Author: RebWhite

Today was blissful for most of the early hours, I was alone on the path (thanks to the 20 miles yesterday), it was beautiful out and cool, then sunny. I had hours of quiet before starting my book. 

I started out by walking back into Hospital de Orbigo to get back on the Camino. I passed a younger guy just loading up. He had a large backpack, a day pack and a grocery sack full of things. I have no idea how he was going to walk. I remarked on all of his stuff and he noted how little I was carrying. We both laughed and both were very pleased with our relative situations. And it was in Spanish which is always truly satisfying no matter how simple the vocabulary and small the conversation. So I started the day with a grin. 

After about 2 hours, I came into Santibanez de Valdeiglesias – how’s that for a name? I was ready for a break, a hot chocolate, but first went to the church because there was a sign that it was open. It was a newish church, still really ornate in the altar and completely quiet. No people except for the man who opened and had the stamp for my Camino passport. I was able to sit and just have silence and it was perfect. Just as I had imagined when coming over here, but has rarely happened. 

Then I had my hot chocolate and off I went again. Next I encountered a side stand run on donations. It must have taken a lot of work and was a treat. Everyone was stopping and eating fruit, peanut butter on bananas, whatever they wanted. I took a large bunch of grapes, dropped a euro in and went on my way. A perfect snack for the road. 

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Then Camino art around pilgrims:

And then walked into Astorga. I am in a really nice hotel – surprise! Right next to the cathedral, truly quiet, clean, so nice. I remarked on the change from the gas station hotel to the front desk clerk and she said – well, that’s the Camino. A different experience every night! True, very true. 

Showered, had lunch – it was decent and not meat, had fish! Then the bank, then the laundromat – yay clean clothes – it was so satisfying to see it going around in the washing machine, much better than the sink. Then – the chocolate museum. Yep, there’s a giant cathedral, but didn’t want to miss the chocolate museum. 

Chocolate making and Astorga happened in the 16c – this is how the brochure put it: “It started when Herman Cortes came back from Central America conquest. Herman Cortes could have had a connection with the city of Astorga, due to the marriage agreement of his daughter with the heir of marquessate of  Astorga in 1545, although finally this marriage didn’t carry on, it could be that previously, as a marriage portion cocoa could have been included, not for its nutritional value, but for its economic value.” 

Love the phrasing. Astorga is still known for chocolate, but its heyday was in 1925 when there were 51 chocolate makers working at the same time in the city. Can you imagine? It must have smelled wonderful. 

And then on to the cathedral. I always love it when I catch the bells, here’s just the side view, but the bells started chiming so did the quick video:

It was begun in 1471 and most of the work was done in the 1500’s. It was described as German gothic and it was a heavier feeling place than Leon. I was mostly interested in the different depictions of Mary. This is the main altar and was done byGaspar Becerra in the 1500’s – described as the Michelangelo of Spain. My book says this retablo mayer (display behind the altar) is one of the best Renaissance ensembles on the Road – it really is monumental. 

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Here are 2 more of Mary, the first from the 11c and the second from the 16c, so different.

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And a third that was used for baptisms and had the kindest face, forget when it was done:

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Then the Gaudi, or Disney, or no,  Gaudi museum – didn’t get to go in, but wonderful building, as was the building in Leon. Someday, I’d love to go to Barcelona to see his architecture on full display.

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Just a great day and now to bed and maybe even to sleep!

Well, today was a bit challenging. By the end, there were no other pilgrims and my maps weren’t working and I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever get here. Here being a gas station hotel. Hmmm. It was also the first day that I needed more water and didn’t have it. Oops. There were no cute little towns with cafes and that was a surprise because it looked like there were on the map I did have. The towns were there, but nothing open at all. I was walking through another asleep village and saw a farmer hosing down his tractor in a giant garage so I asked if I could have some water and filled up my water bottle. Saved me!

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But it was pretty, land changing again, starting to be a bit hilly, just slight, tomorrow the climbs start happening. Happily, tomorrow is only 10 miles. The photo above was a fun pilgrim statue – and that was it for that town. Don’t know where the town was, maybe it’s just a sign of a town. 

The town that I’m just outside of had this bridge which was the most significant thing for the town and it was beautiful. 

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This one had a good story –   And this bridge of 19 arches has 4 that are original to 13c and were there for the story!

From The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago:“In 1434 the Leon knight Suero de Quinones held forth on this bridge against all comers in what may have been Europe’s last true medieval tournament. Suero, scorned by his lady, wore an iron collar around his neck as a sign that he considered himself bound to her. When that failed to impress, he resolved to challenge the best lances of Europe to meet him on the Orbigo Bridge. Suero went to King Juan II at Medina del Campo, where he secured the King’s permission. In fact, the King had his herald ride through the kingdom reading out Suero’s 22 conditions of challenge. The word spread like wildfire through a European nobility sated with the messy intricacies of court politics and gruesome dynastic wars and yearning for the simpler world they read about in Amadis de Gaula and their other books of chivalry. That fictitious world was a place in which a single knight, by the force of his personality and sword, could prove the virtue of his cause though the whole world be arrayed against him. 

The wooden lists were constructed in what is now the grove alongside the bridge: 146 paces long, with a palisade and spectator galleries. 1434 was a Jacobean Holy Year (like this year, actually) so in addition to the contestants, their retinues, royalty, and the merely curious, the Orbigo road also thronged with pilgrims. Suero had the sculptor Nicolas Frances make him a life-size mannequin, sumptuously dressed like a herald, to set beside the pilgrimage Road with a sign pointing the way to the lists. The jousting began 2 weeks before St. James’s Day, the moment of maximum traffic along the Road (Camino). Colorful battle tents were pitched everywhere; pennants fluttered in the breeze. The air rang with the shouts of squires and the clang of steel as the knights rehearsed for the upcoming contests. 

At dawn on July 11, 1434, the longed-for tournament began. Musicians blared out the fanfare, church bells rang, and the assembled knights and their retinues marched to the village church for mass. The jousting went on for several weeks and after each day’s contests the knights banqueted on the river bank. Musicians played and the knights and ladies danced in the flickering torchlight. On July 15 Suero was pitted against a Calatan challenger who, respecting Suero’s reputation, dressed in a double thickness of steel. To mock him, Suero appeared in only light armor covered with a woman’s blouse. The enraged, heavily encumbered Catalan was no match for the prancing Suero until a lucky blow to Suero’s head knocked him from his horse. The crowd gasped. But a moment later, Suero danced up, crying, “It is nothing.” On July 20, Suero and his close companions stood off 9 knights of Gutierrez de Quijada, who had stopped at the tournament on their way to Compostela (Santiago). Gutierrez, his knights beaten, rode off swearing vengeance. 

On the last day of the tourney, August 9, a final great procession was held. Suero appeared and proclaimed that since he had proven his fealty to his secret lady by wearing the iron band and by breaking 300 lances at the jousts, he was now free. With that he removed the iron band and presented it to the judges. The crowd roared its approval. From the bridge, Suero led a procession all the way back to Leon (what I did today) where he vowed – now that he was free – to journey to Compostela as a pilgrim. This he did, and when he reached the cathedral, he deposited a jewel encrusted gold bracelet as token of his release from the prison of love. You will see the bracelet in Compostela around the neck of the image of Santiago Alfredo in the cathedral museum. 

Footnote: 24 years later, after taking part in many battles in the 15c civil wars, Suero was riding in open countryside when he chanced upon the still-rancorous Gutierrez de Quijada. The 2 men dropped their visors and charged at each other. A moment later, the quixotic Suero de Quinones lay dead.”

Ok – totally fun story, the best I’ve read in the whole book. I’m definitely going to the museum to look for that bracelet and what a fun piece of pageantry to put into my head when I walk back into the little town to continue the Camino tomorrow!

Ok, I have a new favorite city. Leon is truly beutiful and you can just walk and walk within the old city and continue to see more plazas, beautiful buildings, remnants of medieval and Roman buildings incorporated into newer buildings. Really not sure how they do that and would love to see the inside of some of these buildings. The highlight is definitely the cathedral.

 I had a wonderful morning. I got up and out by 8, knowing that the sun would be coming up and most Spaniards do NOT get up early given that they are out late – which you can hear most nights till quite late. I caught these photos early on:

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I walked all the way around the Cathedral of Leon, seeing ancient walls and then the cloister. An older woman was walking into the cloister and told me a service would be at 9am, before it officially opened. I reconfirmed I heard right and went to have a hot chocolate and croissant while I waited. Then the sun hit the cathedral as I watched and the stone shifted in color. 

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I went into the cloister and it was wonderful. There’s a scene in Love Actually when the guard behind Hugh Grant suddenly breaks out in a deep baritone in a carol, same thing happened here. The priest was starting the communion service and suddenly this voice came behind us and this man in a suit was just singing unaccompanied in the most beautiful, seemingly effortless voice. The acoustics were perfect. I didn’t get a picture of the church – clearly not appropriate, but I did get a photo of the entry into the chapel and of the cloister. 

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The cloister is right next to the cathedral. I hadn’t put it all together yesterday when we did the tour. But going through that arch at the back of the cathedral and round the cloister, then seeing through the chapel into the cathedral linked it for me. I decided to go back into the cathedral, listen to the tour again (in English!!!) and try to remember more details. I was able to get some photos without so many people and noise. Actually, just music for a bit, so nice. It’s the most beautiful church I’ve ever seen. The stained glass is just incredible. Some of the things I learned:

The Romans fell and it continued as a serfdom until things began to shift in the 11th and 12th centuries as the Christians started gaining territory and moving the Muslims out. The story of the back and forth seems just painful and the Jews had the worst time of all, the Muslims were better with them, but things would just settle and then the persecution would start again. Leon has a whole focus on the Jewish culture and history, but everything is either gone or just a ruin, so I didn’t see anything that could give me a sense of the life for the Jewish people. 

From the Christian perspective, life lightened in the 12th century with gradual prosperity building, a bourgeois class developing and there was Christian euphoria to be celebrated. Simultaneously, architects realized that they could use ribbed arches and not need as massive a Roman walled structure, thus allowing for light, high ceilings, windows and stained glass. Early Gothic was clean, airy and beautiful. This cathedral was built in the second half of the 13th century, 50 years. Incredible. 

The stained glass generally had vegetable/fruit/mineral in the lower levels, human allegories showing the capacity for love and hate, then the highest windows were all related to religious stories and celebrations. There are 1800 sq meters of stained glass in this cathedral. The rose window was truly spectacular, but hard to capture, I did my best. 

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The early gothic then started to be more elaborate and the lecture called the period of the 1400s-1500s late or florid gothic. This is the thistle gate, entrance to the pulpits with elaborate carvings and details. She said, “luckily, the cathedral was practically unaffected” by this over enthusiastic demonstration of skill. 

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Below is a statue from the 1200’s (?) and is particularly beloved by the people of Leon – that of a pregnant Mary. 

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This is in one of the chapels behind the main alter. Then a closed gate with the chapel for “his holiness”. This is the chapel that’s part of the cloister, but turns out it’s also just off the cathedral. Interesting how it unfolds. My photos is taken from through the gate keeping people in the cathedral out. This chapel was built in the 1500’s so is “florid gothic”, but the lecturer didn’t seem to think it was too florid and I thought it was wonderful. Inside it is the container for the sacraments. When he opened it this morning, I thought it must be pure silver. Turns out, yup, the most valuable piece in the whole cathedral. 

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Isn’t is amazing? A whole church within a church. I don’t know why I’m surprised since this has been true every time, but still amazing. 

I then finally tore myself away, went back to the hotel for breakfast and then back out to walk for a few hours, just absorbing the city, finding more ancient walls, walked into 3 more services. I seem to have a knack for communion. I’m becoming fascinated by the different manners of the priests, but they all have the exact same movements for communion. It’s “Spanish Day” here today and there were a lot of people at every service. And they all sing this beautiful song to Mary at the end of every service. 

Turns out Spanish Day is actually Columbus Day – or that’s what we call it. We’ve pretty much moved past thinking that’s something to celebrate, but hasn’t changed here!

Beverly and I, as we walked through the city after breakfast,  asked in restaurants for reservations for lunch (2-4pm and most places booked). Eventually found a place on a smaller plaza at a Japanese restaurant. The three Texans joined and we had a wonderful meal, completely happy to be eating different foods and it was seriously good. So today – my perfect schedule. Late breakfast with eggs, juice, toast, tea and then late lunch and then that’s it. Yay! Last night was also a great meal that I got a reservation for at a Spanish restaurant that was fantastic, but didn’t leave until after 10. 

Leon is so great, it’s making me think I would consider doing the Camino again if Rick wanted to do the whole thing…

Today was an easy walk, not so interesting, but again got the gorgeous sunrise shot, just love getting to start around this time. It was cold, 37, and I finally had to put my poles under my arm and tuck my hands into my jacket. Happily, I arrived to my hotel and found my box from Eli – yay! Mittens, different flip flops – getting shin splints from the others, and button down shirts. So happy to get a bit more sun and cold coverage. 

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I don’t always start with a bridge, but happened to do so again today. Also – here’s the Harris Eagle that was at the place I was staying last night. She loved her owner so much and was incredibly soft!

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Fun plus to the great place I was staying. Family run B&B and I had tomatoes twice! Veggies any time is great and these were really good. 
Walked through a little village that a sign pleaded for the peregrinos to walk through, only .3 k extra, so ok. Completely asleep town, but these were painted to simulate the constellations that pilgrims used to navigate their way. 

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Then walked into Leon. I didn’t know what to expect, but knew it would be a big city. Here’s my entry, lot of walking through the city, but it was ok. Much better than the 5 mile walk into Burgos. 

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And, then, Leon. Oh my, incredibly beautiful. Different from Burgos, actually maybe even more beautiful, but it’s a push. Another town to truly enjoy walking around – and I have an extra day to do it! A day off! Here are a few photos to give an idea of the medieval village and cathedral. I’ll give more details tomorrow.

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That cathedral is  12th c, can you believe it?!

From the town of frogs (maybe source of that name) to the town of the mules (definitely the source). This used to be the center for mule trading from the 10c on – till I don’t know when. I didn’t see even one mule. I did see some cows on the way, but that probably doesn’t count. 
I loved the Camino this morning. I had a great breakfast, then started by 8:30 after being driven back to yesterday’s starting point. Walked alone, cool, bit of a breeze, gorgeous morning. Just a happy walk all the way. I was quiet for the first 3 hours, then listened to Mingyur for the last hour. Here’s me walking, so very Camino on this stretch:

The trees to my left are plane trees, or sycamore trees according to my plant identifier. What was incredible is that they went ALL the way from where I left to within 2 k of the town. And they’re planted for the peregrinos. They provide the most perfect shade and I’m guessing that during the summer that’s worth a lot. Here are 2 shots of the trees, one showing how endless they are and that was just in front of me, the other shows some at dawn with crocheted blankets. I’ve seen signs in a couple of other towns with these crochet pieces saying the town was against violence so nice symbol to see first thing in the morning.

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And there’s the view to the right. After I got this shot, the farmer looped back around for the next row and we waived hello. Glad I’m not going over those mountains. 

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Walked into Mansilla de las Mulas, originally Roman and design of the town with a regular grid reflects its Roman origins. The main feature of the town are the medieval walls, in parts they are 3 meters thick. “The construction is typical of 12th c fortifications in the Terre de Campos, using the Mudejar techniques with clay, brick, and rubble-work.” I learned two terms today, Mudejar are Muslims who managed to stay even during Christian times, and Mozarabic – Christians who are Arabic in the Iberian peninsula. Sadly, even they were forced out – that hill earlier with the wine cellars? That community was Mozarabic and were there until 1609. 
When I took the photo of the arch, one of the original gateways, 2 older guys stopped to tell me proudly that it was 12c. 

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No pictures of churches, but I did go to a mass in the local church when I got to town. A guy was waiting outside and told Beverly and me (we arrived at the same time) to go on in and we did. 43 people plus 6 peregrinos were there which was pretty good for this size church. Per usual, it was beautiful and I really appreciated the altar, Mary and child as the center of the fantastical wall display that is in all these churches. The priest was giving a homily, not just using the book and seemed pretty lively. Made his audience laugh a couple of times, though quietly and respectfully. I thought it was interesting that only 15 took communion. 
Nice to see, but no photos this time. 
Here’s the statue outside the city, another guy stopped to tell me about it, made all at the same time, I’d thought the post was older, but no. Not sure when it was designed. There’s another guy around the back who’s just draped in exhaustion over the steps. I haven’t seen any of that, but we’re also in good weather and not dying from the heat.

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I got my halfway certificate today after we got back from El Burgo Ranero. Went with Sue and we were both quite pleased with our certificates! I asked him if there was any significance to the dragon and he didn’t know, but was so nice about doing the whole thing.

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Sue and I were in different hotels, but both walked from Sahagun to El Burgo Ranero, then got a prearranged taxi back to Sahagun, so 2 nights in the same place which was a treat. Beautiful cold to cool morning to walk, so nice. Morning Sahagun shot of an old bridge and a statue that was repeated, but with different carving in El Burgo Ranero. In the Burgo photo, there’s a building behind and to the right that I think was a silo. Isn’t it pretty? Love it that they put such detail into things like this – or used to. Not mentioned in my book, so not ancient, just pretty.

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This statue covers it all for the Camino, Jesus, Mary and the pilgrim. 

Sahagun is the biggest town between Burgos and Leon. Today, Saturday, was market day and the place was very busy. It’s a small accessible town, so nice to see it filled up with people and the markets that went for blocks with clothes, food, nuts, purses, things like that. Then everyone eating in cafes and talking and talking. It really is a wonderful culture for taking time to talk and drink coffee/beer/wine. The kids all played in the main plaza on scooters, roller skates, running around while parents sat around the side eating, drinking – but mostly talking. I should have gotten a picture of that whole scene, but was sitting with Sue and talking (guess it’s rubbing off) and didn’t think of it. But I did get a short video of my clothes drying on the little balcony with a gathering of only about 10 below on the restaurant. Not a special party or anything, just an afternoon. I did pick up that at least some of the time, the guys were talking about a game. 

There are churches here, of course. One is falling down and they’re trying to preserve it, the arch is from 1662 and is one of the entries to the city, used to be the facade of a church – must have been huge. Next is the Convento de las Madres Benedictinas, consecrated in 1184. It’s been completely rebuilt, and right next to it, they’re continuing to work on rebuilding and oh man, they have their work cut out for them!

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The main church I spent time in was the Iglesia de San Lorenzo. The current building is early 13c. Amazing because the brick is just beautiful. I went in and was lucky that there was a women there so I could go in and see their platforms that they carry on Santa Samana, Holy Week. The last time I’d seen this was when Rick, the kids and I got to Granada 15 years ago and realized it was Santa Samana. Everything closed and procession after procession of men (now mixed with women) carrying these incredibly heavy platforms through the street.\

This church had all statues and I didn’t see any giant reliquaries of silver like in Granada, but these statues were big enough! To Americans, the costumes are disconcerting, the statue outside shows the hoods that they wear with the robes. I asked about this and she said that it was just the custom and it made the people carrying the platforms anonymous, it was all about what they were carrying. She and the other couple who were Spanish all understood right away why I thought it looked negative, rather than celebratory. I only took a few photos, but you get the idea. These were actually three of the smaller platforms.

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The brick work, again, just gorgeous. 

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Here’s a curious thing. Sue and I realized the dead looking trees (assuming they grow and bloom in the spring) had been spliced to make continuous arches for the plazas they surrounded. They were in several places around the town. This photo shows a few connected trees:

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Another curious thing – what was this about? An arch just randomly (to me) placed on the path today:

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Tomorrow, we get transferred back to El Burgo Ranero and will carry on hiking from where we left off today. 

Can’t believe it, but today is the halfway point to Santiago. I’m halfway there!

Today’s thought topics during the walk:

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche is brilliant and also funny.
Opposable thumbs are important.
Rollies make a lot of noise.

For Rinpoche – his book In Love with the World is just remarkable. He’s escaped his monastery where he’s an Abbott and is making his way to Varanasi alone, with no attendants and little money. And the relative life is coming at him in all directions. He’s able to articulate the overwhelming sensory input, his body/emotion/mind responses and then make himself use his training to manage his mind and its thought processes. Absolutely amazing. A real example of what we can do to manage our reactions no matter the situation. And, I’ve laughed out loud several times. He’s so wry and definitely recognizing how cosseted he’s been from childhood because of his Buddhist lineage and status. 

Opposable thumbs are really important when you have a window of opportunity to grab a bush with no one near and then realize you can’t unbutton your shorts because your hands are too cold and your thumbs don’t work. Well, hold on and carry on, as they would say in Blechley Park (my other book location). Luckily the sun came up and I warmed up in time. 

A gentleman went by on the road that was parallel to the path (with bushes in between) and was pulling his rolling bag. Hiking boots tied on and he was fast! I was in the “focus on sound, not the source” meditation, when we were walking parallel and it was loud! I tried to just let the sound be, not think about how it was drowning out the song birds, the roosters AND the crows. Finally, I just stopped (for reasons noted above) and emptied the rocks out of my shoes as well to give him time to get ahead and let quiet descend again. 

Later I caught up as he moved off the road onto the path because the road turned and he’d put the bag on his back. Wow, that can’t be that comfortable, even if it is a softish duffle with wheels. But clever, allows him to do the trip and take his things, but not have to carry all the time. 
Here are some morning sights:

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The last picture is just classic for this section of the trail. 
These next two are from a town called Moratinos. I said a bit about it in the video from the hill, but the wind interfered. The Moors were here as the full or partial population until 1609 when they were completely pushed out of the Iberian peninsula. The little caves with doors were used for food storage and wine-making, part of a wine culture that dates back 2,000 years to the Romans. They don’t know for sure, but know the caves have been used this way for at least 500 years. The sign noted: “Legend says that they were dug in wintertime, a past time for children who could keep warm and occupied scooping out the soft clay. Once exposed to air, the earth hardened to a stony finish strong enough to support the waster earth that was raised in buckets through the chimney ventilation-shaft and dumped out to form the roof of the present ‘Castillo’.”

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That’s the hill that I’m standing on to get the video of the surrounding area.

I’m in Sahagun tomorrow night as well, getting transported back here because of housing logistics, so I’ll write about it tomorrow.

Today was the shortest hike I’ve done, I think, and I took the day off. I walked, but all I did was listen to Rose Code, look at the fields when I remembered and spent most of my head time in England at Blechley Park where they did code-breaking. It was great and a nice time out of my focused thinking. 2.5 hours left, I’ll finish it tomorrow after I do most of my usual things.

No church sightings, no sightings of much of anything but fields and it was wonderful. Got hot again today, down to shirtsleeves for the first time in days and the flies were very busy. Didn’t have my bug spray, but I’ll carry it tomorrow. 

We compared at breakfast how many flies we had. I only had one and named him Fred the Fly because he liked to be VERY close to me at all times. Happily, he was tricked by light so I managed to get him into the bathroom when it was time to sleep. Sue said she killed all she could, swooping around the room. I asked if she sang a little song for their happy passing and she said she wasn’t that nice. 

The only place to stop today was a food truck and bless his heart. It was perfect timing and very few walked by. That group of 4 at the first table are who I’ve been spending most of my time with at meals over the past few days. 3 from Texas and Sue from England. We had dinner at the monastery last night and were giddy because it was such good food. I had a full vegetarian meal!

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Here’s where we came from, the mountains near Burgos. Such a clear day. 

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And this video is from my room/hotel. Big change from last night and I love it. Every day brings something new. This hotel is the only hotel, the only bar, the only restaurant. Very small town, says population of 50, hard to imagine. There is a church, but it’s been rebuilt and rebuilt from the medieval times. The main thing to see are the “best Roman ruins on the entire Camino.” But – 3.5 k from the town. The owner pointed out the grove of trees where it is and if I had a bike, I’d definitely go. But really don’t want to add on 7 more k in the heat. So – enjoying an afternoon in my room, listening to all the community action happening downstairs. And in the room next door, can hear every word, but it’s in Spanish so not a problem.

Here are a few overall things I’ve noticed.

I’ve eaten more tuna that I’ve eaten in my entire adult life since I learned about mercury in tuna and swordfish. They put it on almost all the salads. There was tuna soup the other night. I don’t know why, but put me down for mercury by the time I get home.

They are super conservative with light, hit the switch, go in the bathroom and you’re lucky if you’re out before the light goes off, same with corridors, stairs, etc. But – night time every town, every hotel but a few has a gazillion very large bright lights on all night long.

They don’t seem to have a water shortage, or at least even the smallest hotels have great shower pressure and hot water.

Hard surfaces are everywhere, all through towns with cobble/cement streets, hard surfaced houses, small lanes, no grass or trees to soften and very little regard for how sound carries. And it carries! Outside if anyone is outside, you know it. Inside, even the nicest hotels have thin walls, so snoring, talking, etc. a shared experience. No one complains, maybe hearing each other is a comfort?

Sue and I have marveled at the amount of beer and wine that is drunk, but we’ve never seen sloppy behavior at all as people gather outside for tapas and drinks. And they gather a lot! Very social culture, so nice to see. COVID? Must have been even harder for these communities since they clearly spend a lot of time gathering with friends and family. She also noted that because of the lack of behavior, no police. In England, she said they’re constant because the behavior of groups of people drinking is so challenging. 

Just love getting to learn, wish my Spanish was growing, mostly I’m cementing some basic words and I pull them out repeatedly!

John, one of the English guys I walked/lunched/dinnered with for a few days is a day ahead now and sent a text to Sue and me saying that this day coming up was totally boring. Not! I’m so entertained by my own head, the books I’m listening to, the art, trying to stay in an observing state – the people, sounds, sights, so much. Here’s a snippet of the art – you can see a church in the distance in the bronze cut out statue, very careful placement:

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The first taken from a bridge with me hanging over.
Then there’s the nature:

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Birds eating the sunflowers before they can be harvested, hope there’s some left for the farmer! Sorry about the blurry photo, they were all in motion.

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FORGIVE THE VIDEOING! Didn’t want to be horribly obvious so rested it on my poles.

Then the churches. Every day I think this is going to be the day for no more churches, then something different shows up. This one was great. First, it was clearly a fortress/church:

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This was in the town of Villalcazar de Sirga. I’m going to go back to The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: “According to tradition, ca. 1157 Castilian king Sancho III invited the Knights Templar to protect the Santiago Road. They established their base in Villalcazar and within 40 years had constructed a monumental fortified church and residence complex.”

This is the Iglesia de Santa Maria la Blanca. Most of it dates from late 12th c and early 13th c. “Legend holds that in 1157 Queen Blanca de Castillo, the wife of Sancho III, donated some of her jewels for the refurbishment of the church and its dedication to the image of the White Virgin.” 

What’s incredible to me is that the earthquake of 1755 and the war against the French in 1808 caused the loss of: fortified tower, cloister, chapter house, residences of the Knights Templar, pilgrim hospice, silos, stables, the enormous surrounding wall with it’s towers, gates, etc and the west end of the church. And look at what’s left! Unbelievable.

THEN – the miracles of the White Virgin:“An unrepentant French pilgrim could not physically enter the church until he had begged the Virgin to forgive him.”“A crippled German pilgrim who saw the ‘great number of pilgrims going to Santiago from his country’ decided to hobble along with them and although he found no cure in Compostela, he was granted his miracle in Villasirga on the return trip.“A sinner from Toulouse was sentenced by his abbot to walk to Compostela carrying with one hand a 24-pound iron weight to lay on Santiago’s altar. In Villasirga he rested it on the alter and prayed for pardon. The weight split in two, and since no one could lift either piece, he was free from his obligation.”

The best for me, personally, is they had music playing. I, absentmindedly, had forgotten to take out my earbuds when I stopped listening to my book, so the music was not really loud (!), but I could hear it. Here’s the church:

Curiosity and maybe a great idea for old folks:

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Maybe for old bikers?!
And then the piece de resistance, crossing this bridge (cheated and got this from a postcard) and see the next church/monastery:

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And, oh yeah, that’s my hotel! I can’t believe it. Seriously nice, remodeled from a monastery complete with cloister and giant church. The room is wonderful, I’m not flipping back the covers so I’m only touching the sheets, it’s quiet with a courtyard outside my window and a cloister outside my door. Did the same goofy thing with the video, but had to take photo and video of my room. 

First from my window, then out my door:

I was hoping for music and to sit in the church, but there was a video/recording that never stopped talking (in Spanish) about the Cluny reformation in the 11th c, that’s when the Royal Monastery of Saint Zoilo, began to shine. The brochure: “We know that a community of monks lived here in 948 AD. Teodomiro was the abbot’s name, who finished writing the cartulary, foundation book of the monastery in that year…in the 5th century the monastery changed its dedication from St. John the Baptist when the relics of the martyr Saint Zoilo, also name Zoil, were brought from Cordoba.” So flexible, right?

It became Benedictine in the 15th century and the “current cloister was constructed in order to impress in stone the importance of Benedictines throughout the centuries and History.” I’m impressed!

You saw the cloister in that splendid video, here’s the church. That giant box must be the reliquary for Saint Zoilo’s relics. 

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And, because I’m always curious about these saints, from Wikipedia: Saint Zoilus is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church. Christian tradition states that he was a young man martyred with nineteen others at Cordoba, Spain.” I think they all became saints. There are a LOT of saints here. 

Oh, and also, there’s a Michelin starred restaurant here, so there are variations on the….meat, cheese and bread 🙂

Long windy walk, but so pretty. 6.2 miles then a town, 6.2 then a town, then 3.1 and hotel. So long quiet walks with wind blowing, but bit warmer so all my layers worked and my hands didn’t freeze. Walked over a Roman built path then climbed a hill that had a lot of people gasping a bit because of the false summits, but the view was beautiful. 

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Continued the walk, then a bridge built in the 11c to assist pilgrims (with frequent reconstruction keeping the original design), then the Hospice of San Nicolas from the 12c. This was cool because the Italian Confraternita de San Jacobo di Compostelle di Perugia has restored it as a pilgrim refugio. And people around me took refuge! Long time, full exposure and it was the first bathroom. They were giving out coffee and wine (10:30!), cookies and cooking chicken. Just a little place, but it was a really nice outpost. 

Then, got to the hotel and read what my friends David and Linda had to say about Fromista. “Two words explain Fromista: wheat and pilgrimage.” Yep, the photo says it all. It was really rough here when they were totally dependent on the vagaries of weather and fighting locust attacks. Then, in 1773 the Canal de Castillo was built to bring water to the region and it made all the difference, actually reversed a decline. 

Here’s the church that I can see out my window, hoping I get to hear the bells all night, I love that since I’m usually awake anyway!