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Published: October 8th 2015
John and Mary Daly
Our Irish friends who are doing the last segments of the Camino.5 September 2015, Saturday. Stage 12, Belorado to Monasterio San Juan de Ortega
GPS: 16.2 miles 5 hours 32 minutes moving. Left Casa Waslala at 0820 after custom ordered breakfast. Arrive in San Juan de Ortega at 1525, 7 hours from point to point.
Fitbit: 15.17 miles, 34,650 steps, 155 floors (stairs)
We leave Belorado following Paul's directions so we do not run across any wayward drunken groups. The street cleaners are already out in force and they are preparing for the big Saturday night performance. It is a beautiful day. We travel west to the foot of the Montes de Oca, formerly a wild unpopulated area and notorious for the bandits that roamed its slopes preying on pilgrims.
We are headed for Monasterio San Juan de Ortega. The 400 meter gain for the day has been in the back of my mind for some days (Karen writing. Elevation gain outings are not my favorite. It is a good thing El Camino does things in stages. Otherwise I would really have been obsessing over what was coming up later!) Today we are over 90% natural paths or earthen tracks. Halfway through the day we start to climb--the
high point is just over a 1000m but in my mind it is Mt. Everest. The slopes are covered with scrub oak and pine and has a windswept, dry appearance. There are fields of heather.
A startling site is the Monumento de Los Caidos, a stark monument to the fallen, Caidos, during the Spanish War. We stop for a snack and contemplate the atrocities committed by both sides of the conflict. In this case it is a memorial for a mass grave of those who opposed Franco. It is a warm day and the only sound is the whir of windmills on the blustery hill as time seems frozen. We finally stir and continue our 'ups and downs' of the day.
We trod up to the first high point, Alto Mojapan and descend to a small bridge over Rio Peroja and immediately ascend to Alto Pedraja. All of this traveling is in a straight up and down line and it is quite something to see pilgrims with their different colored packs along this continuum.
We come upon a lady, her daughter and her gentleman friend. She has food and beverage articles for a donation. We buy a
Another view of the vegetation
The landscape at the start of the day classic Coke for my sugar high and sit down on some decorative stumps they have provided. As we leave she hands us a miniature tortilla (the Spanish version is about 3/4 inch thick potato and egg mixture like a very thick pancake) to munch on along the way. Does the little girl go to school? How long of a season does the woman have to 'sell' things up in this harsh weather? Ah but yes, it is Saturday and maybe they are only up here on the weekend to provide the gift of courtesy or love to the pilgrims.
And then, suddenly, we drop into the remote pilgrim village of San Juan de Ortega, of St. John of the Nettle. Unlike Santo Domingo, Juan came from a wealthy family and gave up his heritage to become an apprentice to Santo Domingo. There is hardly an ancient 'public works' in this area that does not have their handprint on it! He was a brilliant architect and construction manager!
This little village is interesting in that an extended family appears to run the whole show. There is the albergue, a pub and a newly renovated casa rural, La Henera, that
An unusual oyster shell shaped baptismal fount
In a church we know not where but we were there!
An now we know it is in Iglesia San Roque in the village of Villambistia. is opposite the church.
And now to the mass--that is essentially a pilgrim's mass, as only pilgrims are to be found in the hamlet. The parish church is slated for restoration and one can peek through wooden slats and see what a monumental task that will be. Furniture, statuary, paintings and other miscellaneous are in jumble piles, awaiting rescue.
The mass is held in the most serene surroundings in the grey stone monastery. The Romanesque monastery is believed to have been planned by Saint John (San Juan) and his mentor Santo Domingo. At 5 p.m., on the spring and autumn equinoxes, the rays of the setting sun light up the capital depicting the scene of the Annunciation.
As one writer has said, "The feeling of peace and tranquillity was definitely imparted to me by the Monasterio de San Juan de Ortega. It is a beautiful place both inside and outside."
We are in the service with Cam and Marie. Oscar and Jonathan are in the back. When it is time for the Eucharist we just assume, as non-Catholics, that we will be observers. However, Marie whispers instructions on what to do to receive a blessing as
a non-Catholic so we can participate. When the service is over we are headed toward the door but Marie says to follow her. We dutifully do so and the priest joins the group and says he wants to give a special pilgrim blessing. He asks the nationality of all present and has papers from which you can follow the blessing, whether Korean, German, English, Italian, French etc. Cam volunteers to read the scriptures in English. The priest then asks each to come forward and he places a blessed cross around your neck and lays his hands on your shoulders and blesses you and your journey. It was meaningful and deeply moving for all there. Again, there was an explanation, written in many languages about this particular cross. This was also the only site, so far, where the mass has been provided in a booklet that gives both the Spanish and many other language translations. It makes following the service possible.
Afterward we wandered around the monastery. The explanatory plaques for art work were given in a number of languages. We then saw the priest, now in jeans doing some pick-up and clean-up chores and talked with him. He is
the parish priest for a number of small churches in the mountains. He was also carrying sand in, from the construction site outside, and forming an artistic setting for the votive candles. Wow, I think church attendance would probably dramatically increase if there were more caring and loving clergy! He was interested in learning about us and appreciative that the many tokens of caring during the mass were appreciated.
One of the most meaningful experiences of El Camino and I make this statement as I write this segment toward the end of our journey. Harlan also found this the most memorable experience on the Camino to date.
Good dinner in the bar and a short walk to our casa rural where we do appreciate the warm covers--already the mountain air is cool at night.
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