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Published: October 4th 2016
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After a very sleepless night, I arose at 6am, did the bathroom thing, and went down to breakfast. The options were toast/ jam/ muesli/small cakes/ very bad coffee ( made the night before). I settled on small cake/ toast with jam/ very bad coffee. I needed this as I was taking my Vitamin I tablet and it requires food.
We headed out at 7.15 onto the poorly lit street until we reached pitch black on the edge of town. The headlamp was only barely working ( it was cheap!) so we brailled our way up the track using our feet, taking extra care for signs at any fork in the road.
As daylight arrived, the day opened out into lovely honey coloured fields, and paths of a quality we hadn't experienced before. The first 10 kilometres to Hontanos was gently uphill and this medieval village was a sight for sore eyes. A coffee and a croissant later and we were on our way along tree lined paths, past ancient ruins until we arrived at San Antòn, a 14th century convent. This remarkable remnant of pilgrim life was first established in 1146 under the patronage of King Alfonso VII in
order to attend to the needs of pilgrims and did so until 1787; no staying power I suppose.
Castrojeriz is only a short 4.5 km walk from here, along tree lined roads that provide no shade at all. On entering town we visited the Camino related church of the La Virgen del Manzano. Whether you are religious or not, these churches reveal so much in history , architecture, artisan/ artistic skills, and the culture of the times. These churches are monuments to life in Spain and on the Camino, from the 7th century manuscripts to the painstakingly detailed caved wooden alter pieces.
I hope today was a turning point for my foot issues. Sorry for giving them the cover I have, but when you are in constant pain from walking, you do tend to become a bit obsessed with every spot you place a foot on the paths. The new boots seem good, thanks for asking, and have helped ease the pain , providing more room for movement. The old boots will become a memorial on the way tommorrow, and some artistic soul will no doubt add their own touches and my boots will slip into Camino folklore;
good riddance. That's 1.3kliograms I won't be carrying any more.
As for the sleepless night, I'll give you a small insight into a night in an Alburgue . Firsly, I must mention that I snore....apparently. Not an issue for me; I don't hear it. Last night I shared a room with one Australian, one Frenchman , and three Canadians, one who I suspect was a moose.. I'm sure one person actually started snoring before he fell asleep, more joined in, possibly me at times, while someone, who I suspect has sinus problems, blew their nose periodically throughout the night, making a noise that sounded like a horn used for calling the previously mentioned moose. It was horrible but all is quickly forgiven because the reality is, if you can't hack it, get private accommodation. Tonight we did!
Well, news on the dinner front is poor. The lovely hotel we ate at last time is closed for the day. However, other options will be investigated and we will eat. I bought a new headlamp, a pair of liner socks, went to the bank, and had a long chat to a new Canadian cyclist who is cycling now because the
first few days ruined his feet. So I've been busy. I'll add a few pics, head off to dinner at 7pm, and be prepared for an early assault on Alto Mostelares tomorrow morning. It is seriously steep !
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