{"id":83935,"date":"2014-04-14T09:30:05","date_gmt":"2014-04-14T16:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/one-year-ago-some-kind-of-desolation\/"},"modified":"2014-04-24T14:42:20","modified_gmt":"2014-04-24T21:42:20","slug":"one-year-ago-some-kind-of-desolation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/one-year-ago-some-kind-of-desolation\/","title":{"rendered":"One Year Ago: Some Kind of Desolation"},"content":{"rendered":"

(from my journal)<\/p>\n

Itero de la Vega
\nT<\/span>hird Sunday of Easter<\/p>\n

Hot. Dry. Sunny. The Meseta – at least what we’ve seen of it so far – has not, however, lived up to its reputation for “flat”. We had two trying climbs today, one before lunch, one after.<\/p>\n

We left San Bol early, partly with the idea of getting to Castrojeriz in time for an 11AM Sunday Mass. <\/p>\n

\"Just<\/a><\/p>\n

Just after dawn at Arroyo San Bol<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Approaching<\/a><\/p>\n

Approaching Hontanas<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The Tiny Ermita de Santa Brigida, Hontanas<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Statue<\/a><\/p>\n

Statue of Santa Brigida inside the Hermitage<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Ruins<\/a><\/p>\n

Ruins of the castle of San Miguel<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Santiago<\/a><\/p>\n

Santiago on the road between San Miguel and San Ant\u00f3n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Along the way, we passed the enormous ruin of the 12th Century Monastery of Saint Anthony. Its arches – which used to connect the church with a pilgrim’s hostel – tower over the road. The church is a ruin, and the old hostel is long gone, but a new albergue is nestled into the ruin.<\/p>\n

\"San<\/a><\/p>\n

San Ant\u00f3n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"San<\/a><\/p>\n

\"San<\/a><\/p>\n

\"San<\/a><\/p>\n

\"San<\/a><\/p>\n

Castrojeriz surrounds a tall hill, atop which sits the ruin of a Visigoth castle.<\/p>\n

\"Approaching<\/a><\/p>\n

Approaching Castrojeriz<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

We made for the largest church, only to discover it was locked up. We’d have missed the Mass anyway, so we stopped for lunch and tried the other churches we passed in the town, five all together.<\/p>\n

\"Castrojeriz\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Lunch<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Castrojeriz\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Castrojeriz\"<\/a><\/p>\n

All of them were closed.<\/p>\n

One, in fact, was under reconstruction, and one small church appeared to have been converted into a government building.<\/p>\n

We passed out of the town and back into the Meseta.<\/p>\n

It was a rough afternoon, where I stopped several times for water and the reapplication of sunscreen. And that final hill was a killer.<\/p>\n

\"8859174887_5a9b3a5584_b\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The dreaded Alto de Mostelares<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Not<\/a><\/p>\n

Not thrilled about climbing the Alto de Mostelares<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"View<\/a><\/p>\n

View from the top of Alto de Mostelares<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Going<\/a><\/p>\n

Going down!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Going<\/a><\/p>\n

Going down the Alto de Mostelares<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Looking<\/a><\/p>\n

Looking out across the Alto de Mostelares<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Puente<\/a><\/p>\n

Puente de Itero del Castillo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

We left Burgos Province behind and entered Palencia Province. Five different signs told us so.<\/p>\n

\"8859816618_39fbe505e2_b\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"8859210919_583066ef82_b\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Entering<\/a><\/p>\n

Entering Itero de la Vega<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

All the photos for day 13<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(from my journal) Itero de la Vega Third Sunday of Easter Hot. Dry. Sunny. The Meseta – at least what we’ve seen of it so far – has not, however, lived up to its reputation for “flat”. We had two trying climbs today, one before lunch, one after. We left San Bol early, partly with the idea of getting to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-camino"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1aGBK-lPN","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":59555,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/initial-thoughts-on-the-meseta\/","url_meta":{"origin":83935,"position":0},"title":"Initial Thoughts on the Meseta","author":"Thom","date":"16 April 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Third Sunday of Easter 14 April 2013 Hot. Dry. Sunny. This is the Meseta, a large arid plateau that makes up the middle third of the Camino through Spain. The Meseta is said to be the second trial of the Camino. In the first third, you are tried physically. In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Camino"","block_context":{"text":"Camino","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/camino\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59064,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/holy-places\/","url_meta":{"origin":83935,"position":1},"title":"Holy Places","author":"Thom","date":"14 April 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"13 April 2013 Burgos Cathedral this morning. I really wish I could upload photos from this connection, as I probably took a hundred or more. We spent about two hours wandering through this \u2013 superlatives fail me \u2013 magnificent? glorious? fantastical? \u2013 Gothic marvel in stone. I was a little\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Camino"","block_context":{"text":"Camino","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/camino\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83933,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/one-year-ago-from-majesty-to-tranquility\/","url_meta":{"origin":83935,"position":2},"title":"One Year Ago: From Majesty to Tranquility","author":"Thom","date":"13 April 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"(from my journal) Arroyo San Bol 13 April Burgos Cathedral this morning. We spent about two hours wandering around through this \u2013 superlatives fail me \u2013 magnificent? glorious? fantastical? \u2013 Gothic marvel. I was a little disturbed by the decision to turn most of it into a museum, seemingly to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Camino"","block_context":{"text":"Camino","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/camino\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Burgos Cathedral","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/camino\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/8746831485_a685518df1_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/camino\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/8746831485_a685518df1_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/camino\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/8746831485_a685518df1_b.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/camino\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/8746831485_a685518df1_b.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":109998,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/from-living-and-chosen-stones-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":83935,"position":3},"title":"From Living and Chosen Stones","author":"Thom","date":"09 November 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"would be forgiven for thinking that the Pope's main church is St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It's certainly the largest. But no. The Pope's own church, his episcopal seat as Bishop of Rome, is the Basilica of Saint John Lateran. Which Saint John? Good question. Two of them, actually,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Annual"","block_context":{"text":"Annual","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/annual\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Lateran-Front.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Lateran-Front.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Lateran-Front.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Lateran-Front.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":107670,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/laetare-sunday\/","url_meta":{"origin":83935,"position":4},"title":"L\u00e6tare Sunday","author":"Thom","date":"19 March 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast. Today is the fourth Sunday of Lent - L\u00e6tare Sunday, so called for the first word of today's entrance antiphon, l\u00e6tare, rejoice. Deep in our long Lent comes a spark of rejoicing before we head\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chant"","block_context":{"text":"Chant","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/chant\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/entrance_antiphon.jpeg?fit=500%2C223&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":106206,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/the-third-sunday-of-our-long-lent\/","url_meta":{"origin":83935,"position":5},"title":"The Third Sunday of our Long Lent","author":"Thom","date":"04 March 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"the image below appeared as a memory on my Facebook feed. The attached post was to encourage folks to join us for Sunday Lenten Vespers at Holy Rosary. Of course, in the three short years since then, Father Wagner died, the church building was shut down, and finally our parish\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "community"","block_context":{"text":"community","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/28616428_10155978452929985_6645839107086601900_o-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C918&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/28616428_10155978452929985_6645839107086601900_o-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C918&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/28616428_10155978452929985_6645839107086601900_o-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C918&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/28616428_10155978452929985_6645839107086601900_o-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C918&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/28616428_10155978452929985_6645839107086601900_o-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C918&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83935"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83936,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83935\/revisions\/83936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}