Burgos to Carrion de los Condes

No problem choosing the photo of the day. Bob stopped to take a "green door" break and found that Spain has thought of everything for the pilgrim traveling the Camino!

You will notice the wind turbines in the background (Sure you will.). We have seen them everywhere in Spain, and today was proof that they have been a very great investment for the people of Spain. We had strong headwinds all day, except for the last fifteen miles or so when we had strong side winds. The ride was  almost exactly 100 km (62 miles) with about 3200 feet of climbing. Fortunately the climbs were not steep at all, but the wind added to the level of difficulty. Nonetheless, we all finished together in reasonably good time.

Our hotel is a converted Benedictine monastery that dates back at least to 948 A.D.! It is very well appointed and has some beautiful commons rooms, such as the dining room where we had dinner tonight. Philipp, one of our guides gave us an overview of the history and architecture of the monastery and the church that is here.

We left the province of Burgos today and entered Palencia (not to be confused with Valencia, an entirely different area. For a good part of the day, our route was the same as, or parallel to, or criss-crossed the route used by the hiking pilgrims, so we saw many of them. We also saw our first pilgrims doing the Camino on horseback. Many of the peregrinos do not stay in nice hotels as we are doing, but in "alburgues," which are simple and relatively inexpensive shelters. Because of the large number of people doing the Camino, there is a priority for obtaining one of the available spaces in these shelters -- first the walkers, second the bicyclists, and third those on horseback. (In many cases these are not feasible  for those with horses because of the need to shelter and feed the horse.) Many of the shelters fill up early in the afternoon, so we see far more hikers in the morning.

We stopped twice today -- once for coffee in the morning at Hontanas. While there we saw an interesting phenomenon (which we also saw a couple of other places). A vendor of a certain type of food -- a butcher, or a vegetable seller, or a person selling bread and eggs, will enter town in his small truck, with his horn blaring to announce his arrival. Because these villages are too small to support a full time grocer, seller of fruits and vegetables, or bakery, people will come out and buy from the mobile seller. So, in Hontanas, for example, we saw a woman come out with her egg carton and buy 10 eggs, the owner of our cafe came out to get butter, and another cafe owner came with two large paper bags to lay in his store of bread.

The second stop was originally planned as a very quick "see if we can get our passports stamped" visit, but we ended up buying a few sandwiches and tarrying a while before heading back into the wind. Fortunately we had good cloud cover all day, and the temperature was actually quite cool. I did not take my jacket off until 1 pm -- it was simply too cold (especially with the wind) before that.

514 kilometers to go (more or less)

Tomorrow's ride is another long one -- 110 kilometers -- that will take us to Leon. We will have our only rest day after arriving there, and will also pick up and additional four riders who will be with us for the remainder of the Camino.

Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Burgos

Enrico

We need to start today's entry with a photo of Enrico -- he got squeezed out of yesterday's group photo at Cafe Suiza.

Now, to the chronicle of another superb day. The ride was 56 miles with 3763 feet of climbing.  I took off a little before the rest of the group and spent the morning riding solo and simply enjoying life. To borrow a phrase from my friends from Fort Collins, I found a "happy gear," put my legs on autopilot and just enjoyed the ever-changing scenery. For the most part, we were cycling through wheat fields although we passed extensive acreage devoted to peppers and other crops. Since we had a stiff breeze, all day, I gained a new appreciation for the phrase "amber waves of grain." Of course, at this time of year, they are green, but the breeze blowing through the fields created the beautiful illusion of waves.

As we entered the province of Burgos, I was struck by the immediate change in the quality of the road. We went from superb pavement with good shoulder to relatively bumpy road with no shoulder, and then to a stretch of construction for a few miles. After that, the roads improved considerably.

First stop of the morning was the town of Belorado where I got my passport stamped and then stopped at a small market for a chocolate bar and some bananas which I intended to be my lunch. Next stop was the small church of San Juan de Ortega. I got another passport stamp, took some pictures and was about to eat my meager lunch when I saw the rest of our group who had brought along a substantial picnic (also purchased in Belorado). My chocolate bar was now chocolate soup, and I was glad to join them for a lunch of varied meats, cheeses, breads, peppers, olives, and fruit.

After lunch, we had less than 20 miles of gently rolling road to Burgos (except for one short and very steep hill). The entry into Burgos can only be described as spectacular, as the cathedral came into view. It is a real treat to have a hotel room with a window facing directly onto the cathedral. After showering, I toured the cathedral which is simply breathtaking.

The entire group convened in front of the hotel for a quick briefing on tomorrow's ride (even longer), and then adjourned to La Mejillonera for some appetizers of mussels. This was a fun adventure. We sampled mussels prepared in several different ways -- simply steamed with lemon, "marinera" (with a garlic sauce of a creamy texture), picante (with a spicy red sauce), and with vinegar, oil and chopped peppers.

Pat and Larry

View from my hotel room

In Burgos. More later.

Laguardia to Santo Domingo de la Calzada

Since today’s ride was relatively short, we took our time in the morning. After a leisurely breakfast (see photo in previous post), we took a walk around the walled city of Laguardia. It only takes about 20 minutes to walk the entire perimeter, but the views are impressive in every direction.

It was about 10:30 when we set off at a leisurely pace. Not far into the ride, we found the police operating a sobriety checkpoint. Apparently some of the winery tourists get a very early start.

Coffee at Cafe Suiza, Haro

We stopped in the small city of Haro for a leisurely coffee and enjoyed a variety of cookies that Philipp and Enrico had bought the night before in Laguardia. We sat on the terrace at Café Suiza and simply enjoyed the beautiful day. Incidentally, the weather was perfect – sunny, but not hot. At Haro, and then again at a smaller town, I saw storks who nested atop churches. Apparently we will see lots more along the way. (I don’t think that I have ever seen a stork in the wild before.)

From Laguardia to Haro, we were riding primarily through vineyards. The “bodegas” or wineries were of varied and very elaborate architecture. After leaving Haro and crossing the Ebro river, the agriculture was varied, although most of it was wheat fields. Along the way, we spotted several small cities and villages, each clamoring to have its photo taken.

Santo Domingo

We arrived at tonight’s destination, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, in time for lunch (by Spain’s standards), but I decided to skip it in light of the cookies and coffee in Haro. Around five, I decided that I needed a little ice cream to tide me over until dinner at 8:30 this evening.

Santo Domingo de la Calzada has a famous legend going back to the early 12^th century. The following version is taken from our daily ride sheet:

A family of German pilgrims was spending the night in Santo Domingo de la Calzada when the innkeeper’s daughter propositioned their son. The son spurned her and the embittered young woman took revenge by arranging to hide some of the church silver in the young man’s pack. The next day she notified the authorities, who arrested the pilgrim and found the silver. The young man was hanged for theft. When the family returned from Santiago, they stopped in Sto. Domingo to pay their respects to their dead son who was left hanging as a warning against sin. But when they approached his body, they found him alive, exclaiming that St. James saved him from death due to his innocence. The parents ran to tell the mayor that their son was still alive. The mayor, about to enjoy a chicken dinner, scoffed at the news and said the boy was no more alive than the chicken he was about to eat. Naturally, the chicken sprang to life and ran away cackling.

You can still find live chickens in a glass-encased chicken coop inside the cathedral, which I visited this afternoon. Legend has it that they are descendants of   the original. I visited the cathedral this afternoon and saw the chickens. The cathedral also has a fascinating museum.

I wonder what we are having for dinner tonight.

A beautiful day in Laguardia

A modest breakfast to fortify us for today's ride!

Puente la Reina to Laguardia

The "puente" in Puente la Reina

Today was a fantastic day, and at 10:30 in the evening, I am not sure how much of it I will be able to describe. but first, a brief note about last night. After yesterday's ride, I washed out my cycling clothes and put them to dry outside my window. They were almost dry by dinner time, but I decided to leave them where they were. Of course, it rained while we were at dinner -- back to square one. (They actually finished drying pretty well by morning.)

Street with our hotel in Puente la Reina

Today was a 53 mile ride with 4,740 feet of climbing, most of it in one  long hill. Although long (about 15 km), it was not too steep. Most of the time  it was at 7% or less, with a few pitches at 10-12% (all this assumes you believe the Garmin GPS on the bike). The scenery was fantastic, and the weather was generally cooperative. For most of the time we had a good cloud cover which protected us from the heat and sun, but the sun seemed to come out just at the right moments, such as when we visited the monastery in Estella and during lunch at Santa Cruz.

The first major stop was the Monastery of Irache, a 12th century Benedictine Abbey.. Before visiting the monastery, we had to stop at the famous "Fuente de vino," the fountain which dispenses wine (courtesy of a local vintner) instead of water -- "to provide strength to the pilgrims for their journey. [We have now entered the famous Rioja wine district of Spain.] We then spent some time touring the impressive monastery and adjoing cloisters.

We stopped for lunch at Santa Cruz and ate light since we had the long climb ahead of us. We bellied up to the bar, ordered one or two tapas apiece as well as something to drink, and then took the food outside to relax for a few minutes.

Inspecting the wine

After the aforementioned climb, we had a magnificent descent on a beautifully paved rode with no traffic and superb vistas. Another short climb brought us to the town of Laguardia in the hear of the Rioja Alavesa wine region. We were treated to a special winery tour of the Bodega Carlos San Pedro. Our host provided a most informative presentation. The town of Laguardia has 300 caves all designed for wine storage -- practically one under every house.Most of our tour was in the cave.

Our hotel is in a "castle," constructed in 1932 from stones taken from a much older castle torn down by its rich and eccentric owner (at least, that is how I understand the story). The room are exceptionally well appointed (unlike last night's accommodations which were adequate, but sparse).

Atop our castle in Laguardia

Tomorrow will be a shorter ride -- about 29 miles, and relatively flat.
We have five riders (Pat and Larry, Mary Kay and Bob, and I) this week, as well as three guides (Belen, Philipp and Enrico). Next week, we will be joined by four more riders.

Roncesvalles to Puente la Reina

Friday Evening

Blessing of the Pilgrims

Along with hundreds of other “peregrinos” (pilgrims), we attended Mass – Catholics and non-Catholics alike – which ended with a blessing of the peregrinos. Suitably blessed, we moved on to dinner.

Our group fit perfectly at a table for eight in a large dining room with several groups of different sizes dining together. We had innumerable first courses, served family style, including white asparagus, a type of  pate, regional sausages, croquettes, squid, salad and a couple of things I have probably forgotten. For entrees, we had a choice of peppers stuffed with cod (delicious) or a duck confit, followed by a choice of desserts. I had the flan de cuajada, similar too but not exactly the same as the traditional flan. It, too, was excellent (I think it may be the same dessert I enjoyed on our Barcelona trip in 2003.) 

After dinner we briefly went over tomorrow’s route. While the walking peregrinos go straight through Pamplona, we will give it wide berth on our way to Puente la Reina. We will do 48 miles with just under 2500 feet of climbing. Upon arrival, I will pick up this narrative. But now, it is bed time.

Saturday

I am still not sure if I will have WiFi tonight, but I

Departure

 will write this knowing that it will get posted sooner or later. We had a good breakfast at 8:30 followed by our safety briefing and some last minute preparations, so it was about 10:45 by the time we hit the road. Traveling conditions were excellent. It was warm, but not too hot; sufficiently overcast to shield us from the sun, but not to make the day gloomy. A chance of rain was in the forecast, but we never ran into it.

At Santa Maria de Eunate

The ride trended downhill, although there were two short easy climbs. The roads had little traffic and lots of pleasant scenery. The only real stop en route was at the small church, Santa Maria de Eunate. This is one of the most important Romanesque monuments in Navarra. It was closed when I arrived, but the caretaker opened it for a few minutes for me and the four other pilgrims that were there.  I had an opportunity to chat with a Dutch woman who was cycling the Camino with her husband. They had started in Holland three weeks ago, and estimate another three weeks to finish.

From there it was a short hop to Puente la Reina, our stopping place for the day. I arrived some time after two and was ready for lunch. They offered six tapas for 10 Euro – that was more than enough food, and it was absolutely delicious. I shared a table with another woman pilgrim from Holland – this one traveling on foot.  She also started her home, and has been walking for a few weeks already.

We were told this morning that there would be lots of opportunity to meet and talk with people from all over the world. This is certainly proving true. One thing that surprises me however has to do with the local cyclists (not the peregrinos). At home, we commonly wave to a cyclist heading in the opposite direction and get a return wave. Here, I have found that only about one in three or four cyclists returns this greeting. Cycling pilgrims, however, are invariably friendly, even when we only have a few words in common.

To properly complete the camino, you are supposed to get at least one passport stamp per day from one of the many places along the way. In addition to the one that I got last night when I picked up the passport, I got three more today – at last night’s hotel, at Santa Maria de Eunate, and at the pilgrimage hostel (“alburgue”) here in Puente Reina.

Dinner is at eight tonight, so I have almost three hours to see if I can find an internet connection to get this posted.

Puente la Reina