Week 3 of my journey on the Camino de Santiago takes place entirely in the Meseta. Gone are mountains and lush forest trails of Week 1, and the vineyards of Week 2. For many, the unchanging, arid landscapes of the Meseta are the worst part of the Camino. While I do not deny that I had moments of sharing such sentiments; the lack of anything else to pay attention to but the road itself and my own thoughts – allowed me some of the most meditative moments of my entire Camino experience.
Contents:
- Day 15: Hornillos del Camino to Castrojeriz
- Day 16: Castrojeriz to Fromista
- Day 17: Fromista to Carrion de los Condes
- Day 18: Carrion de los Condes to Terradillo de los Templarios
- Day 19: Terradillo de los Templarios to Calzadilla de los Hermanillos
- Day 20: Clazadilla de los Hermanillos to Mansila de las Mula
- Day 21: Mansilla de las Mulas to Leon
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Day 15: Hornillos del Camino to Castrojeriz
20KM
8:15am – 2:15pm (2 hour break, approximately 4 hours walk time)
There was rain in the forecast for the early morning today, so I thought it would be a better idea to sleep in to see if I can skip a rainy morning. It worked out! By time I set off around 8:15am this morning, the rain had stopped, but I could see from the wet streets that it had indeed rained.
About 6km out of Hornillos del Camino, I stopped by San Bol – this landmark is no more than a little albergue just off the camino – but behind the albergue, is a fountain, where it is believed that if you dip your feet in the waters – it will bring you good luck for the rest of the Camino. I couldn’t resist the idea of a little bit of extra luck where I can get it and made the small detour to dip my feet in the cool waters of the fountain.
The church in Castrojeriz has an interactive lightshow telling the story of Christianity. It’s worth a stop – as the experience is impressive.
I stay at a lovely albergue called aCienLeguas tonight, but I take a communal dinner with other pilgrims at the Albergue Orion. A fellow pilgrim from Korea told me he actually hiked 5km back to Castrojeriz upon hearing that Albergue Orion offered a Korean dinner.
Albergue Orion is run by two former pilgrims who met on the Camino. One of them is Korean, and the food was indeed very authentic – as confirmed by my Korean friend.
Day 16: Castrojeriz to Fromista
25KM
8am – 2:30pm (4.5 hours walking time, 2 hour break)
As I headed out of Castrojeriz today, passed by the “Casa del Silencio” (House of Silence). The door was open, and it appeared to welcome anyone passing by to enter.
Intrigued, I set my walking poles outside the door and stepped inside. The space was dark but welcoming – almost like a womb. Inside there was artwork and writings that delved into spirituality, inner peace, and connection with others. Beautiful music from many different faiths – from Gregorian chants to Eastern melodies – permeated the small house. The place was quite literally a house that has been transformed into a shrine to non-denominational spirituality. No one is there to manage the house. The only rule is to respect silence in the space. Would recommend a stop here.
One of the largest hills of the Camino occurs shortly after I leave the town of Castrojeriz – about 1KM at a 12% grade. This is followed by one of the steepest descents of the Camino – approximately 1km at an 18% grade. I did not mind either the climb nor the descent.
This evening I stayed at the Albergue Luz de Fromista, where a rather large impromptu communal meal is prepared by a few pilgrims at the hostel. It was delicious and the company was even better – and as always – the wine flowed very freely.
Day 17: Fromista to Carrion de las Condes
19KM
7:45am – 11:45am (3.5 hour walking time, 15 minute break)
The weather Gods were in our favour again granting yet another cool, and cloudy day on the Meseta. Today’s walk was mostly on a trail next to the highway, it was flat, and the scenery was unchanging, as I marched towards Carrion de las Condes.
I’m staying at the Albergue Parroquial de Santa Maria in Carrion de los Condes. It is run by nuns from the order of San Augustin. They run a “meet-and-greet” session at 6pm daily where pilgrims get to meet one another and there’s singing involved.
Day 18: Carrion de los Condes to Terradillo de los Templarios
26KM
7:15am – 3:00pm (4.5 hour walking time, 2 hour break)
The town of Carrion de los Condes is tranquil in the cool morning as it stands sentinel to the procession of pilgrims who leaves its vicinity on the same path. The town is the last piece of civilization we will see for another 17KM. I see the statue that the nuns at the albergue asked us to look for as we leave the city of a pilgrim receiving a blessing – which she expressed to us was representative of her and her congregation’s sentiments to all pilgrims who they meet.
Today will be a long flat hike through what seems to be the heartland of the Meseta. Much of the day is spent on a long unending gravel road with equally unending views of wheatfields on either side. There will be no towns, services, or water for the 17km between Carrion de los Condes and the next town of Calzadilla de la Cueza. This is the Meseta experience that many dread, that some actually take a bus to skip. I find the experience quite enjoyable. Golden fields of swaying wheat as far as the eyes can see and as far as the legs can walk. If you think about it the magnitude of it all – it is truly inspiring.
It’s mid-afternoon by time I arrive in Terradillos de los Templarios, and to my delight, most of the dinner group from Carrion de las Condes are also staying in the same albergue. Terradillos de los Templarios is one of the towns along the Camino that is kept afloat by the stream of pilgrims that come through on the Camino. Many buildings look like they have not been tended to or lived in quite sometime. As soon as you turn the corner to where the Albergue Jacques du Moray is located however, the buildings seem revitalized and nice cars line the streets. There’s not much happening (or open) in the town, but the Albergue is home to be most lively gathering of people from all different places for miles around.
Day 19: Terradillo de los Templarios to Calzadilla de los Hermanillos
26KM
6:45am – 1:30pm (5.5 hour walking time, 1hour 30 minute break)
I leave the hostel early today, as I’m planning to take the alternate route to Calzadilla de los Hermanillos today rather than Bercianos. The alternate route skips more of the route along the highway, however, there is limited availability of accommodations in Calzadilla de los Hermanillos, and the local municipal albergue only has 22 beds so, I decide to leave as early as I can as I have a slower pace.
After a quick breakfast stop in the town of Moratinos 3km away. I arrive in Sahagun 13km away by 9am and am keeping up a good pace to make it to the municipal albergue by its opening time of 1:30pm. I decide to grab a quick coffee in Sahagun, and discover that pilgrims can actually get a credential of half-completion of the Camino at the Tourism building right across the street from the cafe I was sitting at. After your credential and passport are examined, it costs 4 Euro for the office to produce the half-completion certificate – which is in both Latin and Spanish.
I arrive at in Calzadillos de los Hermanilos pretty much exactly at 1:30pm. The bottom half of the municipal hostel looks like it is being renovated, but the upstairs looks like it has been set up as a reception area of the hostel so I take a seat. I am the only one there. A cyclist in his late 50s comes up the stairs and I assume it’s another pilgrim. “I’m the hospitalero” he explains. The hostel is cozy and only has two beds per room. I have my pick of any room – and by the looks of it I might end up with a private room tonight. Once showered, I talk to the waiting hospitalero who is named “Goyo” from Madrid, and he explains that the Albergue is basically run by series of passing pilgirms who also volunteer as hospitaleros. For 4 days, the the pilgrim-volunteers act as the albergue hospitalero before passing off the task to the next passing pilgrim. The fee for tonight is by donation only.
Day 20: Clazadilla de los Hermanillos to Mansilla de las Mulas
23KM
8:30am – 3:30pm (6 hour walking time, 1 hour break)
Today features one of the hardest sections of the Meseta – a 17KM section from Calzadilla de los Hermanillos to Reliegos with zero towns, services, shade or water all along wheatfields. I have been enjoying the Meseta so far, but today the clouds that the shielded me from the sun the previous few days are largely gone – and while the temperature (mid-20s today) is a far cry from the highs of over 40 celsius that I experienced during the heat-wave, it’s still a tough go when there is zero shade along this 17KM section.
The 17KM into Reliegos can be described as “classic Meseta”. In all my other days on the Meseta there were always some other features – hills, buildings, small towns, rest areas, fields with something other than wheat – that would make the scenery slightly different. Today however, it truly was just a dirt road with wheat fields stretching to the horizon as far as the eye can see for hours.
I took the normal Camino route from Reliegos into Mansilla de las Mulas, and the last 5km was actually quite pleasant. There were maple trees planted at regular intervals on the roadside path into Mansilla, and the trees were large enough to provide a decent amount of shade all the way into Mansilla. I arrived in town around 3:30pm, and was relieved to be out of the baking sun.
I made a reservation at the Albergue de Gaia – a beautiful 16 person hostel with a lovely back patio with dappled shade. The smiling hosts were incredibly kind and welcoming. Carlos – one of the owners pointed at my backpack which had been delivered earlier by the backpack transport service and jokingly remarked: “Vivian, your backpack is so big that I thought you had hidden another pilgrim inside of it!” This caused a round of laughter from the few people in the dorm at the time. I responded “No hay ningun personna por el dentro” (There is nobody inside the backpack) I responded back with a slightly guilty voice to suggest maybe the host was onto something. This caused another round of laughter. “I’m learning to joke in Spanish” I thought, “and people are laughing at my jokes!” my thought continued triumphantly.
Day 21: Mansila de las Mulas to Leon
19KM
7:30am – 11:30am (3.5 hour walking, 30 minute break)
It’s a “short” walk today – only 19KM into Leon, and I take a brisk pace to try to get into Leon early to have time to do some sight-seeing in the biggest city on the French Camino. There’s a pilgrim registration at as you cross the bridge to register pilgrims as they enter the city of Leon.
Leon marks the end of the Meseta section of the Camino Frances – and I have splurged on a private room at the AC Leon San Antonio by Marriott hotel. I have again been upgraded to a suite, and this time I felt like I’ve earned this indulgence having just walked over 200km across the Meseta.
After showering and relaxing for a bit in the hotel room, I head out to explore the city of Leon. I walked around the city centre, explored the stunning Catedral of Leon, and of course had wine and Tapas.
If you do the Camino – don’t fear, or think of skipping the Meseta – there is no Camino without the Meseta. It is often in the featureless silence of the Meseta, you see, think, and feel, most clearly on the Camino de Santiago.