Pilgrims on the Way

Just as we crested a hillside and spotted the village of Ledigos for the first time, dark storm clouds hove into view. I scoffed that they were nothing – a piffle. Francine, apparently afraid of jinxing the weather before we got into our albergue, shushed me. But it was too late, as the sky started pelting us with hail. We […]

After a while, we came to a place where the Camino crossed the highway and continued on the other side of the road. Needless to say, we continued to walk on the highway. Today had been enough of a cold, wet slog that we decided to knock off early, in the next town we came to. We arrived in Ledigos […]

No, not Hobbit homes. These are bodegas, underground storage most often used as wine cellars. Although we will come upon them frequently in the coming week, these are the first major ones we sighted. As you can see, we are walking along the highway at this point, which is never my favourite. Date: 17 April 2016 Place: Between Calzadilla de […]

We stopped for lunch in the same place at Calzadilla de la Cueza where I had stopped for lunch three years previous. This time it was cold enough that we lunched indoors rather than out. Fun fact: three years ago I forgot my fleece on one of the chairs here and didn’t realize it until we were already an hour […]

After four or five hours of cross-Meseta trek, we arrive at last in the tiny village of Calzadilla de la Cueza (population 52). Large sections of this village are abandoned, and the major business seems to be agriculture and catering to pilgrims. We immediately sought out a spot for a late lunch. Date: 17 April 2016 Place: Entering Calzadilla de […]

After we got through the worst of the flooded bits, we spent hours and hours walking through the Meseta, the endless flat. I took about a dozen photos that over the course of four hours that are all pretty much variations on this theme. Even so, there were other flooded portions. At various points we were obligated to jump wide […]

Finally, we reached a place where the water was covering the Camino to a depth guaranteed to soak through your hiking shoes. We did the only logical thing: we took off our shoes and socks and forded the water. And boy howdy, was that water COLD. You’ll note that in this photo, Francine is just at the shallow part. It […]

Because it’s a long four or five hour stretch after Carrión de los Condes before the next village, everybody packs their second breakfast and lunch. The local government has thoughtfully provided picnic areas like this every so often along this part of the Camino. As you can see, they were less useful this time than one might normally expect. Date: […]

A couple of kilometers up the Camino, we come to the first place with standing water on the road. Fortunately, it wasn’t particularly deep, and it was relatively easy to cross without getting your shoes too wet. It was, however, a harbinger of things to come. Date: 17 April 2016 Place: Between Carrión de los Condes and Calzadilla de la […]