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Camino a Santiago Day 18: Sahagún to Calzadilla de los Hermanillos
Distance: 15k (9.3mi) Elevation gain: 109m (359ft) Duration: 3h 33m Steps: 19,996 Calories: 955 Wow, just looking at my step count I’m feeling like a total slacker today. The shortest of all my Camino days this was planned purposely for a couple of reasons. The first was to recover from yesterday’s super long day. The second, because there simply was nowhere else to stay along the route I’m currently on. I left the official Camino Frances today to take an much more isolated, alternate along an ancient Roman route called La Via Trajana. Months ago when first planning this day, my main reason for doing this was because the usually…
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Camino a Santiago Day 17: Carrión de los Condes to Sahagún
Distance: 30km (20mi) Elevation gain: 552ft Duration: 6h 37m Steps: 39,878 Calories: 1,730 I’m a total slacker. I was supposed to walk 24 miles today. I only walked 20. But I have an excuse. I was walking into a lightning storm and a nice Spanish man at a bar offered me a ride along with three others. Legit. I took it as a sign. And you know what? It took all of 5 minutes instead of another hour and a half to cover the last four miles. It really puts this whole thing into perspective doesn’t it? I left Carrión de los Condes today bright and early at 5am. It…
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Camino a Santiago Day 16: Fromista a Carrión de Los Condes
Distance: 20km (12.37mi) Elevation gain: 84m (276ft) Duration: 4hr 30m Steps: 34,278 Calories: 1,250 Why do I always take the wrong route? I mean, it wasn’t technically the wrong route. In fact it was the official one. It was just the ugly one. Alongside a road, for three miles….ugh. My new Swedish friends were rubbing it in later that they got the nice shady, river view. They’re not my friends anymore. LOL. Really though, today was quite a pleasant day. It was short. Very. I left around 7am hoping to beat the heat (yes, I sound like a broken record, but it’s a thing). A few minutes into my day…
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Camino a Santiago Day 15: Castrojeriz to Fromista
Distance: 26km (16.3 mi) Elevation Gain: 237m (777ft) Duration: 7hr Steps: 40,575 Calories: 1,616 My view makes me happy. And my tinto de verano. And my patatas ali olí. If today sounds like I’m more into my food than the walk it’s probably because I felt it was just one of those stages to get through. After walking through some truly deserted villages the last few days, having a bigger-sized destination town with a picture perfect hotel patio is definitely the high point. I’m just in awe of the Romanesque church I’ve been sitting in front of for the last couple of hours. Knowing that the temperatures were once…
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Camino a Santiago Day 14: Hornillos del Camino to Castrojeriz
Distance: 20.3km (12.63mi) Elevation gain: 191m (625ft) Duration: 5hr 8m Steps: 34,271 Calories: 1,309 What an idyllic day. From the poppy fields, to the ruins of a XIV century monastery, to the picture perfect approach into Castrojeriz. Today started in a slightly different way to days past. Because the finishing town for the stage was a village so small that there was barely a couple of restaurants and albergues, staying here was never really an option for someone looking for a private room. I booked a place that was about a mile and a half off of the Camino route. I know this doesn’t sound like a big deal, but…
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Camino a Santiago Day 13: Burgos to Hornillos del Camino
Distance: 21km (13.13mi) Elevation gain: 128m (420ft) Duration: 5hr 5m Steps: 34,484 Calories: 1,412 “If you want to find an answer, forget the question and trust the Camino” -Anonymous. I was blessed by a nun and met a Pilgrim who’s been on the Camino for eight years. I mean, back home we’d call him a bum, but somehow not here. I left Burgos today quite late. It was nine thirty when i set off. Having stayed in an apartment for the last couple of days, I just wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to chill, make myself a proper breakfast (the Spaniards are not big on breakfast like we…
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Camino a Santiago: Rest day in Burgos
Coffee on my balcony. Followed by wine and cheese on my balcony. Followed by….you get the picture. On day two of my love affair with Burgos, and more specifically with my Burgos Airbnb I definitely took advantage. Don’t get me wrong. I did explore the city, which is beautiful. I just spent quite a bit of time doing what you’re supposed to do on a rest day: resting. I got up late. Having a kitchen to cook in, I made myself scrambled eggs with chorizo. Added some toast, yogurt, juice and of course, coffee. Add in my lovely view and voilá. I was in rest day Heaven. Once I did…
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Camino a Santiago Day 12: Atapuerca to Burgos
Distance: 19k (12mi) Elevation Gain: 156m (511ft) Duration: 4h 15m Steps: 32,570 Calories: 1,185 I may never leave my balcony. Like maybe I can extend my time here for another month and just forget about the Camino. I am currently sitting on the balcony of my apartment in Burgos. Apartment you ask? Let me explain. I’m spending two nights here. And as such, I chose an Airbnb for those nights. I figured two weeks in it would be nice to have the added privacy of not being in a hotel, guesthouse, hostel, fill in the blank. I was right. There is a lot to do here, which means I will…
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Camino a Santiago Day 11: Belorado to Atapuerca
Distance: 30km (19 mi) Elevation Gain: (1,630 ft) Duration: 7h 30m Steps: 37,995 Calories: 2,015 I took a bus today. Yes. A bus. But I didn’t cheat. Let me explain. This was a heck of a long day. There was a mountain crossing, a mass grave for political prisoners, a religious procession celebrating a village’s Saint, a butterfly photography session, and an archeological dig site containing not just the remains of five hominid species, but the oldest human remains ever found in Europe… That’s not even going into all the random encounters and conversations along the Way. Today had so much going on it was definitely enough to make your…
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Camino a Santiago Day 10: Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Belorado
Distance: 22.5km (14.14mi) Elevation gain: 363m (1,190ft) Duration: 5hrs Steps: 31,474 Calories: 1,384 There is a private home built into the side of a mountain!! And a medieval fair of sorts. Oh and really cool mural art. That in a nutshell is Belorado (pop 1,800). There is also the front part of a something that looks like an old Volkswagen Combi sticking out of a stone wall in the back terrace of my hotel. Never mind the XVI century church in the background with a dozen or so stork’s nests perched on top. It’s all rather bizarre. But it works. Today’s 14 mile (22.5k) walk from Santo Domingo de la…
