The Mini-Camino

Posted byJaime CarrolloPosted inUncategorized

The Camino has drawn me back…again! However, there is a reason for this madness. In fact, there are three reasons.

First of all, I wanted to introduce Paula to the Way. Between us, she is the more dedicated walker. But she does not want to walk 15 miles a day for 30 days while living out of a backpack. But fate had brought us to Europe, following a spectacular 14-day Arctic cruise from Reykjavík to Bergen via Svalbard island where we were within a whale’s tail of the 80th parallel and well north of the Arctic circle sailing the land of the midnight sun. We popped down to Oslo and then to Madrid for a night. We hopped on a bus and then another and ended up in Villanueva de Argaño. We walked into a bar and asked for a taxi to get us the final 5 km to Hornillos del Camino. We were told that Villanueva does not have any taxis. After a few calls, the owner of La Casa del Abuelo, the albergue in Hornillos we were staying at, picked us up and drove us the final leg.

The second reason to do a mini-Camino was to fill in the gap I missed on my first walk along the Camino Frances. With all the back-tracking and breaks I took the first time around, I had to skip the interval between Hornillos and Carrión de los Condes so that Lisa and I could stay on schedule to meet Paula and John in Santiago de Compostella.

The third reason is that I have an appointment in Carrión de los Condes to meet the famed luthier Federico Sheppard who has built a special Camino guitar for me. He reports that the guitar strings are already vibrating. She is singing and I am beguiled.

Of course, you don’t really need a reason to walk the Camino, even just a portion of it. We spent the night in Hornillos and rose at 6:00 in the morning to begin our walk together. It was a 12.5 mile walk to ease Paula into the Pilgrim’s routine. Paula did great!

Paula and I made it to Hornillos del Camino.
We walked around town, which does not take long.
Departing Hornillos, we passed by fields of sunflowers which added color to an otherwise brown landscape.
Surprise in the middle of the road which runs through a 12rh century church, monastery and hospital.
Entering Castrojeriz, with a castle on the hill above. It was originally a Roman fort, then rebuilt by the Visigoths and later fortified several times by various armies.
Paula and I enjoy our “Cerveza de la Llegada“ upon arriving at Cien Leguas in Castrojeriz

16 thoughts on “The Mini-Camino”

  5. Wherever you go, there you are! Just so happens the ‘there’ that calls to you is the Camino. So happy for you two to share this together! Yes to a beautiful Yes!

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  8. Wonderful return to the Camino and Spain. That new guitar will always keep a spark of the Camino in its pilgrim

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  10. So happy you were able to share the Camino experience with Paula. Looks like a great mini Camino. ________________________________

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