Lost and found on the Lana and St Olav

[VNwalking]

!Not quite the Frances but a detour from Burgos that's well worth it! (Mods...there's no 'Live from the Lana' or Live from the St Olav' so I stuck it here...)
...Today dawned bright and clear and thanks to the gift of jet lag I was out as the sun was coming up. I'd been told that the way from Santo Domingo de Silos to Covarrubias left from the top of the street and sure enough there was a sign; 'Covarrubias 21km'. Very reassuring!
[Well, except that I was on the GR82...but I didn't know that yet.]
It was a long but not demanding climb out of town, with occasional blazes to show the way. And stunning views--I don't think I'll easily forget seeing he shadow of the earth race westward across the distant Meseta towards SdC.
Things began to seem odd after an hour or so as there was an unmarked fork--the larger path seemed to be heading in a strange direction, so I took the fainter one....and it dead-ended about a km and a half later ar a high point with stunning views--worth the detour especially as I could see a village in the right direction and that the road eventually went there.
When I got there some time later, after more reassuring but confusing signs.....it was waaay off the track that I had on my phone. Way off.
There was a gaggle of concerned elders clucking about how far it was, and one of the ladies supervising the clean-up of yesterday's festival (a true Camino angel) got some forestry guys to give me a lift to where they were working, thus saving me about 5 kms.
They sent me on my way with directions saying it was maybe 5 km further, they didn't know. Well...it was 5 km on the paved road, once I got there, altogether maybe 10.
I turned off before town to take the Camino St Olav to Mambrillas, disappointed to miss the tomb of Kristina but not wanting to add 2 more kms to an already long day. The modern hermitage is very strange and it was locked, so onward!
The route was not well marked until the top of the hill then there were dedicated posts at the first intersection--an alternative path directly leading down to Covarrubias. After that they appeared from time to time but sparsely.
A bit further along was a pretty big intersection and I took the left fork labeled 'Quintanilla' as that village is on the St Olav--the other right fork was marked to Hotiguela, a place way to the south. But there were no more markers except for the GR82 which had led me astray in the morning. And it was definitely not going in the right direction. But by then I'd had it and could see the right road down below. In the end making it to Mambrillas by 5 after stomping along the highway for 5 kms...happy that I'd safely made it.
Lessons learned:
1. Make sure to take the right path at the outset. A small mistake here will mean a big one later!
2. Without a functional GPS it's easy to fit the landscape to a not-so-good map on the phone in a way that can be completely off! (My tracking was on but it would not display or follow tracks I'd downloaded.)
If you think you're off double and triple check.
3. There are 3 Caminos from SDdS. Don't take the longest one--the GR82 to (aptly named) Contreras unless you want to! That said, it was stunning.
4. From Covarrubias to Mambrillas there are also 2 ways. Don't believe the sign saying Quintanilla unless you want to go straight there and bypass Mambrillas. This actually saves a lot of walking but you miss the Dino footprints). Or maybe after a day in solitary natural surroundings you miss walking next to a busy road?
5. It's a stunning but solitary path. Take care...if something were to happen you could just vanish. Once to Mambrillas it's closer to civilization.
So I don't know how far that was. It felt like a lot. But now I've eaten, bathed, taped up and ready for the morning. (Staying at a home stay off the Camino arranged by our own Laurie...deeply grateful for her assistance!)
I hope tomorrow is a bit less exciting...the owner of Casa Julia in Villaespasa will take me back to the Camino in the morning to Santa Maria de Lara to give myself not such a long day.....

 

[peregrina2000]

Wow, not exactly the standard start to a camino! So glad you persevered, Viranani, sounds like quite an adventure. I got an email from Ana telling me you had arrived, so the forum can take comfort knowing you are in the hands of another camino angel.

P.s. I will study your notes carefully before setting out myself, hopefully in a few months.

 

[VNwalking]

To Quintanilla direct take the Left fork to GR82, to Mambrillas take the right one:

And I didn't get a picture of the sign at SDDS. But it was a simple arrow with GR82 on it. Just DON'T go to the top of the main street that passes the Casa Guzman. It's off a side street. Alan's track is worth paying close attention to here!

 

[peregrina2000]

Oh, no! I was just reading a friend's Facebook page, she's in Sevilla for Semana Santa, and it hit me that tomorrow is Good Friday and that the church in Quintanilla may be closed because it's a national holiday. Viranani, I am sending lots of strong camino vibes your way, hoping that maybe there will be a service there tomorrow or some kindly soul who will open the church for you. Fingers crossed, and Buen camino! Abrazos from Laurie

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

Dear PathFinder
I hope that your journey continues well, though I'm certain that you will truly enjoy wherever you find yourself.

For a moment I was taken back to a remote aboriginal community that I worked in for some months and an elder trying to explain to the lost whitefella (me) what Songlines or Dreaming Tracks were... identifying country by singing it into existence... provided you know the song, you can always find your Way across country.

Thank you for showing me yet another route to ponder

 

[VNwalking]

Haha, WokabautMeri. I guess I don't know Spanish songlines so well.

So today was much more straightforward. Very different landscape, and a lot of road walking. Mostly small roads fortunately, the only exception being a very long straight 2 lane road out of Revilla de Campo...probably 4 kms and the cars were flying past. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Santa Maria de Lara was indeed closed, but even the outside was impressive, with its beautiful carvings. And I was there at about 8 to enjoy the deep morning quiet and to slowly take it in. I found the place quite moving; the care and love that went into its building so very long ago were still palpable...and if those stones could speak...
The general setting is special too--there are old villages, a ruined castle on a nearby hill, high bluffs with caves.
It would be very easy to stay in this area for days, poking around--and good side trip after the Camino with a non-walking partner perhaps. I stayed at Pension Casa Julia in Villaespasa because the one in Mambrillas was full...only 15 € for the very nice room and they picked me up and dropped me off again in the morning!
(One thing I wish I had been able to see yesterday was San Pedro de Arlanza...I passed the turn-off but there was no time or energy with all the getting lost...and anyway I had no idea how fantastic it was until I saw photos in a book at Julita's. It looks amazing.)
After going over the hill to Quintanalara the landscape was less 'special' to my eye, until between Los Osines and Modubar de San Cipriano, unfortunately partly marred by a huge and ugly quarry. On top of the bluff nearby is a largish hermitage overlooking the valley and i was tempted to have a look but my ankle was not up to the climb. The village churches between Revilla del Campo and here all seem particularly large and fortress-like, but none were open.
Modubar de San Cipriano sits in a valley surrounded by low Altos, wheat fields down low and the heath up higher obviously used for sheep...lots of them have been using the road!
Tomorrow Burgos! I hope to avoid the bedbugs.

 

[VNwalking]

Greetings from Rabé de las Calzadas! Now I can honestly say that I'm on the Francés! A short day out of Burgos but I wanted to stay here for a change...LOTS of people are headed to Hornillos but it's quiet here. So far only 4 of us.
So coming into Burgos off the St Olav was a surprisingly lovely walk. Laurie, I was planning to go on an alternative route but it would all have been on the road, with a bit of a hill to climb outside of Modubar de San Cibrian. I didn't have the heart for the pavement and the traffic so basically did what Alan did. After leaving Modubar de San Cibrian, you cross a small stream and then take the next unpaved road on the left. It goes down the valley through and past Modubar de la Cuesta as far as the BU-V 8013; then left for about 200 meters til you get to the overpass over the Via Verde. I scrambled down easily enough...and then followed it all the way to Burgos, as Alan said. No cars at all and not even any pavement until the last 5 kms or so...and there was even a longish tunnel to walk through. Which was great fun until I was in the darkest part and heard footsteps coming from behind! After days of meeting noone my heart started to beat a bit faster! It turned out to be just a young local woman out for her Saturday walk, which made me laugh at my anxiety.
So it took a bit over 4 hours of walking, and comes right into the city. Near the river I veered off to the right, towards the center of town. I'm not sure because I didn't follow it, but it may continue on as part of the Francés near where it crosses the river on the way out of town...same bike lanes and design and the right general location. So conceivably one could intersect the Francés on its way out of town without stopping in Burgos at all.
People along the way are not as jaded by the crowds as on the Francés and are always happy to share. I stopped for a café con leche in Modubar de la Cuesta because the owner was just opening up. When I asked if there were many pilgrims he said just a few. It turned out that another man who was there just hanging out was the mayor and he gave me a tour of the town...opening up the church for me, showing me the trees he'd grafted, and telling many many stories...most of which I couldn't understand. But one thing I thought I heard was about the Civil War and how many people had been killed in the hills around there. Graves...
Having seen the monument near San Juan de Ortega, it wouldn't be a surprise.
All this is very well worth the extra time if you're on the Francés and want a break from the crowd!

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Viranani,
Thanks so much for these detailed notes. With Gipsy Moon's notes on the Ebro, and yours on the San Olav, I am all set to go. As you say, there is still a lot of camino magic to be had but a lot of it (at least the part that comes from interacting with local people) happens on caminos where pilgrims are a rarity and where towns have not felt the "invasion" that may be financially beneficially, but socially disruptive. I've had a mayor come down to the bar buy me a drink, it was one day on the Olvidado in a town where nothing was open and there were no pensiones. I called the owner of a casa rural. She was out of town, but had her son drive over, open up the whole house for me, and told me to leave what I thought was appropriate on the table.

But you will find the magic on the Frances, just in other places! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[alansykes]

So glad you've also had a good time on the St Olav. It really is glorious countryside.

I've had a mayor come down to the bar buy me a drink,

In San Bartolomé de Pinares on the Levante/Sureste the local alcaldesa doubles as the (enormously helpful and welcoming) hospitalera.

 

[VNwalking]

Thanks so much for the inspiration Alan! It was your post that did it...the magic combo of Visigoth, SDdS, and prehistory clinched it. What I wasn't prepared for was the amazing landscape and nature on top of all that. So I'm very glad I went, even for a short distance.