Distance: 22.9km (264.0km).
Altitude (start / end / highest): 820m / 968m / 1150m.
Weather: Sunny and and cloudless sky.
Ten days has gone since the first day on the Camino, where it was rainy and foggy, since then it has with the exception of the evening in Ayegui never been rain in the air. So as today, on the walk to the small village of Ages it was sunny, hot and a cloudless sky. And in addition, when it comes to the walk, one of the best days in a long time. Something else to think about, I am getting nearer to Burgos and later on La Meseta.
In Villambistia early in the morning, worn houses, but the small hamlet did have a bar.
Today though, most of the journey revolved around the Montes de Oca, at 1150 meters this is one of the highest points on the Camino. What concerns the pilgrims however is the fact that there is no places to get water or food before you arrive at San Juan de Ortega.
The sun is about to rise where I stand and look back towards Villambistia with Tosantos further behind.
The clock had not even turned eight times before I was out walking today, underneath a reddish glow in the horizon. I thought it was early enough, still I have experienced several times that people has got up at 4 or 5 o'clock to begin walking, that is too early and quite baffling to me. I like to begin in the dark, but only for a short time to experience that the world around me comes to life with the awakening light. While the sun was still notable by its absence, I walked through the tiny hamlet of Villambistia with its Iglesia San Rogue. There is a bar in the hamlet.
The ruins of Monasterio de San Felix de Oca, only this small part of the monastery is still left standing. In the background, three French pilgrims.
Until I came to Montes de Oca, it was again these small villages and hamlets that sat in the driver's seat. I nevertheless walked happily through them and the plains on my way to Villafranca Montes de Oca. After Espinosa del Camino, yet another tiny place where there actually are two albergues, I came to the remains of the Monasterio de San Felix de Oca. Not much was left of this monastery where the founder of Burgos, the Count Diego Porcelos, was once buried.
On the way up towards Montes de Oca above Villafranca Montes de Oca. Monasterio de San Felix de Oca is barely visible in the background as a small cubic building.
Before you begin the walk over Montes de Oca, you get to Villafranca de Oca and the first thing you encounter there, are the trailers standing parked at the entrance to the village, the road goes straight through it. Getting some food to bring with me was not entirely easy, they were actually out of bread, but the owner of the small store was kind enough to give me of their own private supply.
Large fields of sunflowers next to the Camino down towards San Juan de Ortega.
Over Montes de Oca, I first walked between oak trees up from Villafranca de Oca to a rest area with benches and a water fountain (where the water was accounted not drinkable); this was the most pleasant part of the route across the 'mountain'. Curious as I am, I had to follow a forest track leading away from the Camino, it lead me to an open area with an overview of the wind turbines at the top. After a memorial over the unhealed wounds of the civil war in Spain, Monumento de los Caidos (also the highest point), the route was a dry stretch on a dusty gravel track. I ate lunch in the shadow while other pilgrims walked past greeting me.
San Juan de Ortega, a classic parish church and pilgrim hospital, this has been a stopover for pilgrims in numerous years.
Large fields of sunflowers greeted me down towards San Juan de Ortega. It was here that 'my' group walked to yesterday, this is just an old church where it has been a pilgrim hospital for a very long time. The priest at the place used to serve free garlic soup (sopa de ajo) to the pilgrims staying the night. There is also a bar in the same building, so I had to take a break together with the gathered group of pilgrims there, for my part mostly new faces. I think it would be a nice place to stay, but I was going further.
On the way to the small village Ages, despite its size there are very few people living here.
My little goal of the day was Ages, and that place was not very big, but first a short and pleasant walk from the church housing the chapel of San Nicolas de Bari. Ages is a village that also experiences being depopulated, the number of villagers varies from source to source, someone even said that it was just twelve permanent residents living here. The public albergue in the village is run by the local bar (or one of them really, the little village has several). The albergue is nice and clean.
Puento Canto just outside of Ages, an old roman bridge on which a king supposedly was murdered in old times.
For such a small village, it had still enough sights to look at. Usually a look at the small places is quickly done, but here I spent a much longer time. A short distance outside of Ages, you find a small roman bridge, there were however no water running beneath it now. For a long time ago, a king was supposedly murdered on the bridge; the tale goes that the stomach of the killed king is located in the nice church of the village, S. Eulalia.
This small chapel was situated just outside of Ages.
Inside the village, I also found a sort of a labyrinth, the paths of the labyrinth was made of small trees and drawstrings. On a note, I could read that it was put there to focus on the overconsumption in the world. Outside of Ages, there was also a small chapel that I saw from the road into the village, I walked out to the chapel, but the doors were locked as usual here.
Ages. The municipal albergue and bar is in the street in the background.
I ate dinner at the albergue, which really was the bar, together with some pilgrims that I also had seen in Azofra. That is what is so great about the Camino, you get included when you are walking it. This was a very nice day, but tomorrow the small places says goodbye and a new and large town will tower above us, Burgos.
<- TosantosBurgos ->
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