Destination - Castrojeriz
Distance - 19 km
Hours of walking - 7:30 - 12:30
Terrain - big ascent out of town, what come up must come down, rocks rocks rocks
Weather - big blue sky, cool breeze - lovely
Nature - fields in fallow
Misadventure - Nothing of note
Desert walking equals early mornings. We left our Alburgue at 7:30 at a fresh 9 degrees and it felt wonderful. The Stars glisten like diamonds in the sky. A great walk, and we got to see another Spanish sunrise. Life is good.
Walking on relatively flat paths puts the Prairie portion of the team back on comfortable grounds. The path was a little rocky today, posing issues for blistered feet. Even with the rocks, we made fantastic time today.
As we walk, if you let your mind wander, you can hear a symphony of sounds. Six feet hitting the gravel, crunch crunch, six poles tap tap, backpacks scrunch scrunch, change in my money belt jingle jingle, Dee's shell hitting her backpack ting ting. It is a joyful sound. Wendy and I tried beat boxing to it; we need rapper Mitchel here to help us!
We were able to view incredible ruins along our path today.
As well, the town we are staying in has some incredible history.
Castle ruins
We lucked into finding a wonderful Alburgue with our fellow Canadians Lynn and Wendy (imagine two Wendy's in one hostel!) The owners of the Alburgue did an amazing job of restoring this building - making it modern but keeping the historical aspect of it.
We opted to stay at our Alburgue for the pilgrims meal. Having communial meals with our fellow pilgrims is a highlight. It feels like a big family celebration at the end of the day. Tonight we celebrated our Swedish friend, who would be returning home in the morning. This is his eleventh time doing a portion of the Camino. He travels as far as he has time for. He is full of good cheer and wisdom and will be missed.
Following dinner, the owner explained some of the artifacts in the dining hall. When they restored the building, they saved the beam and the screw that had served as a mechanical wine press.
After his explanation, he took us four feet down into their Medieval Cellar.
Luckily we had Maria with us to translate from Spanish to English. As they renovated their building they found the tunnels below. They brought in a historian to study the structure. It had originated in the Roman Empire. In the tenth century it served as a communication tunnel and defence to the castle located behind the building. Later in the eighteenth century, they utilized it in wine production. Currently they use it to store wine. The owner was so proud of the history and rightly so. They did an amazing job of restoration.
Cheer of the day from Wendy - it was awesome to find another Alburgue with a pool (for soaking feet) and a waterside (for ambiance)
Foot pool looks inviting and needed for swollen feet. Your trail has been interesting and beautiful scenes to follow. Keep safe and together. The bracelets are going to be a wonderful memory of your amazing journey.....very proud of you!
ReplyDeleteFoot pool looks inviting and needed for swollen feet. Your trail has been interesting and beautiful scenes to follow. Keep safe and together. The bracelets are going to be a wonderful memory of your amazing journey.....very proud of you!
ReplyDelete