Day 15 - Castrojeriz to Fromista

 

Mist in the distance after our first climb of the day.

The days haven't really started to get easier, but we're getting used to what's going to happen. I'd noticed in my 2019 blog that breakfast at the same hotel had been disappointing. We'd thought of skipping it to get an early start on a 26km day, but since the first bar wasn't until two and a half hours into the journey we decided to wait until the 7.30am breakfast anyway.

What a difference three years makes. We had a wonderful breakfast with our Aussie mates David and Scott. Loads of strong coffee, orange juice, yoghurt, toast, preserves, cheese and a huge array of packaged cakes, and biscuits, many of which were stuffed into our packs along with some bananas for the day ahead.

Looking back as we leave Castrojeriz.

We set off with light hearts, high hopes and full stomachs. Neither of us were feeling much pain. Cathie swore that nothing hurt and my left hamstring and right-foot blister seemed to be behaving.

The climb ahead lurches out to the left.

After 2km we were faced with a stiff climb of just over a kilometre, rising 150m. It wasn't too bad, although we were glad it happened early in the day. We were making close to 4km an hour, but even so, 25km was going to take us more than six hours from our 8am start.

There were some great vistas across the Meseta. The temperature was very comfortable - cool and with a light breeze. We reached the village of Itero de la Vega on schedule after 10km, averaging close to 4km/h.

What we most needed were toilets, which we obtained for the cost of two coffees. We weren't really in need of food, as we had loads of pre-wrapped cakes from breakfast. We knocked back a banana and a cake each, in addition to our coffee and strode into the distance feeling good about the world.

On a walk like this, you're on a conveyor belt. You see the same people every day at some stage. Sometimes you talk to them, sometimes you don't. You greet almost everyone with "Ola!" or "Buen Camino!" or both, but until you establish that they speak English it usually doesn't go beyond that..

We are often passed by cyclists, who usually shout a cheerful "Buen Camino", which is fine early in the day, but the novelty wears off later in the day when we're flagging and they're just cruising - often battery-powered.

As we passed the halfway stage, I plugged my book in. We were in the zombie zone, where you still absorb the surroundings, but become a little like automatons, placing one foot after another as gently as possible. There may not be an injury, but at any stage a false step, or just a result of overuse may cause something to go wrong. 

We were hanging out for Boadilla, at nearly 20km. I'd been disappointed there in 2019, but surely some enterprising person would have realised it was a prime spot for hungry and hangry pilgrims seeking a break in the middle of the day. We found nothing until we were leaving town. There was a bar offering exotic treats (like coffee and boccadillos). They opened at 1pm (a very strange time for a lunch break), Tuesday to Sunday. Since it was 12.56pm, we decided to wait. Who would have guessed it was Monday? When we made this vital deduction we felt a kind of inevitability about things. Weren't we here to suffer?

And so we did. Our toiletry needs were taken care of in the wide-open spaces and we walked on beside the rather lovely Canal de Castillo. Our feet and our hearts were aching for rest, but at least the cool breeze and the sight of water helped us on our way. 

The 18th century canal provided transportation of crops as well as irrigation and even today you can go for a little joyride on its placid waters.

This section ended with a quaint bridge across an impressive lock.

The last section of each day is usually a bit torturous. We could see our destination. We desperately wanted to get there. We didn't know where our hotel was, but we hoped we'd sight it soon. All this came to pass. 

We found our hotel quickly, dumped our bags and went out for food. It was 2.30pm and we knew better than to wait.

Since then we've showered, shaved (in my case) and had a wee lie-down.

At 5pm I wandered off to find beer and we've had a little snack and a drink (in my case) in our room. It's time to go and meet those noisy Australians for dinner.

Here's today's Relive video: https://www.relive.cc/view/vmqXNmmXNLO

Here's today's photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/mdDCtemnW5Pc58CY8

Finally, some music. It's a bit of a problem. Since I listened to an audio book for much of the day, my brain wasn't overtaken by any music in particular. However, since my audio book has moved to India, I thought it would be good to include something quintessentially from the sub-continent with everything to do with the British Empire (I jest, of course): https://youtu.be/10dmK7O-KSY