We were now walking in the heart of the Meseta, the dry plains of Spain. Days 15 and 16 of walking the full Camino de Santiago path took us through wheat fields to the hilltop village of Castrojeriz and then along a canal to the historic town of Fromista on Day 16.
Day 15 – Hornillos del Camino to Castrojeriz
Our early-rising fellow guests woke us as they prepared to leave our overnight lodgings in Isar. Consequentially, we were up and ready for breakfast earlier than expected. Downstairs, the dining table was set for us with toast, yoghurt, traditional Spanish tomato paste, orange juice, scrambled eggs and a ham and cheese platter. Louise, our fellow guest joined us as we completed our breakfast.
We were delivered back to Hornillos del Camino at exactly 7:30 am and after a quick stop at the grocery store to buy bananas for morning tea, we were on our way.
Hontanas
The initial part of the day’s walk was uneventful. Fields of wheat and barley continued to accompany us on our ascent before the small town of Hontanas appeared in the valley below.
Our gang are all there. We waved at Veronika and Kevin sitting on a small rise overlooking the town. Pilgrims had gathered at the cafe at the beginning of the township for breakfast/morning tea. For us, it was morning tea time so we stopped and found Debra and Martin. Louise arrived not long after.
After a short break to eat our fruit, have a cold beverage and toilet break we powered on.
Convento de San Anton ruins
A steady trail of comfortable walking brought us to another iconic Camino structure, the ruins of the San Anton Convent four kilometres from Castrojeriz.
Built in the 11th century, the Convent was a pilgrim’s hospital. What remains of the architecture is impressive and pilgrims stop to stand amongst the ruins to imagine how it may been in medieval times.
The road and Camino path pass under the arch to lead us to the hilltop town of Castorjeriz. The temperature was rising so we were glad that it was not long to go before we reached our overnight stay.
The remainder of our walk, until we reached the path into Castrojeriz, was on the road or alongside. Cars and trucks whizzed past us quite closely. The temperature was affecting a young pilgrim we walked past. She looked hot and tired and barely acknowledged us as she walked intensely towards her next stop.
Castrojeriz
Castrojeriz sits high on a hill and the scene from the road was dramatic. The ruins of the Castillo dominated the town below.
The Collegiate of Santa María del Manzano sitting at the foot of the hill welcomed us to Castrojeriz. These days it serves as a museum and we took a quick peek inside before continuing uphill.
The streets were quiet as we walked up to Castrojeriz’s small but charming Plaza Mayor. Spotting a cafe in a leafy arcaded building in the square we stopped for lunch. They weren’t serving lunch until 1:00 pm so bolstered by a cafe cortado we continued towards our accommodation. We were hoping to find another lunch venue on the way.
Arriving at our accommodation, we found it closed until 1 pm. A little bar a few metres away had caught our eye so we retreated there to see if they were serving lunch. They weren’t. A cold beer and olives sufficed. British Deb arrived and joined us for a beer and after our thirst was quenched we returned to our lodgings. It was still closed.
Phoning the number on the door, the owner picked up and told us he would be there in a minute. He appeared from the bar we had all just been sitting in!
We checked in and found our bags in our room. Our stomachs filled with olives and beer, we settled for our protein bars (which we had brought from home) to top us up until dinner time.
A hot afternoon in Castrojeriz
Refreshed, he went out to check the small township for how we could spend the afternoon and check out pre-dinner options. He came back with none. “The town is dead”, he said.
It was still hot outside and we had a very comfortable room, so we passed the time catching up on an episode of The Crown before walking to the supermarket due to open after siesta time. Our lodgings had a beautiful common area and we decided to buy a bottle of wine and nibbles to enjoy in the seating area while we journaled before dinner.
Louise appeared and joined us for a glass of wine and a recount of her afternoon. She had seen a meditation session advertised at the beginning of town and decided to attend. “It was a strange experience”, she said.
Fortified, we walked to El Meson de Castrojeriz for dinner. It’s a restaurant behind the bar we had stopped in earlier in the day also owned by our host, Oscar! We entered to find Martin and Debra sitting at a table in the corner. They beckoned us to join them telling us that Kevin and Veronika would be arriving soon. We were all staying in the same digs.
We enjoyed a pleasant evening with a wholesome meal, good conversation and wine. It was a late night as we sat chatting and farewelling Deb who was leaving us to continue her summer holiday in Portugal.
Our accommodation
La Posada de Castrojeriz was a little gem. Our room was comfortable and spacious with a seating area where we relaxed during the day’s heat. The communal seating area downstairs where we enjoyed aperitifs before dinner was tastefully decorated and included a separate reading room for guests.
Dinner at El Meson de Castrojeriz, was substantial and flavoursome Castillian cuisine as was the breakfast the following morning.
Walking statistics
- 21km
- 4.45 hours including a rest break
Day 16 – Castrojeriz to Fromista
We’re ready before 7:30 am for a longer day’s walk to Fromista. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with Deb before bidding her farewell and left Castrojeriz.
It was a pleasant walk out of the town before the steep but manageable to Alto de Mostelares started. The vistas at the top looking over towards Castrojeriz and the valley are captivating. However, walking across the ridge to the other side, the views are even more stunning! It’s a patchwork of sunflower and wheat fields as far as the eye can see. Customary mounds of stone and rocks made by pilgrims before us are laid at the top of the ridge from where we surveyed some of the Camino trail’s best scenery.
The Meseta and walking the full Camino de Santiago
At the top of the hill, we met a young French Canadian lady who was equally in awe of the scenery. Camille, a teacher from Montreal commented that writings about the Camino misrepresent walking on the Meseta. Impressions are given of walking long stretches on flat land omitting mentioning big uphill climbs, walks on plateaus above and breathtaking scenery.
We left Camille to continue enjoying the scenery and started our walk in the real Meseta!
Our guidebook advised us to take care on the steep decline into the Meseta. In fact, we found it relatively easy. The path down was paved instead of the gravelled uphill climb. The paving turned into a dirt track and we were suddenly amid the fields we had admired from above.
We passed by a young pilgrim perched on a stone at the side of the path sketching. What a fantastic way to capture the amazing scenery.
Itero de la Vega
The small settlement of Itero de la Vega appeared as we emerged out of the fields It was a good place to rest and eat our fruit under the shade of the big oak trees of its little park.
Rolling hills accompanied us to the Ermita de San Nicolas and Puente de Itero, an 11th-century Romanesque bridge spanning the River Pisuerga – beautiful and serene.
We peeked inside the Ermita de San Nicolas as we passed by. The hermitage offers overnight accommodation maintaining some of what one may have experienced when completing the Camino in old times. Our guidebook told us of communal dinners by candlelight and no electricity except in the shared bathroom.
Boadilla del Camino
Almost immediately after crossing the bridge, we were walking along a manmade canal. The canal irrigated the wheat fields that surrounded us. The canal ran for the next five kilometres when we reached the farming village of Boadilla del Camino.
We stopped at Albergue En El Camino for lunch. We found a light-filled outdoor seating area overlooking a garden to enjoy our lunch. Not long after, Miss Austria arrived as did a Korean couple we had noticed earlier. Both wore knee braces.
The path to Fromista
From Boadilla, there was only 6-7km to Fromista. We could see the poplar tree-lined track surrounded by sunflower fields not long after leaving.
Out of nowhere, a group of people stood on a rise ahead. They were waiting to board a small water taxi to take them along the Canal de Castilla to Fromista. We were encouraged to continue walking buoyed by the beauty of the wildflower-lined canal.
Only one other person was on the leisurely canalside walk. At the dam gate, we stopped to watch the lock system at work before crossing the bridge into Fromista proper. Farming is a major contributor to the area’s economy and the canal plays an important role in irrigating the fields that reach out as far as the eye can see.
Fromista
The afternoon was hot and few people were about when we reached the town. We met Louise on her way to the public swimming pool to cool off. She had arrived much earlier and told us about her early afternoon adventure being locked in the Iglesia de San Martin when it closed for siesta. She had to phone the hotel and ask them to contact the custodian to return to let her out.
Because it was still hot outside after we had done our yoga and showered, we decided to go down to the hotel bar to journal about our day.
Iglesia de San Martin de Fromista
The Romanesque church was built in the 11th century and was part of a Benedictine convent. The gem of the town, it stands grandly in the centre of Plaza San Martin.
We visited inside when the church reopened after the siesta time to find the interior relatively unremarkable.
An evening in Fromista
Returning to our hotel across the Plaza, we joined Louise for a beer before we all sat down for dinner in the restaurant. A delicious meal of traditional white bean soup, garlic soup and steamed trout was followed by rice pudding and ice cream.
The rest of our walking comrades stayed in a different hotel from us. The temperatures had dropped after dinner so we decided to take a turn around the rest of the small town. We stopped by Martin, Kevin and Veronika’s hotel to see how their day had gone but they were all out so it was back to our hotel for an early night.
Our accommodation
Hotel San Martin was our accommodation for the night. It is a simple, small family-run hotel with all the facilities required for an overnight stay. They have a restaurant and bar onsite with a lovely outdoor area where we enjoyed our pre-dinner drinks before dinner in the restaurant.
Situated in Plaza San Martin, the highlight was the view from our window which looked straight to the Cathedral.
Walking statistics
- 27km
- 6.5 hours including a rest break
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In case you missed it
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