Author: Thom

After leaving Calzadilla de la Cueza, the Camino spends some time next to the N-120 highway. In the distance, you can see what appear to be Hobbit holes. These are bodegas, underground storage most often used as wine cellars. Although they are ubiquitous on the Meseta, these are the first major ones we sighted.  Date: 16 April 2013Place: Between Calzadilla de […]

Although much of the village of Calzadilla de la Cueza is seemingly abandoned, there are still a few houses that seem to have inhabitants. This one in particular is quite lovely, with its garden and bench. I wonder how many different building materials over how many decades were used to construct the building? Date: 16 April 2013Place: Calzadilla de la […]

Here we see random pilgrims having their lunch in the village of Calzadilla de la Cueza. The café is on the edge of the village and faces the open Meseta. For no good reason that I can now recall, I took my fleece off my pack and put it over the end of the chair on which I was sitting. In […]

After 17.5 kilometers this morning on the flat of the Meseta, we finally arrive in the village of Calzadilla de la Cueza (population 52). As you can see, we pilgrims bunched up again as the village approached. Lunch is definitely in order, and probably ice cream as well. Date: 16 April 2013Place: entering Calzadilla de la Cueza (Province of Palencia, Castilla […]

We met a lot of pilgrims on the stretch after Carrión de los Condes. Because it’s a choke point on the Camino, what with that empty 17.5km stretch right after, many pilgrims spend the night to take that long flat in the morning. Here we see our old friend Santiago from Columbia taking a quick break to rest his weary […]

Once past the outlying buildings of Carrión de los Condes, it’s something like 17.5 km to the next habitation. That’s about 11 miles. Or four and a half hours of solid walking without respite. And most of it looks like this. Oh, there are spots of trees, planted either as row-on-row tree farms or for the eventual shade of pilgrims […]

In front of the Monasterio de San Zoilo stand a series of small monuments, each of which depicts the coat of arms of the Spanish provinces through which the northern Camino routes run. For a look at the complete set, check out the images from our 2016 Camino. For today, however, I’m concentrating on the Asturias monument. I’ve never been […]

This statue of our Lord sits in a grassy courtyard in front of the walls of the Monasterio de San Zoilo. What I find both fascinating and delightful about this statue is the fact that it was paid for in part and erected by the city government. You don’t see that sort of thing around where I live. The monument […]

Just after crossing the Río Carrión, Eamon and I walk past the Monasterio de San Zoilo. This was once one of the largest and wealthiest Benedictine monasteries in Castilla y León, and the building itself was the “first architectural works of Cluniac Romanesque in the Iberian Peninsula“. Sadly, these days it’s a hotel. The relics of Saint Zoilus are entombed here. […]