Walking the Camino de Santiago
Just before the city of Sahagún, the Camino takes a little detour to the Ermita de la Virgen del Puente. This is said to mark the halfway point of the Camino Francés in Spain, midway between Roncesvalles and Santiago de Compostela. There’s a monument nearby stating this, and if it’s not exactly correct, it’s pretty close. I like to think that this […]
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For a while the Camino cuts through the Meseta, until you start coming to an area with more trees than usual, the red soil giving way once more to greenery. Ahead of us is the Ermita de la Virgen del Puente and a monument which is said to mark the halfway point of the Camino Francés in Spain. Eamon here appears almost […]
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I find that León province looks very much the same as Palencia Province: red earth, green grass, blue sky. Farms and fields to the horizon, with only the occasional habitation marring the beautiful monotony. In the distance is the city of Sahagún, our lunch destination. Just ahead of me are Eamon and Santiago. Date: 17 April 2013Place: between San Nicolás […]
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Just before we cross the busy N-120 highway, we come to a marker telling us that we are leaving the Province of Palencia. We shall now be entering the Province of León, centered on the great city of the same name. It will be several days yet before we arrive in the city, where I will rendezvous with Francine, who […]
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Although the map below doesn’t show it clearly, after San Nicolás del Reál Camino, the path runs just a few meters from the N-120 highway, paralleling the road all the way to our destination of Sahagún. Along the Way, we passed this mileage marker. Now, many times pilgrims will leave a little memento on top of these. I’ve seen everything […]
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The parish church in San Nicolás del Reál Camino is unsurprisingly also named for Saint Nicholas, although in this case it’s officially San Nicolás Obispo (Saint Nicholas, Bishop). The portico of this church famously featured in the movie The Way. Looking at this side of the church, you can see that it was once larger than it is today. In […]
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After Moratinos and about twenty minutes of Meseta walking, we spied the next little village half-hidden in the distance. This is San Nicolás del Reál Camino, population 43. It was in this little stretch that an idea for a Camino novel came to me, along with its last line. Although it’s evolved over the years, at its core it’s still […]
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You see all kinds of old abandoned farm equipment on the Camino, of which this rusting piece of art is perhaps one of the finer examples. What is this thing? And why is it sitting in the middle of the tiny village of Moratinos, down the street from the church? Who can answer such mysteries? Date: 17 April 2013Place: Moratinos […]
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Here’s a closeup of the Moratinos bodegas. Enough people see these and immediately think of Hobbits that they’ve actually erected a nearby sign to explain. So if these are for storing and maturing wine, why the chimneys? Well, over the centuries, families expanded their bodegas so that they could sample their wines there and share them with their neighbours. Eventually, […]
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As we enter the little village of Moratinos (population 18), you can see more of the Hobbit-house style bodegas that pepper this part of the Meseta. The little towns and villages were generally the only break in the otherwise monotonous Meseta, and therefore a most welcome respite. Date: 17 April 2013Place: entering Moratinos (Province of Palencia, Castilla y León, Spain)Today […]
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