2012-09-22 Saturday

2012-09-22 Saturday

Hornillos del Camino / Castrojeriz 

Camino Day 15. Today's segment is 20 Km, but when we were leaving the Casa Rural El Molino Seco, there was a group of Swiss pilgrims going to Sanbol, 5Km ahead of Hornillos, so we decided to go with them, Linda and Kathy stayed behind to go with the another driver back to Hornillos, even though we could see in Kathy's eyes that she wanted very much to come with us, but Linda is determined to walk every Km to Santiago, no matter what. Kathy, off course, would never leave Linda behind.

Erico, San Bol ahead

Now is a good time to mention a topic that our group (the Gang of Four) has been mulling over since the beginning of the Camino. Paulo, since St. Jean, has been advocating that we skip the whole "mesetas" region of Spain, taking a train in Burgos and going to Leon. He says that the mesetas are either too hot or too cold when the strong wind blows incessantly for days at a time, that the scenery is flat and boring, no trees and no shady, and with long distances between villages; in short, he says that this region is the ugliest of the Camino. He knows, he did the Camino 12 years ago. Terry, on the other hand, wants to walk every single Km of the Camino with his backpack on. Terry and Paulo, by the way, tease Nancy and I calling us "pussies" because we have been shipping our backpacks when our knees are giving us trouble. Nancy and I have declared that we are the "Pussy Club," we have no shame. I, on the other hand, feel that I am here not to prove anything, not to myself, no to others. What I want is to experience the Camino and enjoy it while I am doing it. If I am hurt, I have no problems with sending the pack forward or skipping segments if I feel I cannot make it. I proposed, and the group accepted, that we walk two or three segments of the mesetas and then decide what to do. This way, we experience at least part of this region before deciding to forge ahead or skip to Leon.

The walk to Castrojeriz was pleasant, my leg and knee me bothered a bit at the beginning, but once I warmed, up it was OK. The scenery, surprisingly, was quite nice. In short order we were in our destination, we ended up walking just 15 Km. During this walk, the Gang of Four talked again about skipping or not skipping to Leon, but this time Terry agreed that it was best to skip to Leon and have a few more days at the end to spend in Madrid.

Paulo and I were walking faster than Terry and Nancy, and when we arrived at the entrance to Castojeriz we stopped to wait for them, sitting at the steps of a cross where the road split in two. Soon, a middle-aged Korean woman came and sat besides me, she took her shoes off, it was a tennis shoes more appropriate to go to a shopping mall than to walk the Camino, revealing feet raw with blisters. We tried to talk to her, but she knew no English or Spanish. We figured that she was part of a group of Koreans that we have been encountered in the last few days. 

Erico, arriving in Castrojeriz

After we settled down at the Hostal El Manzano, did our laundry and hung it out to dry (had to do it ourselves, no laundry services in this hostel,) we went out for lunch. Several people had recommended the restaurant El Meson, saying we must try their suckling goat. 

While I was at the bar, waiting for the others to get ready to go out for lunch, I saw a pilgrim that was carrying her pack in a cart. I went to talk to her about her cart, she is from Switzerland and is walking to Santiago all the way from her front door! By the time she got to St. Jean, where we started, she had already walked more than 1,000Km! She said she will walk back to her house...

Erico and two pilgrims from Switzerland. The one on left is walking with the cart

Close up on the cart

The restaurant was almost at the other end of the town, it's a narrow and long town that follows the contour of the road. It was a good thing the food was good, Terry was complaining about the long walk, but later said it was worth it. Paulo and I ordered the the suckling goat and a bottle of a Rioja Reserva wine, both the goat and the wine were excellent. Nancy and Terry chose more traditional fares. When we arrived at the restaurant it was empty, we were the first customers, but the tie we left it all tables were taken. If you are in Castrojeriz, eat at the El Meson, try the suckling goat.

Suckling goat

Back to the hostal to rest. Linda and Kathy arrived, they are staying at this same place. Later in the afternoon, Michele, the Canadian, stopped by our bar, she is staying at the town's albergue, at the other end of the city, she sat at our table, and we chatted for a while. I also visited the local church, La Colegiatta, from the 12th Century, it has a beautiful altar. 

La Colegiatta

La Colegiatta

La Colegiatta

La Colegiatta. Hostal El Manzano on the right

The plan was to catch a bus from Castrojeriz to Leon, but we were surprised to learn that there is no bus service in town on weekends. So we will keep walking, we will go to Fromista tomorrow, 25 Km away. Today I carried my backpack, but for tomorrow Nancy and are shipping them.