Hornillos to Carrion de los Condes

Welcome to the Masetta

Camino January 2025

Day 13 – January 15, 2025

Hornillos to Castrojerez – 12.3 miles

Last night I met Florida at the 7:30 mass in a side chapel of the main cathedral. Italy, China and a new person from Spain were there. He is also mid 30’s like China and Italy. Italy and Spain did not like the idea of staying in Hornillos, so they are walking 26 miles today, to Castrojerez. I took 2 days and taxied back last night. After the mass Florida and I went to dinner at an Italian restaurant. We ate and chatted till 10, then headed back to our respective hotels. Florida mentioned this was only his second nice meal of the trip. The benefits of staying in a city. He is staying in Burgos, and I taxied back to Hornillos and walked to Castrojerez, so I am now 2 days ahead of him.

The temperature was 22 when I started walking a little after 9:30. The sun was nice and things warmed up quickly. The only town on the path today was Hontanas. There was nothing open. A local woman saw me looking around and came out to help, but she finally said “Castrojerez”, the town I was headed to 5 miles ahead.

I arrived in town about 2:30. It was a very uneventful walk. I didn’t see any other pilgrims. I have seen a few storks flying about, but not any other animals. Well, cats and dogs in the towns. In Spain it is very common to have loose dogs roaming about the towns. I always call the dominate one the town Sherriff. They often come up to you, never aggressively, and check things out, then move on. The cats are just there on the sidelines. Rarely do they come to you. They all seem healthy and clean. Even in the cities you will see people walking their dogs off leash. They are well behaved and the owners are paying attention, so it never seems to be a problem.

I went to the grocery store and bought way too much. Walking back to the albergue I realized I have not eaten all day. No wonder I am hungry. Italy was just getting into town after walking 26 miles. He was off to a shower and to lay down. There is a dinner here at 6:30, which is 20 minutes from now. Keep reading and I will tell you about it.

Dinner was OK. Spaghetti for the first course, Chicken and French fries for the main course and cheesecake for dessert, with a beer for $14. No other Pilgrims were there. Grandparents with their two year old grandson came as I was finishing. They didn’t speak any English so very limited conversation. I am not sure where the other Pilgrims are eating. They are mostly Korean so are probably carrying their own food. With the cold everyone hangs out inside.

Day 14 – January 16, 2025

Castrojerez to Fromista – 15.7 miles

The Meseta is fairly uneventful in the summer. In the winter it is … fairly uneventful I guess. I did see 2 pilgrims I “walked” with for about 5 miles. A young Asian couple in their 20s that don’t speak English. I did get in a walking groove today though. I walked over 8 miles before sitting down. There was a town 7 miles in and there was a bar (café) open, but it was dark with 1 local inside and I had brought food with me today, so I just kept on walking. I was looking for something to sit on, even a rock, but there was nothing along the dirt road I was walking on. Finally I stopped and walkied to the edge of a field and sat on an irrigation box. I took my shoes and socks off to air out my feet. The temp was 40 with a slight breeze. When I went to put my socks on I realized how cold my feet were. Next stop I left my socks on.  

The weather has been great for walking. This morning I took my jacket off as I had a 500’ vertical climb in just over .5 miles, steep for the Camino. As I started down I cooled off quickly and put my jacket back on until close to noon.

Walking through the town of Boadilla del Camino I looked up and saw a horse go through the intersection ahead of me. I figured there was more to the story. When I got to the road that crossed I looked down and there was an older gentleman with a horse on lead, followed by a loose dog and followed by a loose horse, just walking down the main street of the small town. Not sure where they were headed. Obviously not much traffic in this town.

The final couple miles into Fromista are along a canal. This summer we took a boat, instead of walking. To my surprise the boat was running today. I saw it headed to the dock at the end. There was 1 pilgrim on board doing the round trip for $2. There was another woman on board, but that was it besides the captain. It left the Fromista dock at 12:30, for it’s only departure of the day.

Once in Fromista I headed to my favorite bakery in town. It was late so slim pickings. She did have 1 last glass of fresh squeezed orange juice though. I asked if she would call a taxi for me and she did. I asked when she closes and her reply was “we are closed now”. She was cleaning the entire time I was eating, so she had let me stay. I took a taxi ahead to Carrion de los Condes because there is more open here. Tomorrow I will taxi back to Fromista and walk back.

Day 15 – January 17, 2025

Fromista to Carrion de los Condes – 12.3 miles

Driving from Carrion back to Fromista I saw 11 pilgrims. There are others out here, but when we are walking the same direction you do not see many people. The road is flat and straight. The taxi driver was going 120+ km/hr (75 mph) on the stretches between the towns. At the entrance to each town is a big speed bump. We went over then at less than 20 mph. The towns are old, so the buildings are very close to the road. Once out of town we would speed right up again.

The temperature was 23, so lots of wood smoke smells from heating the homes as I was walking out of town. I didn’t start walking till 9:15, so everyone was ahead of me. In the 12+ miles I walked through 3 towns and did not see any open bars, or other pilgrims. About half way through the walk I did catch China. He did a 26 mile day with Italy 2 days ago and got a blister, so he was walking slowly. I had some bandages with me, so we stopped and he reapplied the bandages. He did pick up his pace a bit. I stopped in the 3^rd town for a 20 minute break. China and a Korean guy caught me. They both speak some English so it was fun walking with them.

Once in town I dropped off my stuff, laid down for a few minutes, then headed out to eat. Korea was already there with 2 other people and they were almost done. As I was about to sit down, China walked in and joined me. I always find it interesting to learn about other cultures. Chinese only recently were allowed to own cars. He is a manager of a school that teaches people how to drive. He does not own a car and says he is not a good driver. You have to be 18 to get a license there and have to pass the driving school.

It is difficult to figure out where to stay at night. I have an app that says what is open and closed, but it is not very accurate. There is a website they give you in St Jean that lists what is open, but it is only the municipal albergues. It seems like most of the places that are on Booking.com say they are closed, but some actually are open, just not through booking. And some will open if you call them. It just adds to the adventure of the journey. Tomorrow I can do 10 miles or 18 miles. I am doing the 18.

Thanks for following along. Please comment with any questions. It is difficult to come up with topics to discuss, so let me know any questions you may have.

“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzue