Day Fifteen

As luck would have it the shared room I booked last night, I shared with just me, a very peaceful evening and the luxury of my own bathroom.

The Alburgue had this amazing lift. Which was more like a ride at a fairground but very welcoming when you are on the third floor.

The day starts off with a chill I head out early, plenty of pilgrims catch up and pass me, I chat with a couple from Wollongong near Sydney.

Today we leave the La Rioja Region and move into Castile and Leon, Spain has Seventeen Autonomous Communities, on the Camino Frances you walk through only four.

Some days on the Camino the rewards of walking are not necessarily what you expect. Today most of the path is stoney and hard on the feet, we follow the highway or the new one being built. It’s noisy and we have a strong head wind. We are in a crop farming area there is a very fresh smell of manure most of the way. At one point there is a Go Stop Man to get all the pilgrims across the highway being built. It was a tough last few km to my Alburgue, I was very glad to arrive.

Delighted with a bottom bunk even if it was next to the toilet door, I chat with my bunk mates, the distances walked today and which country we all come from. I spot an All Blacks jumper on my neighbour, He sounds Spanish, he is from Auckland, from the Phillipines originally. We chat some more with showers and re-packing of backpacks all going on. I tell him I’m from Hastings, he says ‘Oh I go there for work sometimes’.

Just outside the Alburgue are these brass plaques embedded in the pavement, two very noticeable Camino related ones are Emilio Estevez and Martin Sheen, the Father and Son Hollywood duo who made ‘The Way’ a must watch movie to experience the Camino at home.

The Alburgue has its own restaurant which is delightful it has a family run atmosphere there are many happy pilgrims, I enjoy a proper meal of zucchini soup followed by a spinach dish, all light and hopefully ok for my recovering tummy, I even try a glass of the Vino Tinto.

About 27km, many many pilgrims.

Elevation 810m

Rewards of the Camino; having dinner with 3 pilgrims from all over the world sharing Camino tales and the joys of visiting Hobbiton in NZ and learning about the life of a Filipino, Kiwi who happens to be a Catholic Priest.

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Day Sixteen

I feel well enough to walk with my pack again today, it’s actually comforting to have it with me even though it makes walking a little harder at times.

Today I am walking to Villafranca Montes de Oca. The walk is a far softer one than yesterday we are away from the highway and the path is comfortable to walk on, even squishy with mud in some parts.

Today is a public holiday, it’s Labour Day, when I arrive at Villafranca the cafes are full not only with pilgrims but Spaniards out for a day trip from Burgos perhaps which is an easy drive from here. It’s cold but the sun is shining I enjoy my lunch watching the comings and goings of this small rural town.

There are no beds here tonight, I could push on and do the next 18km which includes a climb to over a 1000m but have decided to be a Wayward pilgrim this evening.

I walk 5km off the Camino for a night in a rural boutique hotel. The walk is along a flat country road with a river on one side and wheat fields on the other. It’s very peaceful.

The hotel is in a tiny village called Villanasur Rio de Ocr. This is not a pilgrim town, there is a church a few houses and an abundance of black cats.

I sit on the chairs at the front of this cute building until check in time. When I step inside it’s like I have gone to another planet- it’s gorgeous. Walls are painted with artistic flare. Each floor is a different theme. I’m on the top floor my room is African. There is a bath and lovely towels and soaps and shampoos. The view from my little window looks out to the snow covered mountains. Did I mention the bath! It’s in a room with throws and cushions and candles.

A serious amount of pilgrim pampering is required before dinner at 7:00pm.

Two other wayward pilgrims have found their way here via a long walk and in the end a taxi back to this place as there was no accommodation where they had ended up either.

Over the next couple of hours while eating warming vegetable soup, salmon and fresh good potato thins. Drinking a glass of wine of the region trying fresh sheep’s milk cheese with honey and walnuts. I get to know my fellow pilgrims, a couple from Brisbane. Like me being a pilgrim on sabbatical. Just for one night.

About 21KM, Many pilgrims. Perhaps some are taking a rest day today.

Elevation 900m

My head literally in the clouds as I soak up every detail of this little oasis, the Camino will still be there tomorrow when I return.

Xx