In the darkness of pre-dawn, we woke and what else, packed. The early mornings are always tricky. B wakes up around five and tries to sneak into the bathroom to brush her teeth and what not, taking care not to let the plastic ziplocs that contain everything we own rustle too much. As the hour progresses, the rustling of other plastic bags get louder, and then you jnow the rest of the folks are wakening. Such is the morning sound of the Camino.
We left the charming town and set off Hontanas 10k away. When the sun begin to break, it was simply breathtaking.
But first we had to pass through San Bol. The woman from Chicago had warned us in Burgos to avoid San Bol. Her husband had told her that the forums were abuzz about how strange this place and the people.
As we walked along the gradual hills, we let our imagination run away. Would it be like Michael Jackson’s Thriller? Stephen King’s The Stand? Deliverence? Alas, all we saw was a lonely little building. Still, we took no chances and kept on walking.
The early part of the Maseta, which has a reputation for being hot, boring, and terrible, is stunning. This is absolutely one of our favorite parts on the Camino. As we had left early enough, there was a breeze and cloud cover. The sky was so wide, it was like walking in a snowglobe of wheatfields.
Kilometers of beautiful landscape. We had initially wondered what folks meant by the sounds of the Camino. We each brought our iPods, thinking we would need something to pass the time when not chatting with each other. Amazingly, all you need is the Camino. The crunch, crunch of the feet, the birds, the breeze, all join in a symphonic melody unique to the Camino.
We came to the village of Hontanas with thr medieval rooftops. We stopped for long breakfast with some of the best breakfast tostadas with tortilla patata chorizo and mixed veggies. Delicious.
After breakfast, we passed the French Dutchman, an a he told us he was playing his grandmother’s violin on the Camino, going to whatever open churches he can find (11 so far) and spaces. He is actually preparing for a concert in Holland. He also is taking photos with his grandfather’s camera.
We came across the ruins of the Convento de San Anton. The Order of the Antoniano apparently came out of a “miraculous cure for San Anton’s fire,” a similiar disease to leprosy that popped during the Middle Ages.
Then we arrived in Castrojeriz, a town with a ruined medieval castle on a hill. We passed through town, greeting Joe and the South African. We met a French family traveling with two donkeys, the sweetest animals.
We stayed at the Albergue San Esteban, another donation-based place. These donation-based ones seem to the best run. This runs mostly on solar energy. The building is owned by the city, and donations maintain the buildi ng s and services. Mau, the hostelero, is a gentle soul originally fromItaly, a pilgrim for 20 years who is now completing his circle by volunteering. As soon as we entered upon entering, we were transported. Soothing music, calming aroma, soft paint colors, beds around a clean floor that was perfect for some yoga. Even the bathrooms had hair dryers, tampons, gauze, talcum powder…they think of everything. We were instantly at home. The original owners, Julian and Jose were beloved pilgrims who died in a train accident in 2006 on their way back from Santiago. Mau has done an icredible job maintaining a calm serenity, unusual for the Camino.
We met with Javi the marine biologist, Estelle the lovely Spanish woman, the two sisters fron Mexico (one who hopes to attend the Institute for Culinary Education in New York after high school), and the Quebeqois family with adorable Michael, who loves to say, “hellooooo!”
After a lovely, simple dinner of a local, ricotta-like cheese, tuna, olives, and bread, we scaled up to the old castle with Javi. Instead of taking 20 minutes, Kat guided us on a rather, shall we say vertical, climb that took us less than 8 minutes. The view on top, allowing us to see the city and the meseta was well worth it. The sound of nothing but the wind at the top was sublime.
Thankfully, we found a more gradual path down. We said farewell to Javi, who we will miss (come visit), had tea, tried a 3-person solitaire game before Kat showed off her magic card “trick” and we retired to the open room. Quietly walking, floorboards creaking, sleeping bags zippers zipping, and the soft snores and sleeping sounds of the other pilgrims.
