Day 14 Castrojeriz

With the heat wave fully passed it appears to be a swing in temperatures in the other direction. While the rain held off it was a cold and windy day.

Today was the first day I had to install the zip off pant legs on my convertible hiking shorts/pants. In addition I had to dig out the long sleeve pull-over and break out the jacket. With temperatures hovering around 10 degrees C, (around 50 degrees F) and a constant 20 mph wind you had to keep moving to stay warm.

Last night I met Ernest from Norway, a girl from Northern Ireland and two other young ladies from California. We shared a delightful home cooked meal from our Albergue’s hostess.

On the Camino today I ran into Ju-An who I met in Belorado a few days ago. Ju-An is a Professor at a Nursing school in Huntington Beach California, as well as a Nurse Practitioner. We walked together today for about an hour. We shared our experiences over the last few days and discussed what the Camino is teaching us. The Camino is a freeing experience, for a short time, all you have to do is walk. It’s hard to describe, but normal life back home has so many predefined decisions and experiences. On the Camino, you don’t know what you will eat, where you will sleep or who you will meet. It’s a life of near total spontaneity save for the daily walk.

After putting in 28 km, I arrived in Castrojeriz, population 500. ( One of the more sizable towns since Burgos).

Rural life in Spain is interesting, you see so many wheat fields, but rarely a farmer… so many villages with half the homes empty or shuttered tight. Often the only source of income in these villages is the Camino pilgrims.