Camino de Santiago: Palencia

The Camino is full of endings and beginnings, in many different ways. You meet pilgrims going through life transitions. You say Hola to new friends and then Adios. The rain ends and you begin to dry out. And you step across borders. Quite literally. In this first stretch to Frómista, I left the province of Burgos and entered the province of Palencia.

Castrojeriz to Frómista – 24.9 km

Frómista to Carrión de Los Condes -19.3 km

Carrrión de Los Condes to Ledigos -23.4 km

Ledigos to Sahagún – 15.9 km

Other than an early morning climb up and over a small hill leaving Castrojeriz, it was a totally flat walk. Tractors were out. Smell of tilled land. Sound of the wind rustling through the wheat.

A pilgrim from Cádiz told me he was keen to see the canals that were built throughout the area to transport wheat (he was also keen on the hiking in Sierra de Cádiz). There are 200 kms of canals now used for boating as wheat transportation is done by train. It was a quiet stretch from Boadilla del Camino to Frómista following along side the canal. It ended at an old lock system with dramatically high stone walls and cascading water.

The tranquility was broken in Frómista. I heard music as I approached. It was the town’s fiesta! Fiesta de San Telmo. Naturally the entire population of Frómista was out in the streets. While the music was good for dancing, my legs needed to rest. I had a hearty dinner of tender fall-off-the-bone lamb (cordero) with peas (guisantes) with my friends from Northern Ireland, good sustenance after the 25 km walk.

The upside of walking in the rain is you feel like singing when it stops. Happily my rain gear kept me dry on this wet day leaving Frómista. Happily I had company for this rainy stretch (about 11 km), a woman from Germany (giving me the idea to add to my reading list “I’m off then”, a Camino book by a German comedian). She was not so lucky, quite soaked. I was appreciative of my poles on this riverside path as I dodged puddles, mud and huge snails. I was surprised I didn’t step on any as we kept up a steady clip.

The bar in Villacázar de Sirga was buzzing with pilgrims drying out. Rain makes a rest stop extra delightful as was the tasty tortilla with peppers and cheese and 2 café con leches to warm up. When I left the clouds parted and the rain stopped. Blue sky for the final 5 km into Carrrión de los Condes. Singing along the way (only in my head).

In Carrión I saw my Rioja pilgrim friend for the last time as she was heading home (one week is not enough, she said). I learned about wine in Rioja from her father: coreto is similar to rosado; in the fall you can tell the type of grapes by the colour of the leaves (red Tempranillo, orange for a white grape); and vines can grow up to 15 cm overnight in summer. Rain was a distant memory by dinner time; festive atmosphere as pilgrims congregated at El Corte Restaurante. My pisto (similar to ratatouille) and succulent trout were delicious.

The following day I left Carrión under grey skies. Patches of bright yellow (canola fields) were a vibrant contrast. I walked with a woman from Belgium (French part) with an array of flags stitched on her large backpack denoting places she’s walked.

Diego’s Bar El Camino soon appeared (in the middle of nowhere!) where I met my friends from Northern Ireland. I walked with them until the conversation was drowned out by rain and gusty winds.

Rain let up for the final stretch into homey Albergue La Morena in Ledigos. “To hapiness, walk” the sign foretold. It was a happy place: newspapers in the shoe cabinet to dry out damp boots, cocoon-like cubicle beds conducive to sleeping (success!), home-cooked food and plenty of good company. I was happy to talk again with the energetic couple from Wisconsin I met at Albergue Rosalía. She had been wanting to walk the Camino for 20 years and was overcome with emotion that it was happening. Both hips and both knees replaced in the last 5 years were certainly not going to stop her.

Frosty morning leaving Ledigos. Crisp, sunny, bright blue sky. Enjoyed my stop in Moratinos where there are bodegas built right into the hillside. These little caves, thought to be 500 years old, are used for storing wine, cheese and food. This unique storage system was not the only special feature of Moratinos. Mateo from Italy had a small table set up outside his friend’s Albergue with an array of coloured wax and distinctive stamps. He inspected my outfit as he choose the colours for my custom stamp (including bright green for my scarf.) “Es mi vida,” he said. “Buen Camino, Buen vida.“

Relatively short walking day (16 km) so I took a leisurely rest to bask in the sun on curvy metal benches at Ermita Virgen del Puente. My bench was etched with this quote:

C’est bon d’aller dans un sens, mais si tu n’y donnes de sens ça ne sert à rien. Toi seule peut le faire.

Saint-Preux – on a curvy bench at Ermita Virgen del Puente.

This was also the official half way point for the Camino Francés. A pilgrim from Denmark offered to take my photo – he joked that his favourite gift to give people is a deck of Uno cards as the game was named after him.

There ends my 4 day walk across the province of Palencia. I have stepped across another border. Now in Sahagún in the province of León.