Distance: 21.2km (241.1km).
Altitude (start / end / highest): 729m / 820m / 820m.
Weather: An almost clear sky.
Today, I walked to Tosantos, yet another donativo albergue. The time spent on the Camino today, was not as exciting as yesterday, consisting of mostly walking alongside a busy road. On this part of the Camino, the scenery had also become more flat around me. I could however live for a long time on yesterday's incredible afternoon; I walked with the memory of it fresh in my mind.
Leaving Granon in the morning.
Just at the end of Granon, there was a small rest area with a sculpture or some sort of pillar erected next to it; I went looking at it yesterday as well. The pillar now shone with a bright light, almost the only visible light in the vicinity, it was pitch black around me. A lighthouse on solid ground. Shortly after Granon, you leave La Rioja and enter into Castilla y Leon, the largest autonomous region in Spain. Where you crossed the border, there was a huge sign displaying where the route goes through the region.
The sunrise was approaching, when I was approaching Redecilla del Camino.
I stayed in touch with the group ahead of me, but mainly with Torsten. They had walked to Belorado yesterday, almost half way on my route today; apparently it had not been so nice there. Until Belorado, there was much walking next to a busy road, which became somewhat boring in the end. Fortunately, there was some breaks from the monotony, when the route detoured through some small villages.
A Camino waymarker indicating that you now are in Castilla y Leon, in Redecilla del Camino.
The sunrise came when I crossed the river Rio Relachigo; I had then already passed through the small village of Redecilla del Camino. Then tiny Castildelgado followed, where it also where a small albergue, then Viloria de la Rioja (not in La Rioja) and Vilamayor del Rio before Belorado. Small sleepy villages and hamlets.
Front of a house in Viloria de la Rioja.
The first thing that caught my curiosity when I arrived at Belorado was the remains of the castle lying on top of a hill above the town. I climbed up to it. The remains bore more resemblance to a rock than a castle. If you want a view of Belorado from above, this is the place. From up here, the town did not seem as exciting as Santo Domingo de la Calzada. However, it was fun to climb around on the ruins.
Look out for nuclear mice, the signposts are victims of much fun along the Camino. Walking on roads, here I was getting closer to the busy road between Burgos and Logrono again.
I was not doing any particular thing in the town, only visited the church of Santa Maria and then walked aimlessly around for a while. At a café on the plaza mayor, I met Eric (the pianist from yesterday) and some other pilgrims. Sitting here talking with them was nice, but I do not know if I would have wanted the stay in the town.
View over Belorado from the castle above the town.
It got hot after Belorado. Luckily, the Camino left the highway for itself shortly afterwards and went more along small rural dirt tracks, even though the highway never was far away. I passed by several fields of sunflowers that looked brown and dried out. The first houses of Tosantos seemed like holiday homes in the countryside, though it was probably just local villagers living in them.
The remains of the castle above Belorado.
The albergue, San Francisco de Asis, was a yellow building. As in Granon, the reception was warm and heartfelt. From the albergue, I could look up at the hill above, where it was clear signs of caves in the hill.
Up in the hill there is also Ermita Virgen de la Pena, a small chapel carved out of the cliffs. It was closed when I walked up to it before dinner, fascinating though. However, after dinner the hospitaleros at the albergue arranged a walk up to the chapel, where one of the locals opened it up and let us look inside. The chapel did not take up much space inside the hill; there were only a small church room within with not that many places. It was very nice though.
Ermita Virgen de la Pena above Tosantos. The small chapel is carved into the cliffs above the village.
While waiting for the dinner, I took a beer at the local bar El Castano. The road is going straight through Tosantos, so heavy transport vehicles pounded by at high speeds while I was sitting there. The communal dinner was good, whereupon we gathered in a small chapel inside the albergue afterwards. I joined in, despite feeling that I did not really belong there. There is a custom at the place that each pilgrim writes down on a note why he or she is doing the Camino. Each afternoon, some of these notes are read out aloud by the pilgrims, after twenty days the notes are burned since they believe that the pilgrim who wrote the note will have arrived in Santiago de Compostela at that time.
The albergue in Tosantos, Albergue San Francisco de Asis. I slept in the second floor where the open window is.
It certainly looks like I am in a musical part of the Camino. As in Granon, a sort of a concert happened here in the evening as well, not piano this time, but guitar. Not as exclusive as yesterday, but still nice. A pleasant stay in Tosantos more than made up for a walk that was a little bit boring at times.
From the evening prayer in the small chapel in the albergue.
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