Where The Internet Goes to Die

Sat 14 Sept Hornillas to Castrojeriz

Don't look at this as a complaint. Look at it as a rant. Thought I might be able to get through this entire Camino thing without complaining ( well, other than about the pain) but wow, what's with the Internet in Spain, at least the Internet along the Camino. Last year down in Belize, didn't matter where you went, how small the store or restaurant, they had wifi. But here in Spain, it is hit and miss. In some places there is no issue, one can sign in and use at will, but there are long stretches that Internet access is either not available, or only through a coin operated computer that is so slow you might as well send a postcard. Makes keeping a blog up to date difficult.

Saturday morning we got started just before sunrise, and yes, I will admit I was hungover from the great day and afternoon in Hornillas, and bang we head straight into a huge incline approaching another section of the Meseta. There are many people walking the Camino that avoid the Meseta, thinking it is featureless and devoid of anything scenic, but from our perspective, that couldn't be anything further from the truth. Approaching, it looks like you are climbing up the side of a huge rock formation, and maybe that is in fact what we are doing. However, the entire area was covered by crops in one form or another, with plants growing in what looked like rock beds. Because of the starkness of the terrain, there are no towns for miles on the walk, and we were not able to get our morning coffee for five kms. 

Coming down out of the Meseta we ran directly into Hontanas a small town half way through the days walk, and there was Will having his morning coffee and snack. Of course, we took the opportunity to have another break. 

We walked the last half of the day with Will through one of the prettier sections of the route, along paths nestled on the side of hills. Everything looked particularly green and fertile after the previous two days in the Meseta. 

The last stop before our destination for the day was San Anton, which held the ruins, and some remaining buildings, from an 11 th century convent. Within the site was a small alberque with limited facilities and no supply store to,speak of. We gave the place a good once over before heading off on the fial 5 km.

The walk from here was on a tree lined asphalt road, leading directly to the town of Castrojerez, an old city located beneath the ruins of a large castle, that was a base for some of the signifiant excursions reclaiming  the land from the Moors. The layout was long and narrow around the base of the mountain, which made sense to me allowing for full view of invading armies and quick evacuation of the population to the castle. 

Once in town we headed directly to the Casa Nostra alberque, a 26 bed hostel that overlooked the valley. A number of the same  people from he previous night were there, and we managed to get three of the last beds. After the usual post walk routine: showering, washing and hanging clothes, and getting a beer, we headed in to see what was there and ended up with a salad and another beer. We were joined by Tammy, another new friend from yesterday. She is from Wyoming, travelling with a close friend  Mary Kay and is one of those "matter of fact" individuals you meet who,has their shit together and are completely comfortable in their skin. She has had a number of careers over the years, and is a rifle toting Mom with a huge heart. We all had a great laugh at her story of getting up for work one morning and bagging an elk in her back yard while still in her pyjamas. Apparently she is crack shot.

On the Camino, every one wants to know, if you have had any epiphanies, strange experiences, coincidences, etc. There are so many and happen so often that I mostly keep them to my self so people don't think I've climbed aboard the " woo woo" train, but this one is a good example. Back stepping a bit. Last night just before dosing off, Loudon Wainright III's song "Daughter" came up on iTunes. This song pretty well describes my daughter Jennifer and me,  and it usually chokes me up when I hear it. But tonight as it played I had this beaming smile, with tears streaming down my eyes for five minutes. Couldn't figure it out, but I was in a happy place, and thought nothing more of it as that little girl has always had that affect on me.  While we were having a drink with the crew, I got a message on Facebook from Jennifer, saying Dad, call me when you get this, doesn't matter when. When ML and I reached her on FaceTime, she excitedly told us that Marcus had proposed to her the night before. Congratulations. When we hung up I told ML that I already knew that, and ML said, " so did I, I started writing the wedding speech on the walk yesterday"

Had another great dinner with our little Camino family, laughed a lot and headed back to the alberque before the ten o'clock curfew. Climbed into my bunk on a bed that was not much wider than my shoulders, and headed right off to dreamland.