Pilgrims on the Way

Francine crosses the Canal de Castilla by way of the locks. You can see the town of Frómista in the background. I’m fascinated by all of these old gears and cranks that work the locks, all the more so because they all still work. And I can’t begin to tell you how relieved we were to get into town – […]

Eventually, the Camino crosses the Canal de Castilla just before entering Frómista. Here, there are a set of mechanical locks, originally for raising and lowering canal boats to differing elevations. Although there are several nearby bridges, the Camino crosses right over one of the locks. Date: 15 April 2016 Place: Approaching Frómista (Castilla y León, Spain) Today’s Map:

Each day of our pilgrimage, it has pleased God to send us a new trial. If it is not hills, then it is rain. If it is not rain, then mud. If not mud, then driving wind. Today, it pleased God to send us all of these in succession. To these must be added the moment by moment reminders of […]

Between Boadilla del Camino and Frómista, the Camino follows the Canal de Castilla. This canal, like so many great canal projects, was built in the 18th and 19th centuries. It rained most of the walk, and if that wasn’t exciting enough, we were also buffeted by a strong, driving wind. Date: 15 April 2016 Place: Between Boadilla del Camino and […]

We pretty much walked straight through Boadilla del Camino, heading for our planned stopping point of Frómista, an hour and a half or so further on. My main memory of this village, which you can see behind Francine in the distance, is that it smelled pretty strongly of cattle. Shortly after I took this photo, it began raining again in […]

Just before arriving at the village of Boadilla del Camino, the unending flat farmland gave way briefly to a field of wildflowers, including these daisies. Even though today was a slog, it certainly had its moments. (For those keeping track, yes, there really is about two hours between the previous photo and this one.) Date: 15 April 2016 Place: Approaching […]

The rain came and went, but the mud and puddles was a near-constant. This is a beautiful stretch of the Camino in the early spring. In the summer, I imagine the heat and the lack of any shade would be a problem for me. Ever since I left Arizona in 1991, I don’t do heat very well. Date: 15 April […]

The Way stretches long on the Meseta. After Itero de la Vega, the next village is a conservative 8.4km on – more than two hours’ walk. And our destination for the day was another 5.4km beyond that. The terrain, as you will see in the photos of the coming days, is relatively flat. Were it not for the rain and […]

Parts of the town of Itero de la Vega are a little run down. As you get toward the edge of town, you will note that graffiti artists have tried to make the best of a bad situation by covering these derelict buildings with a fresh coat of paint. These are nowhere near the quality of the murals in Belorado, […]

Lunch was in the town of Itero de la Vega, at a place with the unlikely name of Pilgerherberge Bar Restaurant Fitero. It was good to get out of the intermittent rain and the near-constant mud. We ran into some familiar faces here, and we probably stayed a little longer than we should have. Normally, the rule is that you […]