Pilgrims on the Way

You know you’ve well and truly entered into the Catholic corners of Spain when you again begin to see shrines like this. It seems like the region of Castilla is much less Catholic than, say, Navarra or Galicia – the beginning and ending of the pilgrimage. Somehow, there’s always that mushy middle, where the churches are only open on Sundays […]

Molinaseca’s medieval center is just lovely. This is, I think, a quick shot down one of the streets we crossed as we walked through town. It’s a good place to visit for those wishing to get a glimpse of what living in a medieval town might have been like. Minus the horse poop and sewage, of course. Date: 23 April […]

Molinaseca’s medieval center invites further discovery. As I said before, I really want to spend some additional time here on a future Camino. Here we see Francine and Rebecca catch up as we stroll through this beautiful little town. This is where Rebecca definitively joined our little Camino family; we would walk together the rest of the way to Santiago. […]

This cat was hanging out near the place we ate breakfast (and I remember eating enough for first and second breakfast). Eventually, she jumped up into the window, trying to get our attention, presumably so that we would help provide her with her second (or possibly third) breakfast. Date: 23 April 2016 Place: Molinaseca (Castilla y León, Spain) Today’s map!

Following a leisurely breakfast, I walked outside and snapped this photo of the medieval bridge upon which we crossed the Rio Meruelo. For me at least, on Camino I rarely remember to look back and take photos from the other perspective. You can see the structure of the bridge clearly, as well as the feisty little river below. Date: 23 […]

In Molinaseca, the Camino takes a sharp left turn over this medieval bridge over the Rio Meruelo. Beyond this footbridge is the charming medieval town center, with its narrow streets and overhanging buildings. More important for us at the moment, at the end of the bridge is a restaurant where we can finally have our breakfast. During breakfast, we run […]

This photo showing Francine entering town gives you a much better idea of the layout of Molinaseca. It’s a lovely place, and I think I’d like to stay overnight here and explore the town on a future Camino. Date: 23 April 2016 Place: Entering Molinaseca (Castilla y León, Spain) Today’s map!

Well, we made it down the slip-sliding hill to the road leading into town. Only a couple of hundred meters now to the actual town, which is just about as charming as they come, although it’s a little difficult to tell from this photo. About this time, we lost track of Stijn, who forged ahead. Date: 23 April 2016 Place: […]

The Camino winds down and around through hills and valleys as we descend into El Bierzo. Finally, we catch the first good look at the town of Molinaseca. That looks like a pretty steep climb down just to get to the road. Date: 23 April 2016 Place: Approaching Molinaseca (Castilla y León, Spain) Today’s map!

During the descent into the Valley of El Bierzo, we ran into Billy again. Remember Billy? We hadn’t seen him in ages. Truly, the Camino is a small world, despite its size. Here you see Billy leading Stijn and Francine down the slippery slope. Beautiful view and great weather. Still no breakfast, though. Date: 23 April 2016 Place: Between Riego […]