Moratinos to Calzadilla de los Hermanillos

There have been a few miles that have passed since my last post. So there will be a flurry here while I catch up.

One reason for the gap, is that I have walked on a more remote alternative of the Camino, and the wifi has not been as reliable. I have also had a couple of hard (physically) and lonely days.

I find Sundays in Spain to be a lonely time. I suppose Spaniards are with family but there is no one out and about and so the few towns I passed through on Sunday seemed like ghost towns. On top of that I decided to take a less popular route off the Camino so for a whole day I didn’t see any pilgrims. And the path was very hard on my feet.

The long road…

But the tiny town of Calzadilla had a great restaurant (apparently I got there too late for Sunday lunch) and I enjoyed a couple of cana’s while watching the locals enjoy their big Sunday meal. The bartender was very kind and kept bringing me bread and jamon slices which I devoured. Some older Spanish guys next to me at the bar took pity on me and gave me some of their cheese. I must have looked hungry!

Cheese and tomato

The next day was a 25 km (about 15.5 miles) walk before any services, no coffee, no bathrooms, no trees, no buildings, nothing. Thankfully I had plans with Michael from Galway to eat a big dinner the night before. We had a nice time, met Ammon from Israel, and Sabine from France who are both very sweet. And had some pasta for the first time on the Camino, which tasted great!

Me, an Irish man, a French pilgrim and 2 Americans walk into a bar…

Corrion to Moratinos – 30km

Greetings from Moratinos. A sleepy little Camino town with a pretty great little restaurant which is where I am now. It’s Saturday night so there is a table of locals behind me playing a spirited game of cards! Entertainment until dinner!

It has been an interesting and long day on the Camino. A sad goodbye to the beautiful Monastery and onto a long (LONG!) 17km of straight road and path from Corrion to a small village which I can’t remember the name of. No services, no bathrooms, nothing for miles and miles. Thankfully at the gas station heading out of Corrion the gas attendant made me a cafe con leche so I had a little giddy up to get me through the next 10 plus miles.

The one moment of interest was when a snail and I crossed paths about 5 miles out of town. Things got misty and foggy which made the walk feel even more lonely.

Foggy Meseta day

But as fate would have it, at that no-name village where I was having a great cafe con leche and some tortilla, who walked in? Francesco and gang, along with some other Camino friends I have made along the way. The cozy bar got a lot cozier.

Lunchtime with the boys

It was only 11am but the boys bought me a beer (I couldn’t say no) and we shared a plate of pig’s tail. Gristly but good.

Pig’s tail

Then back on the road and a long 14km to Moratinos. The wind picked up big time, and now as I sit here listening to the locals argue over the last hand of cards, things are whipping around outside. Tomorrow we are expecting rain.

It was a classic meseta day on the Camino, known for being flat and with lots of non-descript wheat fields. Reminds me a lot of the area where I live west of Portland. I feel at home, but the miles are long. I had a lot of random spots of pain, and sadly needed to take Advil tonight but feel ready for an easier 24km day tomorrow.

I forgot to mention, during yesterday’s walk, I was going by a farm when someone yelled out at me. Was worried I had done something wrong, but this man came running out with a big basket of grapes for me! They were delicious. Camino angel!

Now I am waiting until it’s proper to order some dinner. Apparently 8:30 is still too early.

Boadilla del Camino to Corrion de los Condes

Today was another great day on the Camino. My body is getting used to this walking routine although there is pain, no doubt about it. The pain moves around, first the toes, then jumps to the calves, back to the feet, then the shoulders. I know none of these are serious so it is just a matter of toughening up and remembering how lucky I am.

Before I started, I thought today I will walk for my friend Dr. D who has had some recent health issues. I do not know a sweeter, kinder person and I am so sad he has suffered. When I had pain today I redirected my focus to sending him some healing thoughts.

The walk out of Boadilla del Camino was even more beautiful than yesterday. It was pitch dark when I left and I was so thankful I had the Gaia app to help me find the Camino. No one else was on the path, so I was fortunate to have some way finding help.

The canal outside of Boadilla

Soon I was walking along a canal and it was so beautiful and tranquil. I stopped a lot for pictures so several pilgrims caught up with me, including the Fab 4 from Barcelona. I think they were worried about me starting in the dark so there was a round of “Buenos Dias!” And “Brava”!

There were more towns to stop at today, and several really beautiful robust churches. They don’t call this the area of castles for nothing! Several in the Romanesque style which I love, so I really enjoyed those stops.

Beautiful church along the Way

Tonight I am living well. I am staying at the Monastery of San Zoilo in Corrion de las Condes. It is a converted monastery and is a beautiful spot. More for tourists than pilgrims but they definitely welcome us, and there are pilgrim symbols all over the grounds. It is quite lavish – probably one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever stayed at in all my travels.

Added note: after I wrote the above, I had the pleasure to meet Michael and John who grew up together in Galway, Ireland. We had some great chatting and shared beers. Then Ray and his wife (who I first met in Hontanas and are from BC, Canada) joined us and we had great craic together before we all headed to dinner in town.

Me and the boys from Barcelona

In the Plaza Mayor in Corrion, I ran into Francesco and gang AGAIN! It was a great end of a pretty great day.

Hontanas to Boadilla del Camino – 29km

The last 24 hours have been a perfect Camino time. We had a great communal meal of paella last night and I sat with some very nice pilgrims from Netherlands, Germany and Ukraine. The meal was great and ended with some kind of chocolate flan that was delicious.

Castrojeriz

The hosts at the albuergue last night could not have been nicer. A group of cycling pilgrims came in at about 9:30pm begging for dinner and after already serving 25 pilgrims paella (which we finished off!) they somehow found more food and fed them a healthy big dinner. The Camino provides for sure.

This morning, after a cafe con leche, I headed out into the darkness. Hontanas is an awesome Camino village, you can see that the Camino’s recent popularity has given it new life. I have a feeling I will be remembering Hontanas as one of my favorite stops on this Camino.

The sunrise was spectacular and in the distance a rooster crowed as I watched the sun come up over Hontanas.

Sunset in Hontanas

First stop was the ruins of San Anton monastery where I met Francisco and his buddies from Barcelona, who escorted me into Castrojeriz and a local bar for more cafe con leche. (They got beers at 9 am gotta love that!). They are retired, Francisco is a retired architect, and they are doing sections of the Camino every year – this year Burgos to Leon.

After Castrojeriz there was a significant hill which I walked with mucho gusto! The views were amazing, reminded me a bit of the Palouse in Eastern Washington. For some reason I kind of blew through the next town (and last chance for food) and soon realized it was a long 12 km to Boadilla del Camino where I am now.

It was hot and as I was walking alone in this barren area, I just asked Mom or whatever God was hanging around… if they could just give me a little wind to cool things down. No lie, about 30 seconds later this lovely breeze came through. I kind of don’t believe in that stuff except Janice’s diamond was found once and I know that was divine intervention. And then today. Thanks Toni!

Nicholas on the Camino!

Burgos to Hontanas – 33km

Finally, the first day on the Camino is here and the 33 kilometers of my day one are behind me. Gosh it is warm here. And there are flies. And wheat. Lots of wheat.

I buried the lede, let’s talk about the walk from Burgos to my current spot – Hontanas. It was a gorgeous cool morning, but it was also dark at 0700 and if there had not been other pilgrims to follow I know I would have been lost. We all stumbled around the streets of Burgos looking for signs we were on the right path. Thankfully we were.

By the time the sunrise was at its peak, there were lovely colors in the sky, it was 7:50 or so and we were out of the city. This great guy commented to me how much he loved mornings, and I could only agree. We ended up walking all day together, he was really a great guy, from Segovia, Spain. We talked food and music (the first Spaniard I have met who loves Southern US rock!) for the entire first half of the day. He was staying in Hornillos, so we said “adios and buen Camino” after lunch.

Then the walk took an interesting turn. So have you ever walked in a lava field in Hawaii? It was just like that but instead of lava on a hot day, it was wheat fields. In Hawaii, the sound of the ocean? Was just more wheat fields. Distant palm trees? Wind turbines, surrounded by wheat fields.

Then there were flies. Three of them who seemed to want to walk to Santiago with me. Have you ever tried to swat away a fly caught on the inside of your sunglasses when your hands are holding walking sticks? Just as I was feeling embarrassed about this, I turned to see that all the pilgrims around me were nowhere to be seen.

Did I miss the turn off for some kind of pilgrim oasis? I was sure that all the other pilgrims were instead of swatting away flies and getting thirsty and hot, were diving into a cold swimming pool while drinking cold Fanta.

Finally an albuerbue sign came into view. Hontanas – 2 kilometers. I was estactic until I realized 2 kilometers is still a long ways. I was pretty happy when I saw a rather large building come into view until I realized it was just a huge stack of hay bales.

Ok ok the day was great…. Really great. I loved every minute of my first day… and I made a Buddhist peace with the flies. I am now resting in Hontanas at the albuergue getting ready for the 7:00 communal paella dinner. I washed my stinky clothes, made reservations at the next two albuergues, had a cold Fanta (so gooooood) and had time to say hi to you all here.

Finishing with an amazing sunset. BTW the paella was amazing!

The journey begins

My new naked friend – el peregrino.

Note: this was written over the last 48 hours as I flew from Portland to Salt Lake City, long delay, then to Amsterdam, then to Madrid, spent the night and took a bus to Burgos, where I am now.

This moment, at the precipice of the journey is always a bit stressful. There is the unknowing, new things which make the journey exciting. The simple task of using the restroom becomes loaded with uncertainty, how do these European toilets work?

I am on the other side of a 9 hour flight and it’s still pandemic time so the flight was maybe a quarter full. This meant I had two seats to myself. I can barely contort my body to turn two seats into a “bed” but I did and got as much shut eye as roaring jet engines will allow.

It’s now Tuesday morning and after a mellow but fun night in the Madrid suburb of Barajas, and a good nights sleep, I am on a bus bound for Burgos. Burgos is my jumping off spot for the Camino. I am arriving a day later than I had hoped due to the delayed flight out of Salt Lake. (Side note: one afternoon here is enough, how Buddhist that I was delayed but that actually made things better)

Last night (in Barajas) I went to a couple of local places for a small beer. One offered me a chopped up fresh tomato as a free tapa – the second one, a deep fried piece of pig, sort of bacon like but more gristly, perhaps pigs ear? Vegetarians look away, I eschewed the tomatoes for pigs ear.

This morning I woke up early and headed to the only place open at 6:00 am, a little churros spot on the plaza mayor. The largish churro maker was so sweet to me with my bad Spanish, I am full of regret that I didn’t study more before leaving. He serves me up the best cafe con leche since I left the Camino in 2019. So aesthetically pleasing with chocolate colored liquid in a little glass. The churros are made fresh in front of you, but I decide to forego for now – I am regretting that decision.

Arrived in Burgos and I have had a great few hours exploring the town. Burgos has a massive cathedral with lots of pilgrim connections. Sadly the one spot I wanted to visit was blocked off today. I am seeing lots of pilgrims and I am more than ready to be one of them, and get some miles under my belt.

Burgos Cathedral

Also had my first tortilla – this is a baked dish of potatoes, onions, and cheese which is a staple of the pilgrim diet in Spain. I will grow very tired of it soon, but it’s so fun to take my first bite.

Carb loading?

I am having issues uploading pictures so bear with me.

Oh the drama of slow WiFi.

These boots are made for…

In the final prep stage and getting excited to fly out on Sunday. Before I go, tomorrow I will say “so long” to many dear friends and co-workers. I know this is the right decision but after 16 years it is very hard to say goodbye.

I have been so privileged to work with the amazing people of Providence St. Vincent hospital here in Portland. They are heroes. They are my heroes.

Last Sunday before Spain

https://youtu.be/xdw24jTCSA4

It was a gorgeous morning for a training walk around town. I wanted to get some miles in before a lunch date with my dear friends Kate and Colleen.

The day turned out better than I expected. The post rain storm air smelled great and the plants and trees seemed so vibrant. I even came across a young doe and her fawn navigating the subdivision up the way.

Had a great catch up lunch with my friends at Helvetia Tavern. A perfect day.

Video: Training Time in Oregon

I am really hoping to share videos from Spain on this Camino. I am using my training time here in Forest Grove to work on my shooting and editing. Would love feedback.

My 2021 Camino route

A couple of you were asking where I am walking this time around… the map above shows the Camino Frances route – named because the typical start spots are in France. I do not have enough time to walk the full 500 miles from St. Jean so I am starting in Burgos.

This will be about 300 miles. My 2019 Camino started in Porto, Portugal and I think I went a little over 200 miles but that included the 3 day walk out to Finisterre (not shown on the map above).