Pilgrims on the Way

In the rolling green fields just past Castildelgado, we find this sign. It claims that we have only 576 kilometers to go before Santiago. By comparison, we’ve walked perhaps 200 to 250 so far. Reports vary. Let’s assume we’re one-third of the way into our Camino. Of course, as we know from long, bitter experience, the distance signs on the […]

I‘ve often said that Spain, or at least the northern part we visited, isn’t a country so much as several different countries jammed up together. Each has its own geography and climate, its own food, its own culture, and even its own language. Here are a couple of funky things that let you know that you’re probably in Castilla rather […]

Castildelgado has a population of perhaps 60, but for a thousand years, it has done a bustling trade with the pilgrims who pass through. This is the major religious site, the Iglesia de San Pedro. It holds the remains of the village’s most illustrious son: Don Francisco Delgado, Archbishop of Burgos. Fun history bit: some say it was he who […]

We had our second breakfast in the village of Castildelgado in a place called “Restaurante El Chocolatero“. Because why wouldn’t you? It’s apparently also a hostel, but it might be a wee bit too dangerous for me to stay there. Date: 10 April 2016 Place: Castildelgado (Castilla y León, Spain) Maps!

The Spaniards love their heraldry, and the village of Redecilla del Camino is no exception. There were several such carved arms up on the sides of older houses, but this was pretty much the most spectacular. The Way so far this morning has been relatively flat and easy, but Francine was a little out of it – I described it […]

We quickly come to our first Castillian village, Redecilla del Camino. Here we see our second sign welcoming us to Castilla y León. It’s a bit more modest than the previous one. We also see our first Castillian town sign, complete with map. Every village, every town, every city has one of these. Some are more helpful than others. The […]

With this gigantic sign in the middle of nowhere, we leave La Rioja and enter Castilla y León. We are now entering the second Kingdom of our Camino, having left Navarra far behind. Even with this photo, it’s difficult to get a handle on how truly immense this sign is, made even more so by its isolation from any other […]

We are still in the long shadow of Grañón just after sunrise. Soon, the sun will burn away the mist, but for now, we are still in the cool shadow of the oncoming storm. The steeple you see is the parish church where we stayed the night. The stormy skies are a portent of the days to come. Date: 10 […]