Pilgrims on the Way

We left San Bol about dawn on the 13th of April, 2016. One of the great things about the Camino is that it follows a route from the east to the west, so in the morning the sun is usually behind you. Just after we left, I turned around and snapped this photo. It’s not great, but hopefully it will […]

This is the lighting fixture in the dome of the albergue at San Bol. There was just something that struck me as oddly elegant about the chandelier in this refurbished bodega in the middle of nowhere. Date: 14 April 2016 Place: Arroyo de San Bol (Castilla y León, Spain) Today’s map:

One of the great things to recommend this albergue is the communal meal. When we were there, a bed for the night was a mere €5. For an additional €5, you could buy into a meal prepared by the hospitaleros. Needless to say, everybody did, because (a) even doubling the cost of the night was still what most albergues charge […]

San Bol might just be my favourite albergue. Certainly, it is in the top five. It is an old bodega on the site of a thousand-year-old Roman spa in the middle of nowhere, converted into an albergue decades ago. It has enjoyed quite a checkered history – at one point, it was apparently owned by Jamaican Rastafarians. Nowadays, it’s run […]

The stretch of Meseta between Hornillos del Camino and Arroyo de San Bol has more than the normal amount of ups and downs. None of them are steep or in any way difficult, but the cumulative effect is that you can’t really spot where it is you’re going until you’re very nearly there. That’s a pretty tiring way of walking. […]

On the seemingly endless Meseta after Hornillos, Francine found a straw hat. We were pretty sure who it belonged to, so we planned on bringing it back to them. Presumably they would be staying at our destination, San Bol. As it turned out, this was not the case. I can’t remember how long we held on to the silly thing. […]

This is the Iglesia de San Román in Hornillos del Camino. It’s our view from lunch, as this little plaza is right across the street from the alimentación where we had our sausage and eggs. I particularly enjoy the rooster. We did try to pop in and take a look, but the place was having some renovation work done, and […]

In my experience, you don’t want your Camino lunch to be too hearty – it slows you down for the afternoon walk, when you’re already probably starting to drag. My breakfast and second breakfast tend to be heavy on carbs, so I like to have a protein-full lunch. Here’s the spot in Hornillos del Camino where we stopped. It’s across […]

Hornillos del Camino is not a large village. In fact, you can pretty much see all of it in this photo. According to the 2004 census, the total population is 70. Even so, it’s quite charming. It’s got a church, a grocery, and no less than three albergues. Why so many? It’s a long stretch of 12km to the next […]