, I headed out to see the sights. Beautiful plaza, very Castilian. And I climbed up to the castle, which had its typically amazing views. Below and in the distance, I saw two bright purple fields that are surely lavender.

It is raining again, and the hotel restaurant opens in a while, so that's probably what we'll do. Tomorrow a nice short 24 Km!Read more