Day 17 (Camino II): Hornillos del Camino to Castrojeriz

The 12 guests at El Molino gather together for a simple breakfast of coffee and bread. We are still reeling a bit from the unexpected feast last night. What a memorable stay here, a place worth a detour or a mini-pilgrimage if you are addicted to "The Way" (which I am not of course). We had great company that included two retired lawyers, two retired pilots, and three Madrilenos who are walking a small part of the Camino this time.  We are seeing a lot of people who do the Camino in stages. But most of them are doing it sequentially unlike us who did the last part first.

A man from Madrid has his separate trips to the Camino printed on his T-shirt. He will run out of space if he divides the Camino up into too many short pieces!

We are driven back by Milagros to where we left off in Hornillos and resume walking on the Camino. Just before we left El Molino, the Canadian pilot who took earlier retirement from a major airline and now lives in south of France gives us a weather update from the aviation weather report. Unlike what we could find, she says there is a 40% chance of a thunderstorm, so we take no chances and pack the full rain gear. We walk most of today's route with her, and along the way help her nurse her foot with a blister. Compeed comes to the rescue of course.
I mention to her that part of the joy of walking the Camino is to be able to see not just the destinations A and B, but everything in between, instead of through the bus or train windows. And this is diametrically opposite from the type of travel she used to do in her profession.
The meseta landscape is as subtly interesting as yesterday, but there is no wind and there are more people on the trail today, so there is much less feeling of isolation.

Wind turbines floating in fog, which lifted shortly and the rain never came.

Catching up to the Magdeburg couple

Meseta: boring or transcendental landscape?

We stop at Hontanas for lunch. I can see that there is more happening in this town than Hornillos and no wonder some people walk all the way from Burgos to this town to stay overnight. We run into a Korean woman who is waiting for a taxi as she injured her knee, which is a reminder that any joint or non-joint in the lower extremities are vulnerable here.
After Hontanas, it is flat or slightly descending and it is one of the easiest stretches we have had, and Chisoon is able to complete the entire stage today.

Arriving in Hontanas

Meseta continues. An easy section to walk actually

The Camino goes right through the San Anton Arch part of ruins of the Convent.

Ruins of Convent of San Anton near Castrojeriz

Castrojeriz is very long and narrow. The town is built around the 2 km segment of the Camino but only a few blocks wide at most. We settle into a solid 19th century house which has been beautifully converted to a boutique hotel which is tastefully decorated.  The absentee owners happen to arrive today from Barcelona and profusely apologizes for the WiFi situation in our room, but it is clear that every corner of this place has a caring touch.

Castle ruins of Castrojeriz coming into view

Castrojeriz: town, castle ruins, and Santa Maria Church

Castrojeriz: Santa Maria Church

Castrojeriz, along the Camino

Castrojeriz, along the Camino

Castrojeriz: our boutique hotel has an extensive basement/cellar, part of it dating back to the medieval times. Apparently the basements of all houses here interconnect but most have not been restored.

 

The dinner is at a place a few blocks away recommended by our hotel receptionist. It bustles with the locals at the bar, almost spilling outside. We find our way into the restaurant portion, and voilà, all the peregrinos are occupying this section. We see a bunch of familiar faces including the lawyers from New Zealand, the couple from Philly, the man from Seattle, the elderly Japanese we met in Najera, the lady from Newfoundland, and Tono. Interesting how we met all these people at various stages and now they are all gathered here. It's like different sedimentation layers you can find in one spot! Thus ends a pretty uneventful day.