September 18th, 2018 – Day 7
Belorado to Atapuerca, 30km
This day had finally come. This has the least appealing scenery of the Camino, in my opinion. But it still needs to be walked. The night before, pilgrims were busy making reservations in Ages, one of the more popular towns. The bed race had begun. It didn’t seem to bother me. I had walked this etapa twice before and while it doesn’t stick out as a favourite, it is memorable. Is that saying something?
I had a bunk in the attic of Cuatro Cantones, which meant I had the dangerous task of walking down 3 flights of stairs to the kitchen. No bones broken. When I got there, I saw Karsten, a Korean couple and a number of other pilgrims. The morning was still young. This sign in the albergue caught my eye.
It was a super morning, the skies were clear but it was a bit chilly. We reached Tosantos in no time and we hoped that 2nd coffee could be found. Unfortunately, everything was closed. We arrived at Espinosa de la Camino with a little success. Some breakfast later and we had some energy. Now we were rocking. We met Guilhermo again walking in a casual way. He had stayed in Tosantos and was aiming for Ages and then finally Burgos the next day to end his Camino this year. I wished him well.
Espinosa
It was all fun and games and good conversation until we reached Villafranca Montes de Oca – a small town based on an incline into the Oca Hills. We stopped for refreshments and chatted to 2 young German (or so I was told) pilgrims, before making a start on the climb. It wasn’t steep but it went on for a while. So, we had 12km of ascent and descent before arriving at the next town San Juan de Ortega. And I was glad.
San Juan de Ortega holds nothing more than a monastery, an albergue, a hotel and a cafe. Most stop here after the long nothingness. The cafe is buzzing with cafe con leches flying out the door. Karsten buys me a coke and I sit down. I spot two very young pilgrims buzzing around with more energy than us all. I ask presumably their father if they are his children. He says yes and says they are 4 and 6 and have walked from St. Jean. This is their Day 16. I’m stunned and ask for a photo. It’s a great story to tell and what a great experience it will be for them when they complete it.
Karsten and I decide to walk on. We have another 4km to Ages and another 2km to Atapuerca after that. Our feet were fine but I had a bad case of the farmers’ tan now that the lower part of the trousers was missing. I needed the sun to move back under the cloud. Back into the woods we go for a few km before we arrive at Ages. Atapuerca is just 2km or 30 minutes away. I could walk it in my sleep at this rate.
We arrived just after midday. The albergue wasn’t due to open until 1pm. I left my back with Karsten and paid the tienda a visit. I knew Atapuerca well at this rate having been here in 2013 and 2015. But the people make the place you stay and I was waiting for the right people to show up. I had Karsten, he was good fun. While waiting, Jim from the USA and Ben from Israel appeared. We would get to know both well over the next few days. And then was Bruno and Blanka. I had met Bruno earlier on in the week briefly. But I didn’t get a chance to talk to him for long. Bruno had written a novel and had with him a number of his books. Later in the evening, he would give me a copy of his book to read when I returned from my Camino.
After a few light refreshments, Jim, Ben, Bruno and myself went for dinner in El Palomar. It was smashing and I was filled with energy for the walk to Burgos in the morning. I wasn’t looking forward to my last walking day but I was walking so fast I now had a rest day. So I could chill for a day before traveling to Bilbao and Dublin.
A short day to Burgos in the morning. Everyone is talking about a river route. I have walked it in 2015 so I’ve been giving tips on how to avoid the mundanity of the industrial centre of Burgos.
