LIVE from the Camino "Experimenta" on the Camino del Sur (Zaragoza-Astorga)

[alansykes]

Two years ago the tourist office in Soria gave me a brochure "experimenta el camino en Soria". One of the suggestions was for a Camino del Sur. Not the one I walked last year from Huelva, but an ancient one largely following the Roman road linking Zaragoza and Astorga. I thought I'd give it a go.

Having been moving steadily downstream on the río Jíloca for several days, I'll now be going up the Jalón for 100km or so from Calatayud. The two rivers go through very different countryside - the Jíloca fertile and populated, the Jalón arid and largely deserted. Quite a lot of today's walk, especially after Ateca, the countryside was completely abandoned, with broken irrigation channels and dead trees. The walk follows the Camino del Cid, which was fortunate, as it's very well signed, but even so I nearly got lost on overgrown and rarely travelled paths.



Alhama de Aragón, today's destination, is a spa town, bustling with holiday visitors. I had somehow booked myself into a very luxurious spa hotel whilst I was in Calatayud. Luxurious but surprisingly not expensive (I've paid more for a Travelodge in Nottingham).



I was soon enjoying the baño del moro, with water coming out of a spring at 32°C, and sauna and an outdoor pool which I had to myself as everybody else found it too cold (?20°). I had to fill in a health declaration, and one of the conditions I had to say I didn't have I didn't understand, but was assured I was quite unlikely to be pregnant.

I had hoped to stay two nights from tomorrow in a retreat at the monastery of Santa María de Huerta, but the apologetic fray hospitalero told me that all 17 of their guest rooms were "completo" for the puente. Very chatty, he was, as trappist monks often are, in my limited experience.

 

[J Willhaus]

Two years ago the tourist office in Soria gave me a brochure "experimenta el camino en Soria". One of the suggestions was for a Camino del Sur. Not the one I walked last year from Huelva, but an ancient one largely following the Roman road linking Zaragoza and Astorga. I thought I'd give it a go.

Having been moving steadily downstream on the río Jíloca for several days, I'll now be going up the Jalón for 100km or so from Calatayud. The two rivers go through very different countryside - the Jíloca fertile and populated, the Jalón arid and largely deserted. Quite a lot of today's walk, especially after Ateca, the countryside was completely abandoned, with broken irrigation channels and dead trees. The walk follows the Camino del Cid, which was fortunate, as it's very well signed, but even so I nearly got lost on overgrown and rarely travelled paths.

View attachment 158142

Alhama de Aragón, today's destination, is a spa town, bustling with holiday visitors. I had somehow booked myself into a very luxurious spa hotel whilst I was in Calatayud. Luxurious but surprisingly not expensive (I've paid more for a Travelodge in Nottingham).

View attachment 158146

I was soon enjoying the baño del moro, with water coming out of a spring at 32°C, and sauna and an outdoor pool which I had to myself as everybody else found it too cold (?20°). I had to fill in a health declaration, and one of the conditions I had to say I didn't have I didn't understand, but was assured I was quite unlikely to be pregnant.

I had hoped to stay two nights from tomorrow in a retreat at the monastery of Santa María de Huerta, but the apologetic fray hospitalero told me that all 17 of their guest rooms were "completo" for the puente. Very chatty, he was, as trappist monks often are, in my limited experience.

Book ahead for the holiday if you are able! I do follow with interest as I am interested in the various Camino del Cid stretches and stages after retirement next year.

 

[Kirkie]

Yes, indeed, the puente! Keep on keeping on. I thoroughly enjoy your posts, and add vocabulary most times. It is never too late to learn!
ps how is Huba?

 

[VNwalking]

an ancient one largely following the Roman road linking Zaragoza and Astorga. I thought I'd give it a go.

Ohhhh. Very old roads are right up my alley. So I really look forward to this thread's meanderings.

I was soon enjoying the baño del moro

Now you're talking. The vias verde are behind you, the old road's ahead, and a thermal bath? Perfect. No doubt you'll pay the piper later with far less sumptuous accommodation. But for now...ahhhhh.

Very chatty, he was, as trappist monks often are, in my limited experience.

Mine too. Limited opportunities, no doubt.

 

[alansykes]

The going today was much easier than yesterday, almost entirely on agricultural tracks. A lot more fertile too, with the valley widening out, and rich red ploughed fields on all sides, with the occasional intensive pig farm on the way, otherwise very little. Between the towns I saw one farmer on his tractor spreading muck, and one bicyclist, so it wasn't exactly gregarious.



Monreal de Ariza, last village in Aragón, is in the middle of its 4 day fiesta. Barricades all over the place for the vaquillas tomorrow, and today a big "baturra" mass (whatever that is - presumably not "battered", as google translate suggests) as well as a promised "sorpresa especial". Lots of people in traditional Aragonés costumes, and a steel band was just starting up when I was heading out.

Sunset from my truckstop in this slightly lunar landscape was spectacular. Tomorrow into Old Castille.

how is Huba?

Very well: he has a new best friend, Wilf the dachshund. Here's the two of them doing a pastiche of Landseer's "Dignity and Impudence".

 

[SabsP]

Misa baturra.

Learned something new. Involves jotas.

Misa baturra en las fiestas del barrio de San Lorenzo de Huesca

El barrio de San Lorenzo ha celebrado su tradicional misa baturra con motivo de sus fiestas y las mairalesas y mayorales han protagonizado la ofrenda

www.eldiariodehuesca.com

Festival de jota, ofrenda de flores y misa baturra, entre las actividades para celebrar el Pilar en Teruel

Un festival de jota, una ofrenda de flores y una misa baturra son algunas de las actividades que ha...

www.europapress.es

Some youtube videos on the subject too.

 

[alansykes]

Shortly after leaving my truck stop I was greeted by my last, and most spectacular, Aragonés sunrise.



The weather is finally due to break tomorrow, after so many days of 30°+ heat extending into mid October.

An hour later and I crossed the provincial line into Soria. The first village in Soria is Santa María de Huerta, home to a breath-taking partly 12th century cistercian abbey, one of the earliest in Spain. Among the many marvels is the slightly "Bishop of St Praxed" sarcofagus of Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada, archbishop of Toledo until 1247. He was the author of the history "De rebus Hispanie", which includes the first known reference to Santiago as "matamoros", appearing at the now widely believed to be mythical battle of Clavijo in 844, nearly 400 years before our archbishop was writing.



I liked the refectorio best, an airy light tall 13th century room with early gothic 6 part vaults apparently unsupported from below. Glorious. As was the mostly 16th century Plateresque cloister. A very restful pause almost half way on my day's walk. Sorry not to have been able to stay there, but so it goes.




The solitary (other than many infuriating flies) walk continued through the slightly desolate landscape on comfortable agricultural tracks all the way to Arcos de Jalón. A friendly but slightly sad place with several boarded up businesses and falling down houses, population down from over 4000 in 1970 to 1500 now. But probably by far the largest town I will see in about a week as I cross (try to cross) the "empty quarter" of Spain's most sparsely populated province.

 

[henrythedog]

This is really good Alan, please keep it going.

 

[alansykes]

No sign of life in Arcos de Jalón as I left at first light, so no coffee. 14 long km before coffee - nearly 10 on the N2 main road, fortunately quite wide and with only 1-2 cars per km, but not ideal. On the plus side, quite a lot was along the fairly dramatic gorge of the Jalón, with regular eagles overhead.



After finally getting coffee at about 11am, the next 10km was cross country, totally deserted country, with a sign warning poachers that the area was patrolled by drones.

A final stiff 150m ascent in a little over a km brought me up to the "city of heaven", Medinaceli, "uno de los pueblos más bonitos de España", at about 1250m up. Busy with tourists on the "puente" weekend, and a park with over 50 motorhomes further swelling the population.

I was soon enjoying my first sopa Castillana in Castile before wandering around town. The arcaded Plaza Major is very lovely, especially if you can avoid thinking about burning tar balls.



I liked the slightly dilapidated palace of the Dukes of Medinaceli very much.



Several rooms on the ground floor given over to a contemporary art exhibition, and, for contrast, an utterly beautiful 2nd century AD Roman mosaic recently recovered in the town.



The central courtyard was being set up for a jazz sextet concert this evening. I was tempted, but 20€ for a concert I'd probably sleep through is not value for money.

Highlight of the place is, of course, the 1st century AD triumphal arch, the only Roman triple arch in Spain. Used as the road sign symbol for ancient monuments, so I was very pleased to be able to get a pic of the arch with the sign it inspired.



It is very difficult to exaggerate the joy felt by the daily maximum temperature having dropped by 10° since yesterday.

please keep it going.

Thank you, fellow Cumbrian. I'll try, but signal will probably be pretty dodgy over the next few days.

 

[alansykes]

Getting up from my comfortable hotel first to snap Jupiter high and bright in the west over the arch. Later to see sunrise through the arch, and the valleys below were filled with clouds, turning Medinaceli into an island.



Another reason to be grateful I hadn't had to end up staying at a truckstop down in Estación de Medinaceli - the other being that it's a quite a slog up the hill.

I described the landscape as lunar, and desolate. Needless to say, Unamuno put it much more poetically:

"¡Medinaceli! El arco romano, imperial, mirando con ojos que son pura luz al paisaje planetario de aquellas tierras tan tristes que tienen alma … aquella cumbre de páramo que es Medinaceli en ruinas, barbacana sobre Aragón en tierra castellana." The latter image he more or less nicked from Machado (or "Jacuzzi", as spellchecker helpfully corrected) who applied it to "Soria - barbacana hacia Aragón, en castellana tierra."

Only having 12km to walk, I had a lazy morning ambling round the castle and its walls. And then an early lunch as tonight's casa rural is in Blocona, a hamlet with no bar or tienda. Or anything much - permanent residents: 4.

The walk, once across the motorway, is back into the paisaje planetario.



Other than a startled deer, surprised resting in the shade of a falling down dry stone wall, I didn't see any living thing. A few ruined farmsteads, and then Blocona, with two working fuentes, both with tasty cool water. A young couple from Madrid has restored a handsome stone house in the village, and let 5 rooms. They live 30 minutes away at Almazán, so I was embarrassed to find I was their only resident tonight. But they said they had plenty to do to clear up after being full all last week. Once they'd driven off home, the silence in that deserted pueblo was intense.

 

[VNwalking]

I was soon enjoying my first sopa Castillana in Castile before wandering around town. The arcaded Plaza Major is very lovely, especially if you can avoid thinking about burning tar balls.

Revisiting my notes about this incredibly interesting pueblo - did you see the beguinage? A strange place for that I'd have thought.

Blocona

Ah, North towards Soria instead of West to Sigŭenza. The landscape on my topo map looks interestingly crumpled where you are. So I went to the geological map, and it's a fascinating mix around there, getting younger as you go North.

 

[alansykes]

A quiet pleasant day, leaving in low cloud, with visibility under 500m. A vesuvius of coffee and tostadas with tomate from the owners' veg patch made for an excellent start, and the day was only 20-odd km, so no rush.

According to google maps, Almanzor's tomb is right next to the motorway not far from Blocona. This amused my hosts, who are very well informed about local history, as his final resting place has been a mystery since soon after his death nearby in 1002.

Crossing the motorway, there were surprising large banks of golden rod, very pretty. A couple of deserted villages en route, one with a Roman fuente, "Fuenfría": and the water was very chilly, and very tasty - less mineraly than at Blocona.




At Mezquitillas, the former moorish atalaya, or look out tower, had been incorporated into the later church.

Barahona, my destination, has a population of 128, halved since 1996, and down from 700 a century ago. It is built round a steep promontory, above the surrounding flat flat plain. Views from the mirador by the church on the top extended to Moncayo and Urbión, both about 80km off, but both hazy in the clouds.



The hostal is decidedly the only gig in town, and a huge relief - crossing this expanse of España vaciada would be very difficult without it. There being no tienda, and having used up most of my emergency rations of cheese and raisins last night, I nervously asked the dueño "¿Puedo comer?" to get the welcome answer "por supuesto." So, very shortly after arriving, a paper tablecloth was put in front of me and, no nonsense about choice, I was presented with a delicious rich stew of white beans and then some tasty (lamb) albondigas with a salad. And a bottle of harsh young red. Ideal.

According to a tourist panel by the mirador, tomorrow I should be on el Cid's daughters' "Ruta del afrenta de corpes", but I couldn't find any markings when I looked for them earlier. Doubtless trusty mapy.cz will solve any problems.

In the canyon of the río Torete, apparently there are often bustards, vultures, golden eagles.

 

[VNwalking]

This is so much better than anything I've read on this phone in the last hour. Thanks for the breath of Camino air, Alan.

So

bustards, vultures, golden eagles.

?
Wonderfull! Sign me up.

You wouldn't be headed here, would you?

Iglesia de San Baudelio · SO-152, 42367 Casillas de Berlanga, Soria, Spain

★★★★★ · Chapel

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[alansykes]

An early start from Barahona in the dark, as I was determined to walk the 25km to San Baudelio in plenty of time before it closed at 2pm. So no coffee or tostada, sigh. Even in the dark, the arrow straight Roman road that goes from Medinaceli to El Burgo de Osma was easy to make out (luckily, as my head torch wouldn't work). An hour or so after dawn I left it to go down into the Torete gorge. Pleasant enough, but with ploughed fields by the (dry) river, even electricity pylons, it was tame compared to the wild, almost savage beauty of the parrallel Caracena canyon on the nearby Camino de Lana. The gorge ends at Bordecorex, one of the possible sites of Almanzor's death, with its Romanesque church. Then Caltojar, whose streets some art lover has covered with murals of copies of some of Picasso's most famous works. Very fine, but still no coffee.



A few km on and then a final quite sharp ascent takes you up to the tiny 11th century chapel of San Baudelio, right in the middle of nowhere.



It is one of the most extraordinary places on earth. An almost nondescript irregular rectangular exterior, concealing one of the wonders of the world. The entrance is through a domestic-sized horse shoe doorway, and as my eyes got accustomed to the contrast between the blinding external light and the internal gloom, the kind attendant had to help me pick my jaw up from the ground. A central column holds the roof up with eight palm fronds. A palm tree in an oasis in the surrounding near desert.



The frescoes that used to cover the walls were mostly stripped from the walls and taken to America. But the technique they used to lift the originals has left behind some ghostly images of what was pillaged. A camel here, hounds hare-coursing, cattle, a primitive bear, holy scenes.



And the structure is entirely intact, from the astonishing central palm to a mini Córdoba mezquita of arches.



I'd read about it and seen pictures so thought I knew what was coming, but the reality was simply mind boggling beautiful. A mixture of joy at what survived and depression at what has been lost. The locals who sold it, with no particular legal title and aided by episcopal incompetance, got $1000 for the frescoes in 1922 (65,000ptas), a lot in those days, but aiiii.

Then another 9km along the Escalote river to Berlanga de Duero. El Cid decided that "a la casa de Berlanga posada presa han", which seemed a good reason to do the same.

 

[C clearly]

A mixture of joy at what survived and depression at what has been lost.

Yes, it is a gem! @peregrina2000 arranged a side trip from our Lana to visit San Baudelio. She'll be along soon to rave about it!

 

[peregrina2000]

Yes, it is a gem! @peregrina2000 arranged a side trip from our Lana to visit San Baudelio. She'll be along soon to rave about it!

Well, I don’t want to disappoint @C clearly, so let me gush a little. Many of the original frescoes of this church are in the Museo del Prado. When I was a study-abroad student in Madrid in 1970, I took a History of Art course that had one hour per week of small group Prado visits with a tutor. Those frescoes must have been the first Romanesque paintings I ever really paid attention to, and they just grabbed me. I had wanted to visit that church for years and years.

This summer on the Lana, when I saw that we would be about 25 km away from the church in Retortillo, I arranged with a taxista to pick us up and take us there for an afternoon visit. It was just as Alan describes,

Word to other forum members — don’t miss it if you get anywhere near it.

p.s. I have since discovered that a mere 180 kms from my home in Illinois, the Indianapolis Museum of Art has one or two of these frescoes, and I will be making my way there this year sometime!

 

[alansykes]

The marquesses of Berlanga apparently destroyed 10 romanesque churches in the town, replacing them in 1530 with the monumental colegiata de Santa María. It's large and airey and gothic, but I think I'd have preferred to have seen the earlier ones. Twin brothers from the Bravo de Laguna family are buried under sculptures of them both - one a general, the other a bishop.



Also buried in the colegiata is Fray Tomás de Berlanga, born in the town in 1487, and died there in 1551. In between times he packed in a lot, discovering the Galapagos islands, being the bishop of Panama (and first known person to suggest building its canal), as well as being credited with bringing the tomato, the potato and parsley back to Europe - so "creating" the mediterranean diet. He also brought back a 3 metre long stuffed caiman or alligator, which I somehow managed to miss - although it's represented on a statue to him in front of the castle, together with a Galapagos turtle. Berlanga also has an interpretation centre for San Baudelio.

Not having far to go today, I was able to amble around the arcaded streets before popping in to the colegiata at opening time. Then off to Gormaz to see its castle, described as the largest moorish castle in Europe. You can see it from very near Berlanga, looking huge and not far off. Three hours later it still looks huge and not much closer. A km before finally arriving, I crossed the Duero once again - my ninth crossing point, from Soria near its source, to Porto, close to where it joins the Atlantic. As Gerardo Diego put it:

Tú, viejo Duero, sonríes
entre tus barbas de plata,
moliendo con tus romances
las cosechas mal logradas.

Y entre los santos de piedra
y los álamos de magia
pasas llevando en tus ondas
palabras de amor, palabras.

I'm in a bit of a bad mood with Diego, as there was an otherwise fine verse he wrote about the pillaging of San Baudelio displayed in the Berlanga interpretation centre which seemed to me to have a clearly antisemitic trope at the end, but perhaps I misunderstood it.

At some point yesterday I crossed the watershed between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.

It's quite a slog up to the castle from the Duero ctossing, past the romanesque church of San Miguel, which apparently has some of the finest romanesque frescoes remaining in situ. Only open at weekends, sigh. The benign bulk of Moncayo could be seen in solitary splendour on the eastern horizon. Eagles overhead, and a wonderful califal gate framing the landscape once finally inside the castle. Madly impressive, and blissfully deserted.

 

[VNwalking]

A km before finally arriving, I crossed the Duero once again - my ninth crossing point, from Soria near its source, to Porto, close to where it joins the Atlantic.

I've been waiting for this. Where will you cross the Duero this time?
Did you stay in the Albergue in Gormaz?

discovering the Galapagos islands,

Ah. So that's who opened European eyes to them. I just learned this:

In 1570 the Galapagos Islands were included in a world atlas by a Flemish cartographer Abraham Ortelius. He named the islands 'Insulae de los de Galapagos'.

Well presumably they would already have been called that?

The marquesses of Berlanga apparently destroyed 10 romanesque churches in the town, replacing them in 1530 with the monumental colegiata de Santa María. It's large and airey and gothic, but I think I'd have preferred to have seen the earlier ones.

10?!
What a pity.

 

[alansykes]

Rain has finally fallen on me, for the first time since leaving the mediterranean over three weeks ago. "Soft refreshing rain". Much more comfortable than the suffocating heat last week, certainly for somebody from a Cumbrian hill farm. My casa rural was only a couple of km from Gormaz and the way to El Burgo de Osma not very long. The GR14 would have taken a wide and long detour, but mapy.cz found me some pleasant routes, partly through Soria's famous pine forests, and before long I was in the Ucero gorge, with a Roman bridge ahead, an impressive atalaya, watchtower, on one side, and the ruins of El Burgo de Osma's castle on the other. Almanzor installed a huge network of atalayas round here, designed to take messages from front line fortresses like Gormaz to his capital of the Middle March at Medinaceli. Apparently, with smoke signals or beacons, it would take only 30 minutes for news to reach him of a Christian incursion 50km away over the border.



By not long gone 1pm I was in my hotel, and shortly afterwards my clothes and I were washed and I was enjoying cannelloni stuffed with duck in a boletus sauce in a bustling restaurant on the Plaza Major. I love la España Vacia, but you do get a better choice of meal in more populated places.



El Burgo de Osma is another of "los pueblos más bonitos de España". The beautiful arcaded Calle Major meant that the evening paseo could carry on untroubled by the rain, especially as most of the tapas bars are there.

Did you stay in the Albergue in Gormaz?

It's closed at the moment. .The people at my nearby casa rural think there might be a Ukranian family staying there, but weren't sure. It looked very nice. Although why there is a (Santiago) albergue there is a mystery to me. Having said that, I saw a couple of yellow arrows and a shell in Caltojar yesterday, which seemed just as implausible.

Well presumably they would already have been called that?

The implication was that Fray Tomás named the Galapagos. He only got there by accident, his ship on the way to Lima being sent off course by currents.

 

[alansykes]

Another short day, to San Esteban de Gormaz. Seeing the TVE weather, it seems that Soria has largely been spared from Storm Aline - flooding and high winds widespread in Madrid, Andalusia and Galicia, but just a bit wet here. Back down the Ucero gorge, past some pretty waterfalls, and on to the Senda del Duero GR14, my companion for the next week.



San Esteban de Gormaz has a very fine old 14 arched bridge over the Duero, bringing pilgrims from the Lana into town. The first hotel I stopped at told me they were full, a surprise, as did the second one. So I had a look at booking.com which told me they only had 4 rooms left at the first one that had turned me down, so I booked online and went back. Very odd, presumably they just didn't like the look of me? I didn't risk eating there, but went round the corner to Antonio's, proudly proclaiming that it had won the "mejor torreznos del mundo 2023" award. Very fine menú, including a really fresh tasting chunk of gallo de San Pedro - the waitress, worried I was expecting chicken, kindly warned me "¿es pescado, sabeis?" Also a Galician red, from Chantada, on the Invierno.

Then a little tour of the town's romanesque churches and up to the castle. Just a huge curtain wall left, but fabulous views. East to Gormaz' distinctive escarpment and a distant little hump I assume must have been Medinaceli, a gap in the hills due south that might have been the entrance to the Caracena cañón, and faint mountains to the stormy-looking south west that I think can only have been the Sierra de Guadaramma, north of Madrid.

 

[alansykes]

Another day following Céline "D'un chateau l'autre". The poplar trees lining the river are mostly turning - "he vuelto a ver los álamos dorados, álamos del camino en la ribera del Duero."



The castle tower above Langa de Duero has more views in both directions along the Duero valley. What will almost certainly be my last sighting of Moncayo. So faint in the clouds I couldn't tell whether there was snow on the summit - the local news said some had fallen over 1600m.



On the zinc at the bar I saw my last Heraldo Diario de Soria of this camino, my favourite regional paper. It did not disappoint, with a page lead about micoturismo taking off successfully in the Pinares area - the only paper in the world where fungi are taken so deadly seriously. Probably the only paper in the world to be able to use the word "micoturismo" and know its readers will understand it.

 

[VNwalking]

Your account is (as always) a joy to read and your photos a joy to see, Alan. Gracias.

Although why there is a (Santiago) albergue there is a mystery to me.

Is it on the El Cid? Maybe that's why.

What will almost certainly be my last sighting of Moncayo.

I was wondering if you could still see it. One of the best things about the camino is to watch dramatic features of the landscape appear and then dissappear behind us as we walk over, through, or past them. In some places the view behind is as interesting as the one ahead.

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks Alan, enjoying every bit as always. I was starting to realize I had lost track of where you actually were, and that I couldn’t really quite visualize the journey. But then I remembered that the Find Penguins map shows your trajectory. There it is quite clear to see the fruits of what must have been an enormously complicated planning process!

 

[alansykes]

Three new Duero river crossings today. Having taken 14 years to get to eight, it feels a lot like cheating now to have hit a dozen.

Staying at Langa de Duero was a mistake. The hotel has no restaurant, and the town's two other places are both closed, permanently, by the looks of things. So I had the bar's last two tapas and the remains of my raisins - the village store is closed on Saturday afternoons. On the plus side, I really liked the castle, especially the 20 or more black redstarts who were nesting in the cracks in the masonry.

I left in the dark, partly to get to Aranda de Duero in good time for much needed lunch, partly in the hope of catching the Orionid meteor shower, but it was clouded over. sks.

Shortly after crossing Langa de Duero's river crossing, the trail crosses over into Burgos province. And shortly after 9am and about 9km, I was in Linares de la Vid, a bustling little village centred on the monastery of Santa María de la Vid, with several hotels and open bars keen to ply me with coffee and tostadas. Wish I'd carried on yesterday and stayed there instead of sad dying Langa de Duero.

Aranda de Duero, with its 33000-odd population, is by far the largest place I've stayed since Teruel. It's the capital of the Ribera del Duero wine country, and I was soon installed in a busy noisy méson enjoying a blow-out menú de fin de semana. Some wafer thin cecina de Léon followed by a lechazo, with a beautifully delicately dressed salad. All washed down with a "roble" Ribera del Duero from their own bodega, which had spent 13 months on oak. At 14.5%, much too strong for my taste, and also a bit too much tannin, but the first time in a while I've had to think about the wine, rather than just wonder "is this such muck I should put the gaseosa with it, or can it (just) be trusted on its own?"

Aranda's bridge over the Duero was really beautifully floodlit, and a quadruple alley of plane trees leading to it must make for a most enjoyable summer paseo, but was deserted in tonight's rain.

Is it on the El Cid? Maybe that's why.

Yes it is, you're certainly right.

fruits of what must have been an enormously complicated planning process!

That's how I keep sane in the lambing shed in March, thinking of autumn on the camino.

 

[alansykes]

A quiet flat day. It started well, the first 5km or so along a pleasant heavily wooded riverside path, then moving out into the open campo.

Roa de Duero, today's destination, is on a little bump in the landscape, the only climb of the day, up from the mediaeval bridge over the Duero - the most difficult bridge so far to photograph, thickly crowded by trees. A sign by the bridge said the road up to the town was on the Roman road between Clunia and Astorga.



Lunch came with a Ribera de Duero "joven", from last year: virtually no oak or tannin, quite a lot of blackcurrant, very pleasant - certainly not worthy of being drowned in gaseosa. But still 13.5%.

Fierce signs near Berlangas de Goa said that is was "terminantemente prohibido regar los caminos". Which I wholeheartedly support. Unfortunately nature has been ignoring the rule recently, so there was quite a lot of mud about.

 

[alansykes]

After yesterday's seemingly endless flat plain, it was a relief to see hills ahead, and the Duero entering a relatively narrow valley. An immense varied orchard of peach trees, cherries, apples, even some walnuts - a passing tractor had kindly partially crushed a few of these, giving me a tasty snack to make up for there being no bar in Bocos de Duero. Also a few burial barrow-like huge mounds of turnips; and vines, of course, vines stretching to infinity. All doubtless irrigated by the generous waters of the Duero.

At Bocos de Duero, even if there was no coffee, I did encounter a fairly large kettle of vultures, appropriately circling over the municipal cemetary.



Shortly afterwards I got my first view of Peñafiel's castle. Looking a little like a battleship sailing above the valley. Apparently originally the Peña of the Falcons, it was renamed at the reconquista when Sancho García bagged it for Christendom and declared "desde hoy ésta será la peña más fiel de Castilla". Allegedly.



It does look incredibly impressive but the contents, especially after slogging up the steep hill in the rain, are, as is often the case, less so. The views must be fabulous as well, but not when visibility is down to 5km or so. Still, quite a place.



At some point today I entered Valladolid province.

 

[alansykes]

Another day, another 2 Duero bridges. The first one, at Pesquera de Duero, a modern serpentine wooden footbridge, the next, at Quintanilla de Onésimo, a renaissance stone one.



The path continued mostly along the riverbank, which seems surprisingly empty to me - no people fishing, not a single boat since Gormaz, even tho' the Duero is now as wide as the Thames at Windsor. A few fallen trees, mostly from last week's storms, blocked the path in places, but were usually no great hindrance. An old windfall had a huge clump of delicious chicken in the woods growing out of it. Shortly before Pesquera de Duero there was a sign saying "prohibido el paso a la Sendera del Duero (GR-14) por derrumbe", which seemed fairly explicit, and even mapy.cz said the path was closed. So I crossed over to Pesquera on the wooden bridge and had coffee instead. "Derrumbe", google translate told me, means "collapse", so it was probably a good sign not to ignore. Didn't add much to the day, as there are paths and tracks through the vines on both sides of the river.

At Valbuena de Duero, a bar was doing simple food. Scarred by Saturday's unexpected fast at Langa de Duero, I jumped at the offer, arguing that a menú del día in the hand is worth a couple of tapas in the bush. Probably the right decision: I could have eaten in Quintanilla de Onésimo, but nothing between croquettas in a not very welcoming bar, and a ración of cochenillo at 30€ a plate in a snooty looking place. Just across the river I'd seen signs from the town hall advertising a evening of "tradicional fritada de huevos con picadillo" for only 3€, yum - but not until Saturday, sadly.

Google maps told me I was on the Plaza Generalísimo Franco in Valbuena, but fortunately the brand new street signs reassured me that it was now the Plaza del Arrabal. In Pesquera most of the signs referred to the Plaza Major, but one still defiantely insisted it was the Plaza de Don José Calvo Sotelo. Not that many left now, though I believe more in Valladolid province than in most places.

 

[alansykes]

A chatty young Bulgarian made my morning tostada in an early opening bar. Lots of oregano in the tomate, gave it a bit of a nice kick. I managed to bite back commiserations when she told me her brother is working in Bognor - sharing George V's opinion of the place.

Shortly after first light I found myself confronted by a helipad and the handsomely restored partly romanesque monastery of Santa María de Retuerta, now a 5* hotel and surrounded by expensive-looking cars. Quite what the premonstratensian monks would have made of the people eating the 195€ a head Grand Tasting Menú in their (now Muchelin-starred) refectorio is difficult to imagine.



The trail mostly follows a narrow, sometimes quite high path between the Duero and its canal, often on pine needles - my favourite surface. It also quickly becomes fairly surbaban. Tudela de Duero, today's destination, seems to be basically a dormitory for people working in Valladolid. My last bridge over the Duero.

Tomorrow a short day to the big city. I've recently re-read Anthony Burgess' "A Meeting in Valladolid", in which he includes Shakespeare as an actor with the huge (300+ people) embassy James I sent to Felipe III in 1605 to try to improve relations between England and Spain after Elizabeth I's death. And of course Burgess imagines that Shakespeare and Cervantes met during the embassy. It could have happened.

 

[VNwalking]

A tostada made by a chatty Bulgarian sounds so much better than a 5* over-the-top extravaganza, Michelen stars and all.

My last bridge over the Duero.

You'd have a hard time beating this year's record. What's your all-time favorite so far?

And of course Burgess imagines that Shakespeare and Cervantes met during the embassy. It could have happened.

Oh to be a fly on the wall. One speaking Castiliano, the other English. Would each have known anything of the other, I wonder?

 

[alansykes]

An early start, saying a fond farewell to the Duero, my faithful and mostly silent companion of the last week or so. With light drizzle, partly still along the canal de Duero, mostly across fairly nondescript flat countryside. Unexpectedly, the suburbs of Valladolid weren't that extensive and still mostly along the canal - within half an hour or so of the first suburbs, I was walking round the Plaza Circular, and on to the very handsome Campo Grande park, and along treelined avenues and imposing buildings. Very quickly very easy to believe that this had (briefly) been the capital of the world's then largest empire.

Almost as I stepped off the canal, somebody walking their dog wished me a "buen camino", the second time that's happened since leaving the Camino de Sagunto.

After dropping my stuff off at the hotel, I hurried off to catch the sculpture museum before afternoon closing. I had assumed, perhaps naively, that a "national museum of sculpture" would include all sorts of sculpture from every age from the celtiberian to Chillida. A more accurate title would be "national museum of monastic altarpieces and crucifixes, 1400-1750". Certainly no Giacometti "Walking Man" to cheer up this man walking. Some lovely things, especially if you like the slightly disturbing exuberance of Alonso Berruguete, who takes up about 3 of the dozen or so rooms. And a beautiful building.



I liked the rest if Valladolid very very much. It was quite emotional walking along streets that Cervantes walked along, past and into buildings that he would have recognised. The city council has organised "ríos de luz" - floodlighting most of the important buildings in the centre, which worked beautifully. The Plaza Major is spectacular, and I especially admired the tall tower of Santa María de la Antigua, under the almost full moon.



Friday evening was so busy with well-dressed people enjoying the start of the weekend, bars packed, tasty pinchos with your drink, such a lively atmosphere. Wish I organised myself to take a proper day off here. If it looks really vile in the morning, perhaps I will.



That was the end of my "experimenta" with the defunct Camino del Sur. Looking at the relatively straight line my "find penguins" trail follows from Calatayub, I'd say I probably more or less followed the logical camino a mediaeval pilgrim would have followed from Zaragoza (or further south) to Astorga, certainly a straighter line than going north to Logroño. And some highly santiaguino places, from the sarcofagus of the archbishop who invented the "matamoros" myth (or, at least, was its first recorded propagandist), to Uxama, where Santiago's disciple was bishop.

What's your all-time favorite so far?

I think the riverscape at Zamora has to win the prize.