Palencia (another digression but one that may be of interest to some).
In Palencia you feel like you are walking around in the Guiness Book of Records. They have the oldest church in Spain not too far away, the tallest statue of Christ, the third biggest cathedral in Spain, ....
The Basilica...
Villalon de Campos - Grajal de Campos (30 kms)
What a wonderful last stage to complete my Camino de Madrid. It's a 16 kms stretch to Santervas de Campos with only the Great Bustards for company. The hospilatero in VdC provided a donativo breakfast which meant being able to leave relatively...
Ola Camino Chrissy
Am I way off the mark here or was it you that wrote that wonderful (and at times disturbing) book including your time in Cambodia?
If it was you that wrote it I hope I got back to you to say what a great read it was.
Yes same hats and ill-fitting suits. I say that as someone who also only has one suit hanging in the cupboard. Dark blue, for weddings, funerals and interviews ;-)
Absolutely agree.
It still is.
An external priest was officiating mass when I visited.
There had been one the previous day (Saturday).
I was very happy to be brought up behind the altar to see the tiny fragment in its very large reliquary.
Part of the tour. Much like in SdC - up and...
Medina del Rioseco - Villalllon de Campos (27 kms)
What a wonderful start to the day along the Canal de Castilla. I had imagined this as an irrigation canal rather than a C19th haulage system that took goods (mainly wheat, flour and other agricultural produce to the coast). It took a hundred...
Penaflor de Hornija - Medina del Rioseco via La Santa Espina (34kms)
I'd had quite a late night, by peregrino standards, the night before. Real Madrid were playing Dortmund in the European Cup Final. Parallel to that was a religious co-fraternity holding their celebration, all in suits of...
Think I may have seen some Great Bustards today as I entered Cuenca de Campos. About 8 flying in a very loose formation. Initially thought they were ducks or geese. Could they possibly have been Great Bustards?
Ola Laurie and David
The conundrum wasn’t so much the distance but rather whether I could do justice to both La Santa Espina and Medina del Rioseco in the same day. I’m happy in my own mind that I made the right decision - and I didn’t need to sleep on a mat in a Polideportivo either ;-)
More...
Simancas - Penaflor de Hornija (21 kms)
Back to some great walking today through open fields full of colour.
Being Saturday, I was apprehensive about numbers on the Camino but in truth I saw only a handful of mountain bikers and a couple of old boys out collecting 'caracoles'. It was peaceful...
Bit of catching up to do.
Alcazaren - Simancas (30 kms)
Pretty average stage. Pine and sand early on, pine and carretera at the end. The middle stretch was much more 'sympatico' with a couple of river crossings. There's a nice spot to chill as you cross the Eresma (?) by way of an old Roman...
A couple of stages ago I met a small group who were using an App (possibly Buen Camino) - they had been taken way off-piste and done a ‘few’ extra kilometres over some rough terrain that they weren’t particularly amused about. They had ignored the yellow arrows to follow their tech-guru. I...
Yes indeed. Good quality and copious amounts. I really liked this bar, the oldies playing cards, the hard working senora running it and it was the first Hogar del Jubilado that I could enter as a genuine 'jubilado'!
I stand corrected. As it happens the following info was in the albergue at Alcazaren:
El Rincon Naïf, Calle Segovia 12, tel: 921 595 435.
Slightly more expensive than Hostal Avanto but much more convenient location.
I saw Theodosius’ bust in the square just behind the gate in the muralla. I made a mental note to check him out when I have a bit more time. One of only three Roman emperors born in Spain?
You made me laugh. There is indeed an irony that to use the old ways you need to understand the new ways. Unfortunately this old dog just cannot learn new tricks. My brain shuts down at the first mention of mobile technology.
No GPS here - just following the Yellow Marked Road. (I have done a...
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