Author Archives: janeinspain.blog

Our next stop is Leon and that means we are saying goodbye to the Meseta after being on it for 14 days! Most people blow through it in seven days and complain that it was too long and boring. But not us — we doubled down on the dare. It’s very exciting at first toContinue reading “Goodbye Meseta!”

We were packed up and leaving El Burgo Renaro around 8:00 am and the moon was just rising. What a beautiful sky and it was the perfect view from all of the public exercise equipment. Next stop is Reliegos — land of the bodegas which are wine cellars built into hillsides. Some also function asContinue reading “Reliegos”

The monastery halls were quiet and it was a peaceful night’s sleep. Before we moved on, the Brothers had breakfast food set up in the dining room. Our next stop was El Burgo Renero which was a wool producing town, the biggest business of Castila during the Middle Ages. Huge flocks of sheep, up toContinue reading “El Burgo Renaro”

Sunday, September 19, 2021: This town is a little bigger than the previous few with a population of 2800. It contains some of the earliest examples of Mudejar architecture. The city thrived with a diverse population including Muslims and Jews. Sahagun’s historic architecture illustrates the Romanesque-Mudejar style, which incorporated Islamic decorative motifs and was builtContinue reading “Sahagun”

Saturday, September 18, 2021: Slow start today. It’s 7:00 am and dark out. Time to roll up the sleeping bag and load the backpack. This daily routine is getting old. I wonder how small the next town is going to be and if there’s any way to skip it. The days were becoming repetitious withContinue reading “Terradillos de Los Templarios”

September 17, 2021: Another isolated village in the middle of nowhere with a population of 54. There was a lot of tractor traffic and not many cars. We were surrounded by sunflower fields everywhere. There were two places to stay in town and both were sold out. Because of the reduced capacity due to covid,Continue reading “Calzadilla de la Cueza”

Thursday, September 16, 2021: In the Middle Ages, Carrión was a wealthy and important town with as many as 10,000 citizens. According to legend, Charlemagne camped here in his campaign against the Moors, who had succeeded in building a castle in Carrión in the 8th century. Carrion’s population is about 2,200. There are several monasteriesContinue reading “Carrión de Los Condes”

Wednesday, September 15, 2021: It rained all day yesterday and into the night. Today the air was fresh and the sky was cloudy which isn’t so bad — there’s no shade here so cool and cloudy is ok. Today’s distance is only about 6-7 miles so it will be an easy quick day. I reachedContinue reading “Vilementero”

Fromista had been a breadbasket farm area since Celtic times until being destroyed by the Moors and later rebuilt in the 12th century. In spite of being a successful market town in the 15th century, the town declined until a revival in 1773 when the canal brought water and again allowed agriculture to thrive. Rain,Continue reading “Fromista”

It’s WEDNESDAY! Chris and Jenny are my favorite co-workers and I miss our Wednesday morning “staff” meetings. Wish you guys were here! I’m way over in Reliegos, Spain … Last night Theresa and I walked down the street to Bar Elvis where we met a nice couple from Minnetonka, Minnesota of all places!! It’s aContinue reading “Shout out to Jenny & Chris at Skads Travel!”

Monday, September 13, 2021: The plains of the Meseta were flat and easy to walk … until today. It was another hot sunny day and the trail started out flat but off in the distance I could see a pathway going up a large and steep looking hill. Surely that was not our route. ThisContinue reading “Itero de Vega”

Sunday, September 12, 2021: This is one of my favorite walks so far! We started packing up around 6:30 am when it was still dark out. We started walking a little before 8:00 am when the sun was just starting to come up. So the story goes … the road to Castrojarez leads to theContinue reading “Castrojarez”

Saturday, September 11, 2021: This is the entrance to the “Muni” in Hontanas which is a small village with a population of 70. Next stop is Castrojarez, a village built on a steep Mesa topped with the ruins of a castle.

Thursday, September 9, 2021: Tardejos has a population of about 850. The town’s church had a giant size stork nest on top. The stork took off flying over the buildings. As I was walking away a woman came and unlocked the church doors so I stopped in to check it out. The churches always haveContinue reading “Tardejos and Hornillos”

Due to time constraints, Theresa and I skipped the Meseta when we walked the Frances in 2017. We are excited to discover this unique piece of Iberia. The Meseta is a geographical area within the region of Castilla and Leon – the largest region in Spain. The Camino Frances crosses The Meseta between the citiesContinue reading “The Meseta”

It’s a 2-1/2 hour bus ride from Madrid to Burgos. The people of Spain take Covid and mask wearing seriously. Everyone wears masks! They are required inside all buildings. When walking around outside, over half the people are masked. You don’t see anyone with their nose hanging out either. As of today, 74.6% of theContinue reading “The Bus to Burgos”

The first day in Spain is to acclimate. Let the body recover from the stress of leaving home, the long flight and the time change. Absorb the energy of Madrid and lean into the culture. Iberico Belotta hams come from pigs that feast on acorns. The favorite pastime of Iberico hogs is rooting around theContinue reading “No Agenda Today!”

So we survived the flight and sailed through Immigration and Customs just fine. It was 9:30 am in Spain, but my legs knew better … in Minneapolis time was about 4:00 am. Onward to Puerto del Sol in central Madrid. We took the Renfe train which is faster than the Metro subway system. The costContinue reading “Welcome to Spain!”

Our last trip to Spain was exactly two years ago and it was a lot simpler all the way round. Just as 911 changed travel in 2001, Coronavirus is changing the way we travel now. There are several new procedures required and I’m thinking that some will fade away and some will become the newContinue reading “Global Travel: The New Normal”

Almost two years have passed since Theresa and I returned from walking Camino Ingles and volunteering as greeters at the albuergue in Ribadiso. We had planned to return to Spain in September 2020. And like many others, our plans were hijacked by the Coronavirus Pandemic. We waited patiently for travel to Spain (and everywhere else)Continue reading “Hijacked by the Pandemic in 2020”