April 30 - Day 17

Day 17 - Hornillos de Camino to Castrojeriz - 21 km

Chilly start to the morning today. And with only two toilets in the albergue it was difficult to get ready quickly.

Once we got on our way we were happy that we had trained in winter at home. And glad that we had gloves and ear covering. It was a cold wind, blowing at us for the whole walk today. But the forecast did have a possibility of snow, we were happy not to see any of that!

We stopped for a cafe about half way along, then kept walking. We did not want to be out longer than necessary.

Got into to quiet town of Castrojeriz about 12:30 (honestly all these small towns seem very quiet in midday).

Castrojeriz

Thankfully we had reserved again since the “full” sign was again on the door. And the lady at the desk helped us book for tomorrow also.

This is a quaint albergue. No bunk beds, which is nice. Mostly because the ceilings are too low. And it is chilly inside as well. There is a wood pellet heater but it doesn’t throw the heat far.

Rosalia Albergue - watch your head!

Since we have not done any laundry for three days, we are washing almost everything we own (which isn’t much). Now waiting for the dryer. We are looking forward to warm clothes fresh from the dryer.

While I wait I think about my shin. Being a nurse I have self-diagnosed of course. It is a shin splint, probably from the steep hills on rocks a couple days ago. According to Dr Google, the preferred treatment is rest and ice, then gradual resumption of activity. Well, that won’t do. It is too cold to put on ice, and I am walking 25 km tomorrow. It seems to be improving, so a bit more voltaren lotion and walk some more.

Later: I was so looking forward to putting on warm dry clothes fresh from the dryer. Unfortunately the dryer heated the clothes but did not dry them. So we had warm, moist clothes. We hung them by the inefficient heater. Later we threw them in the dryer again and they were much better (courtesy of the albergue).

Once we were moderately dry we went for a bit of a walk. Checked out the hiking store, the farmacia, and the supermercado. Then we had a nice pilgrim meal at a local restaurant. These are meals with a starter, second course, dessert, and always bread and vino. They range from 9-13€, pretty good value. Some better than others. Today was okay.

Back at the Albergue we got organized for tomorrow. It will be a longer walking day and we will send our packs ahead.

Today’s lesson: washers and dryers aren’t perfect. But original pilgrims probably had to beat their clothes with a rock.

Breakfast 3€

Cafe con leche and tortilla 2€

Albergue 10€

Light rucksack 25€

Laundry 6€

Yogurt .35€

Ibuprofen (600 mg) 3.15€

Dinner 10€