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Published: October 8th 2014
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We rose a little late today. I was awake early, but out of respect for other sleepers you can't just turn on the light. Using a small torch is OK but before leaving it is good to have a thorough look for anything forgotten. We ate breakfast at the Alburgue and hit the road at about 8.30.
Feeling good, we made good time despite there being a long steady climb back up to the meseta. Many people were keen to get to San Bol, 5.8kms down the road, but I suspected there wouldn't be much there as it has a population of zero. It's not always nice being right (did I really say that ?!) and this was one of those times. San Bol consists of a ruin and a sign which directs you to Hontanas, 5 kms down the track.
From San Bol, we walked up another steep hill, carefully passed across 3 kms of wet, slippery stones, and gathered mud on your boots which had to be scraped off every 20 metres or so. Pretty tiresome! This changed back to gravel track until we began the descent into Hontanas .
Hontanas is a nice village with
Entering Hontanas
Meeting old friends a population of 80 and provided us with a dry spot to sit, some familiar faces, and a chance to buy a cafe con leche and some bread to make lunch with. We did a retape of one of Sue's toes and away we went. About 40 minutes out of town Sue was concerned about her foot and upon removing her sock we could see blood coming through the dressing. It looked worse than it was, so after redressing it, we were walking again.
About 4 kms from Castrojeriz we sat down for lunch and made olive and chorizo rolls. Sue wouldn't eat the chorizo because of our food handling practices, or lack of them. It was all very nice. Jan arrived so we made him a roll and set off on the final leg into town. On arriving on the outskirts of Castrojeriz you pass under a 12th century arch of an ancient monastery. It's quite amazing but this sort of thing happens on a daily basis. As we approached the turnoff into the village a huge storm was on the horizon so we increased the pace and just made it to a bar before the heavens opened
up. Many pilgrims further back were caught in it and as we left the bar after seeking refuge for 20 minutes, the soaked stragglers came by, commenting on how dry we were and how it was our turn to take one for the team next time.
We are staying in a nice private 'pensione' tonight and it has 3 beds and a private bathroom. It's not much dearer than a hostel and far more comfortable. The locals predict rain tomorrow so we will just have to wait and see. Dinner tonight was at an old restaurant near our accommodation. We saw the locals go in and that's usually a good sign. The owner recommended certain courses so we took his advice and the meal was delicious. A great days walking but Sue's foot still has issues. It will be dressed and checked in the morning and nursed through another day. Thank god their paracetamol is 650 and not 500 strength as it is at home.
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Susan Petch
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Gorgeous photos
Beautiful photo of the town. Love the black and white photos as well.