END OF THE MESETA

Leaving León, the pilgrim notes small changes in the landscape. The mountains across the flats are closer, there are scatterings of trees, more shape to the land. The first towns out of León have some of the most attractive names. Virgen del Camino conjures a touch of medieval romance. Though the legend of an apparition [...]

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LEON: STILL A BIT ROYAL

The old kingdom’s device indeed displays a león, a lion, but its name means “legion”. Not a natural defensive position – if there are heights in the area, I never saw them – the town of León began as a river camp for Roman soldiers. Later it was Muslim, Visigothic, other things; and at times [...]

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THE L IN CyL

Travelling in Spain, never be surprised by any of the flavours of separatism, however odd. As you move west along the meseta, you’ll start seeing slogans calling for a separate León. A dialect that few speak or care about lives on in political graffitti. Whether they want separation from Spain or just Castile is an [...]

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UNCOMMON AS MUD

Grim weather in flat terrain justifies compressing two days of walking into one post. The country west from Sahagún has its historic touches, including the Canto bridge at the start; and, near Bercianos del Real Camino, an enormous but isolated ermita, afloat in a mud Sargasso. As a courtesy to pilgrims… We should never have [...]

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SAHAGUN’S LIGHT IN MEXICO

With the weather clearing and snow all about, who wouldn’t walk briskly? Time, of course, for a cafe con leche in the bar of San Nicolás del Real Camino. Here I got chatting with some locals about the previous night’s match, and Spanish futbol in general. They described the mood when their nation won the [...]

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MORATINOS IN SNOW

Heading west from Carrión de los Condes, you don’t look for the picturesque. It’s not here. This is a seriously Roman Road. It just connects places. This part of the Camino is a different kind of experience. The Cartesian line suits the extremes. Meditative types can proceed without distractions, groups who want to sing and [...]

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CHRISTIAN PENICILLIN

It was still winter as I progressed to the middle of the meseta. Steel skies and mud, with snow to come at Moratinos. It’s hard on the body, but Spain has its great remedy in cold climes and seasons. It’s referred to as Sopa Castellana or Sopa de Ajo, and varies a lot. Essentially, it’s [...]

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SAN MARTIN DE FROMISTA

This posting has been named for one building that I almost missed. You’ll see why it deserves the special treatment. *** Be careful coming out of Itero de la Vega. If you turn left instead of right at the bridge, after a couple of kilometres you’ll find a very official looking marker indicating that you [...]

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TO PALENCIA AND THE FLATLANDS

Walking out of Castrogeriz, you stride, not across a valley, but along a plain between two humps. Up ahead is a sharp rise known as the Cuesta de Mostelares. From the top you can look back and see how Castrojeriz curls about the base of its hump. On the other side, a much photographed vista [...]

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TO THE LAND OF THE LUCKY TAU

I spent the early evening in Hontanas chatting with a young pilgrim, one of those Japanese with an unquenchable curiosity who knows that his life is mostly plotted out and opportunities for travel and leisure will be limited for decades. There was a touch of the condemned man at his last meal. He seemed to [...]

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