Day 16, Saturday, September 7th, 2019: Hontanas to Itero de la Vega
We got up and had some Spanish Omelette and some coffee for breakfast at the Albergue and were off for a relatively short (12.5 miles) day.
We headed out into the Meseta before the sun and were treated to another lovely sunrise as we passed the ruins of an old convent. We continued on and stopped for coffee in Castrojeriz, which sits below the ruins of an old fort, originally built by Julius Caesar, which we could see for miles before the town. We visited the church of San Juan here before heading to our next challenge: the Alto de Mostelares, a very steep climb of over 1000 ft of elevation change from the valley floor to the top.
This challenge presented today’s “Camino Lesson:” poco-a-poco is sometimes a necessity when it comes to the bigger challenges in life.
Poco-a-poco literally means “little-by-little.” The only way for us to manage such a huge climb was to go slowly and poco-a-poco. We took our time, as there was still a fair amount of hike left in our day, and made it to the top easily.
How often in life to we not attempt big things because they are too big? If we can figure out how to take the big challenges poco-a-poco, we can easily surmount whatever huge things life throws our way.
We were rewarded at the top of the climb with wonderful views of the valley below and a reunion with Malena, our Lithuanian friend we met in Orrison! She was happy to see us and we caught up briefly before the huge downhill, which always seems to follow not far behind a massive climb!
We travelled through the lovely Meseta to the town of Itero de la Vega, and stayed at the Hostal Puente Fitero, where we spent the afternoon and evening drinking beer, snacking, and following the Army / Michigan game on the internet (we were so close! Great game, Army!) I agreed to do an Army Rocket cheer when Army scored first and the patrons of the Albergue we amused, if also a bit confused!
We met Jean from Montreal earlier in the day and were able to spend dinner with him. He is on his fifth Camino! He is also 79! We chatted over dinner and learned more about the Camino and Jean’s family. He is a truly remarkable man who has led a remarkable life and comes back to The Camino for the experience and the people.
Of course, since it was the weekend, there was another all-night party in town! The only real sleep disturbance was the fireworks at around 1:30am, but it wasn’t too bad!
Here comes the sun
The rugged Meseta
The Church of San Juan
St Michael the Archangel
