For a small village, Rabe de las Calzados sure knows how to party. All night in fact! Just adjacent from our open window, that home was party central. Since no one in the room got much sleep we were up at 5 am and ready to set off at 6 am just as the lights from the house were being turned off. Two ladies, one from the US and the other a Aussie had head lamps so it was easy to keep their lights in sight on the dark path.

As the dawn broke, we entered the village of Hornillos del Camino hoping to find a bar open for a cafe con leche. Instead a grocer was just opening his doors which offered snacks, juice and fruit.
The next stop was not for 10.1 kms at Hontanas. This was a tiny village set into hillside in a small coulee. I was able to rest and have two cafe con leche. The dynamic duo were just leaving as I was arriving. The trail had been quite busy with pilgrims and a tour group from Germany had chosen a 5.5 km section to hike. The bus brought them to Hontanas and they walked to San Anton.

San Anton is the ruins of a monastery and church which was used by the pilgrims in the 1100’s. It was also a hospital that kept many people with leprosy a very common disease in those years.

As I came to these ruins, the dynamic duo were sitting in a secluded corner just finishing lunch. They asked if I was planning on staying at the Albergue here. I told them that my plan was to walk another 3.8 kilometers to the town of Castrojeriz. By this time, I had completed over 25 kms and my left knee was protesting loudly. Doreen and Chris said I could walk with them and since it was so late – after 12 noon – the possibility of getting a Albergue room was slim. The walk through this town is over a kilometer in length. The city is built like a three tier birthday cake along the side of a hill.

A painting of the village

High on a hill above the village is the ruin of an old castle which was built in the 9th century by the Romans.

We walked into the upper part of the village and went to all three albergues but they were all full. We finally found a hostel with three beds at a reasonable price. I was tired having walked from 6 am. I had a quick shower and participated in the afternoon siesta. At 5 pm, I went in search of a pharmacy for a knee brace which hopefully should help.

We had an early supper at a bar that had formally been used as a wine press.

A painting of the wine press