Walking the Camino de Santiago
Good morning! It’s about eight o’clock in the morning of Monday, 15 April 2013, in the village of Itero de la Vega, and Eamon and I are walking on our way out of town and down the Way. This spoon caught my eye as we walked. It was stuffed into the crumbling brickwork of a building we passed in the […]
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There’s a beautiful café/albergue as you enter Itero de la Vega. For the life of me, I cannot remember that we stayed here, though. We generally adopted a rule not to stay at the first albergue in a town. I’m pretty sure that we grabbed dinner here, though, and Francine and I had lunch here three years later. In any […]
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This church and cemetery are probably located just before you enter Itero de la Vega, though I can’t be certain. Google maps streetview is no help here, and I did not note it in my journal. It might be the Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Piedad. Or not. We were in any case quite exhausted by this point, having […]
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We ultimately passed three different signs welcoming us to the Province of Palencia. This was my favourite, both because it was the oldest and most dignified, but also because there was shade nearby. There’s a map carved on the other side showing the route of the Camino through the province. Date: 14 April 2013Place: between Castrojeriz and Itero de la […]
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The Camino weirdly sidesteps the village of Itero del Castillo, as the bridge across the Río Pisuerga (the eponymous Puente de Itero del Castillo) lies perhaps a kilometer to the south. Although it’s a highway bridge, with a roadbed of 20th century asphalt, the bridge itself is much older. The original 11th/12th century bridge was rebuilt in the 16th century, […]
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Once you descend from the Colina de Mostalares, the Meseta opens wide before you. This photo of Eamon is, to me, one of the most iconic photos from our first Camino. It captures the lonely vista of the Meseta, where you walk alone with God, often with no other human being in sight. Many pilgrims take similar photos, and I […]
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The way down the ridge was steep, and it was also paved. This is pretty unusual, and I’m not a fan. Bikes whizzed past us on this hill, and they were going fast enough that they would not have been able to stop if a walker made and unexpected stop or turn. Three years later Francine and I walked down […]
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We rested at the top of the ridge for some time, catching our breath and hydrating. The view was spectacular. My photos of the view towards Castrojeriz weren’t great, but this one really encapsulates the entirety of the place. Your eye can follow the Camino, snaking away from us towards the distant horizon. Glorious. And yes, the way down is […]
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Just yikes! And in the heat under a merciless sun, no less. This climb was no fun. Three years later it was raining when Francine and I climbed here, and it was still no fun. My journal notes large amounts of water consumed, as well as copious amounts of sunscreen applied. Date: 14 April 2013Place: Colina de Mostalares – between […]
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That afternoon, we left Castrojeriz and headed out into the Meseta. This region has a reputation for being monotonously flat, but as you can see that isn’t quite true. Long ridges cut across the Meseta, like wrinkles in a sheet. You can’t go around without sometimes going many kilometers out of the way, so the only option is up and […]
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