7:38 AM – Castrojeriz: view from our window west (toward Alto de Mostelares).
We had told the lady at El Veredero that we would eat breakfast at 8:30, but had not paid for it yet. However, we got up early, left a note for her in the kitchen, and departed at 7:45. On the way through town, we noticed that La Taberna was open and stopped and talked with the owner about his son, who waited on our table last year but now works in Burgos.
All of this day’s walk would be on earthen tracks that only encountered asphalt roads briefly around the halfway point at Itero de la Vega. We began with a steep climb out of Castrojeriz onto the Alto de Mostelares (900 m/2,952 ft altitude according to guidebooks), but a sign at the start of the 12 % uphill grade said “1050 m” (3,444 ft) which was perhaps the length of the climb, rather than the height; this was confirmed by the sign indicating only “350 m” for the much steeper downhill side. At any rate, it was a long, hard climb in lots of heat. As we climbed, we could see seams of mica, which was mined here in Roman times.
8:16 AM – Leaving Castrojeriz: MT on path by field of sunflowers with winding trail up to Alto de Mostelares ahead.
8:18 AM – Alto de Mostelares: our long shadows (shadows of our former selves) at fork in path (Camino sign with arrow pointing right toward path uphill, relatively small stack of hay bales at right).
8:27 AM – Alto de Mostelares: pilgrim (Don?) approaching sign at foot of hill (MT’s shadow).
8:28 AM – Alto de Mostelares: sign at bottom of hill indicating a 12 % incline for a distance of 1050 m; on the sign for curve, someone had written: “Drink Water.” The larger sign is about the “Zona Rural” program for improving the infrastructure of the Camino de Santiago on the Cuesta [hill] de Mostelares, between Castrojeriz and Castrillo Matajudios.
Castrillo Matajudios is a town in Burgos Province, northwest of Castrojeriz. The name, meaning “Jew-Killer Camp,” was changed in May 2014 back to Castrillo Mota de Judios (“Camp Hill of the Jews”). The name derived from the last 2,000 years of religious strife and struggle for power over the Iberian Peninsula. After the Christian Spanish expulsion of the Muslim Moors and Jews that ended in 1492, there were mass conversions to Christianity and the name changed from “Hill of Jews” to “Kill Jews.”
8:31 AM – Alto de Mostelares: MT at the 12 % incline sign.
8:32 AM – Alto de Mostelares: MT and Don with 12 % incline sign (the man who took it was a teacher, who was doing part of the Camino with 15 students, but he was not with them at that time).
8:42 AM – Alto de Mostelares: view of landscape back toward Castrojeriz (hill in right).
8:43 AM – Alto de Mostelares: MT on way up, with view back toward Castrojeriz.
8:49 AM – Alto de Mostelares: our long shadows on way up.
8:57 AM – Alto de Mostelares: MT and monument near top (Castrojeriz in background, right).
8:57 AM – Alto de Mostelares: shelter house with fruit stand at top.
9:04 AM – Alto de Mostelares: sign for 18 % decline (but only 350 m distance down on this steeper side) and view ahead to west.
9:04 AM – Alto de Mostelares: MT with 18 % decline sign.
9:05 AM – Alto de Mostelares: our long shadows on the steep downward path (at this point paved with ridges).
9:05 AM – Alto de Mostelares: steep downward path (at this point paved with ridges).
Continuing along the high meseta, we then dropped back down before entering the Tierra de Campos.
Between Alto de Mostelares and the Río Pisuerga, we stopped 9:57-10:15 to eat fruit at Fuente del Piojo [fountain of the louse], a modern picnic area with cool spring water and the only shade in this area.
9:57 AM – Fuente del Piojo: MT and other pilgrims in rest area.
9:57 AM – Fuente del Piojo: spout where fountain water came out of wall (small fruit stand at left).
We stopped briefly at the Ermita de San Nicolás, but it was not the place with the Italian cooks where we ate last year (we never did find that place). When MT asked about a baño, she was directed around back, where she mistakenly went into the shower room of the albergue.
The Ermita de San Nicolás (de Puente Fitero) was built between the 12th and 13th centuries in transition from Romanesque to Gothic style. The original pilgrim hospice was founded in the 1174. Soon thereafter, a Cistercian monastery was added. It passed into the hands of the Caballeros de la Orden del Hospital de San Juan (Knights of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, later known as the Knights of Malta), who protected pilgrims who passed through the nearby Puente Fitero. It grew into a small town, but was later depopulated and fell into ruins. In 1991, the Archdiocese of Burgos loaned the long-neglected 13th-century chapel, all that was left of the complex, to the Italian Confraternita di San Jacopo di Compostela (Confraternity of St. James of Compostela), which restored it and converted it into an albergue, called Hospital de San Nicolás de Puente Fitero, that opened in 1994.
10:35 AM – Ermita de San Nicolás: side with entrance portal.
10:35 AM – Ermita de San Nicolás: sign “San Nicolás de Puentefitero – Hospital de Peregrinos” and portal.
10:36 AM – Ermita de San Nicolás: Don with sign “San Nicolás de Puentefitero – Hospital de Peregrinos” by portal.
10:40 AM – Ermita de San Nicolás: stray sunflower across the path from hermitage.
10:41 AM – Ermita de San Nicolás: view down path past hermitage to Puente Itero.
Shortly after Ermita de San Nicolás, we crossed the Puente Itero, where we entered into the province of Palencia.
Puente Itero (aka Paso Itero, Puente Fitero, Puentefitero, Ponte Fitir, Ponte de la Mulla*, or Ponteroso) is an 11-arched bridge over Río Pisuerga around Itero de la Vega. Itero comes from hito (milestone, cairn or stone post, usually carved, used to indicate the direction or distance on roads or land boundaries); mulla also means cairn or milestone (normally mojón). This name signifies that the bridge was on the historical border between Castile and León; the area was much disputed throughout the Middle Ages. The stone marker just across the bridge also marks the historic border with the kingdom of León. The original bridge was built by King Alfonso VI of Castilla y León (ruled 1072-1109) in the late 11th century to unify the kingdoms of Castile and León. It was originally in Romanesque style, but was changed in the Gothic period; so some of the arches are semicircular and others are pointed. The 17th-century remodeling kept the original Romanesque style. It is one of the longest bridges on the Camino. Not all of the 11 arches are visible today because some are partially buried by farmland beside the bridge.
10:33 AM – Puente Itero: pilgrims on path and crossing bridge into Palencia.]
Puente Itero – side view (wikimedia).
The Province of Palencia is in the northern part of the autonomous community of Castilla y León, between the provinces of Burgos and León. It lies in the north of the Meseta Central (the central Spanish plateau), south of the Tierra de Campos. The north is traversed by the Cantabrian Mountains. (Palencia is also the name of the capital city of the Province of Palencia.) The Romans called it Pallantia, possibly from the Celtic root pala (plain). During the early Middle Ages, Palencia was ruled by the Visigoths, and the oldest Visigothic church in Spain was built there in 661. The Moors arrived in the early 8th century and ruled Palencia until Christian power was restored in 921.
10:48 AM – Palencia Border: sign for entering “Provincia de Palencia.”
10:48 AM – Palencia Border: MT with border sign.
10:49 AM – Palencia Border: stone marker for “Provincia de Palencia.”
10:51 AM – Palencia Border: Don and stone border marker.
10:49 AM – Palencia Border: back side of stone marker: “El Camino de Santiago a su paso por Palencia” [The Camino de Santiago on its pass through Palencia] with map of towns along the route.
10:50 AM – Palencia Border: MT with large sign for “El Camino de Santiago en Castilla y León,” showing the route through the provinces of Palencia and León.
In Itero de la Vega (pop 190), we stopped at Bar Albergue La Mochila [the Backpack] for 2 tostadas con tomate y aciete; MT water/Don orange juice (total 5€).
Itero de la Vega, next to Río Pisuerga and in the middle of the Tierra de Campos region, was an important location in the history of the founding of Castilla y León. Its origins date back to the repopulation of the area between the 9th and 10th centuries, following the Reconquista. The town received its jurisdictional charter in 950 and became a stopping point for the pilgrimage to Santiago. It is currently the first town on the Camino in the Province of Palencia.
11:34 AM – Itero de la Vega: Bar Albergue La Mochila (Bar Tachu down street to left).
In the Middle Ages, Itero de la Vega had a pilgrim hospital, which has now been transformed into Bar Tachu.
11:35 AM – Itero de la Vega: Bar Albergue La Mochila (closer up).
Itero de la Vega: Rollo de Justicia (es.wikipedia.org).
The Gothic Rollo de Justicia in Plaza Mayor, erected in 1529, has a quadrangular shape, rather than round like most rollos. It sometimes served as a pillory where prisoners were exposed to shame or was used to exhibit the head of the executed.
11:43 AM – Itero de la Vega: cartoon characters painted on building on way out of town.
Then we entered the Tierra de Campos.
The Tierra de Campos (land of the fields), another flat region between Río Pisuerga and Río Cea at Sahagún. It is an extensive agricultural area with rivers and canals that irrigate fields, mainly of wheat with some vegetable and wine production. There are few trees that offer shade from the relentless sun that dries the deep red earthen walls of the many adobe villages we would pass through. The absence of wood and stone made earth the natural building material—initially air-dried bricks and eventually kilns, speeding up the drying process and stability but still lacking long-term durability.
Leaving Itero de la Vega, there are a group of bodegas (wine cellars).
Bodegas (wine cellars) are found all over the countryside of Palencia. These Hobbit-like structures, built into the sides of small hills stored local wine in relative cool subterranean stores. Between Itero de la Vega and Canal Pisuerga, there is even a small village called Bodegas.
We arrived at Boadilla del Camino (pop 140) at 1:45.
Earliest historical records of the town Boadilla del Camino date back to 950, after being repopulated following expulsion of the Moors. Soon after that, pilgrims to Santiago began to forsake the Caminos del Norte (northern routes) to take the more bearable route that passed through here. The period of greatest growth was in the 15th and 16th centuries, when the rollo de justicia, the present church Santa María Assunta, and a pilgrim hospital were erected. The status of the town also increased when the north section of the Canal de Castilla was built nearby between 1759 and 1804, leading to Frómista and providing irrigation. The town originally had a population of over 2,000 and served several pilgrim hospitals.
At the edge of town, we saw some curious-looking buildings with 2- and 3-tiered roofs. These turned out to be palomares (dovecotes).
1:30 PM – Boadilla del Camino: palomares (dovecotes) with 2- and 3-tiered roofs and top of Santa María church from edge of town (telephoto, 112 mm).
A dovecote (Spanish palomar) is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves (Spanish pichones, palomas), which historically were an important food source in Western Europe and were kept for their eggs, flesh, and dung; they could be round or rectangular and generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. A palomar is a closed structure, except for a small access door and pigeonholes around the top for the doves to enter. It is usually made of mud bricks.
There are many old palomares on the outskirts of Boadilla del Camino, and they are some of the best examples of these curious buildings that are traditional in the Tierra de Campos. Of the 19 palomares still found in and around Boadilla del Camino, none is circular, 18 are square (13 in good condition, 5 poor), and 1 polygonal (poor condition).
1:30 PM – Boadilla del Camino: palomares (dovecotes) with 2- and 3-tiered roofs and top of Santa María church from edge of town (telephoto, 186 mm).
1:36 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Iglesia de Santa María, with tower at head of gospel (north) nave, from edge of town (telephoto, 156 mm).
We got a double room for 45€ in the “Hotel” next to Albergue-Restaurante-Casa Rural En el Camino and got sellos there. (We knew about this place from a brochure we had picked up at the Palencia border marker.) The albergue has 2 dorms in a converted barn and private rooms in the main house Casa Rural. However, our room was in the recently built hotel next door (no sign). We showered, washed clothes, and hung them on a line in the albergue courtyard. We paid for the room (45€, no receipt) and got the owner to call Frómista and cancel our reservation there. From the bar, we ordered 2 glasses of red wine and a bowl of olives, which we ate on the terraza (patio). MT used the WiFi.
4:34 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Albergue – Restaurante-Casa Rural En el Camino (with old gate); rollo de la justicia; and our “Hotel” across an alley from the albergue.
6:26 PM – Boadilla del Camino: “Hotel” En el Camino (between the albergue and the church). Our room was on the 1st (US 2nd) floor on the corner by the lamp, with shades down.
1:52 PM – Boadilla del Camino: our room in “Hotel” En el Camino.
1:53 PM – Boadilla del Camino: our room in “Hotel” En el Camino with bathroom.
1:53 PM – Boadilla del Camino: MT in our room in “Hotel” En el Camino.
3:18 PM – Boadilla del Camino: courtyard of albergue with our clothes (and others) on line.
4:14 PM – Boadilla del Camino: MT with metal sculpture in albergue courtyard.
4:15 PM – Boadilla del Camino: MT with metal sculpture in albergue courtyard (closer up).
Wednesday, September 03, 2014, 7:40 AM – Boadilla del Camino: Don with metal sculpture in albergue courtyard.
Wednesday, September 03, 2014, 7:39 AM – Boadilla del Camino: small pool in albergue courtyard (guests only).
4:15 PM (Cropped) – Boadilla del Camino: mural in albergue courtyard near entrance gate.
4:15 PM – Boadilla del Camino: view of albergue courtyard toward entrance gate, with Santa María church outside.
While MT used the WiFi, Don went for a brief tour of the town. In the square next to our hotel, just outside our window, was a rollo de la justicia; next to it was the Iglesia de Santa María, which was closed (despite what a sign in the albergue bar said the hours were).
The fine Gothic rollo jurisdiccional (medieval jurisdictional column), according to the hispanoflemenco style, is from the 15th century, complete with scallop shell and animal motifs and heads of little angels. It has the richest ornamentation of all the rollos in Spain. The shaft, rising above 5 circular steps, is not completely circular; it has vertical separations into 8 columns, with decorations inside crevices. Above the shaft is a magnificent capital as large as a baptismal font, made up of flora and fauna. It has a cornice adorned with lion’s head gargoyles and a wolf, and above that is a kind of balcony, in the center of which stands a shapely Gothic spire. This rollo was the symbol of the jurisdictional autonomy bestowed on the town by King Enrique IV and confirmed by the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella in 1482. It also marks the spot where criminals were tied in chains and subjected to cruel and unusual forms of public humiliation before they were tried.
4:24 PM – Boadilla del Camino: rollo de la justicia (view from albergue gate).
4:17 PM – Boadilla del Camino: rollo de la justicia (view from our hotel).
Boadilla del Camino: Rollo de la Justicia capital (boadilladelcamino.es).
6:25 PM – Boadilla del Camino: sign for “Rollo gótico de Boadilla del Camino – siglo XV” by albergue gate: “El Rollo Jurisdiccional de Boadilla, es simbolo de la soberanía independiente de la localidad, merced a un privilegio del rey Enrique IV, confirmado por los Reyes Católicos en 1492, por el cual la villa dejaba de estar sometida a los derechos de jurisdicción de los señores de Melgar y de Castrojeriz. Immediatamente se construiría el rollo, cuyo fuiste presenta una rica decoración con varios motivos de inspiración jacobea. En esta rollo era donde se ataba con cadenas a los condenados, para exponerlos a la vergüenza pública, antes de que fueran juzgados.
“Frente a este rollo se sitúa la Iglesia de Santa María, gótica del s. XVI, conservandose en su interior una maravillosa pila bautismal románica. El retablo mayor renacentista está dedicado a la Virgen María, contando distintas escenas de su vida.”
[The Column of Justice of Boadilla del Camino is a symbol of the independent sovereignty of the locality, thanks to a privilege from King Enrique IV, confirmed by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492, by which the town ceased to be subject to the law of jurisdiction of the lords of Melgar and of Castrojeriz. Immediately, a column was constructed, on which there was a rich decoration with various motifs of Jacobean inspiration. At this column was where the condemned were fastened with chains in order to expose them to public shame before judgment was passed on them.
In front of this column is situated the Church of St. Mary, Gothic from the 16th century, conserving in its interior a marvelous Romanesque baptismal font. The Renaissance main altarpiece is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, containing various scenes from her life.]
4:17 PM – Boadilla del Camino: rollo de la justicia (view from square by church toward albergue entrance gate).
6:25 PM – Boadilla del Camino: albergue entrance gate.
4:17 PM – Boadilla del Camino: albergue entrance gate (showing vending machine inside).
A sign on the coke machine near the gate to the albergue courtyard said a free guitar concert for pilgrims would be in Carrión de los Condes on Wednesday evening (but we would miss it, having attended a similar one in Villalcázar de Sirga last year).
4:18 PM – Boadilla del Camino: sign on coke machine just inside albergue gate for “Conciertos de Guitarra para peregrinos” (Guitar Concerts for Pilgrims) 1 Jun-22 Sep, Sun & Wed in Carrión de los Condes, Fri in Frómista, Sat in Villalcázar de Sirga; Free.
4:19 PM – Boadilla del Camino: metal sculpture and old things just inside albergue gate.
4:22 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Don with metal sculpture by outside entrance to albergue courtyard.
Just across the square from out hotel and the albergue was the Iglesia de Santa María.
The 16th-century Iglesia de Santa María (aka Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción aka Santa María Assunta) was built over a Romanesque church of which only the base of the bell tower (at the head of the gospel [north, left] nave) from the 13th century and an exceptional 14th-century Romanesque baptismal font remain. The main altarpiece is from 1548.
4:20 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Iglesia de Santa María (view through albergue gate).
4:25 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Iglesia de Santa María entrance on south side near our hotel (but it was closed at this time).
4:28 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Iglesia de Santa María tower (with storks’ nests) and north side.
4:34 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Iglesia de Santa María apse end, with tower at head of gospel (north) nave, and north side, with our hotel in background.
The temperature at 5:30 pm was 91˚ F.
When Don went down to get our dry laundry at 6:15 pm, he noticed that the church door of Iglesia de Santa María was open. So, before the 7 pm dinner at the albergue, we visited the church.
6:17 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Iglesia de Santa María – baptismal font at rear of nave.
The 14th-century baptismal font is Romanesque with a transition to Gothic. It is from the old Romanesque or Protogothic church on which the present church was built. It is supported by 12 short pillars. The font itself has a decoration of 3 superposed geometric bands: the bottom band shows a row of double arches with pointed tips in the center; the middle band has interlocking arches separated from the former by a thin ring with Templar crosses, and the top band contains a series of Celtic symbols, swastikas, rosettes, crosses, and solar symbols (which some believe is a message from early Rosicrucians, others prefer to see as symbols of asceticism, and others view as the survival of a primitive tradition that sanctified the font with archaic symbols).
6:18 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Iglesia de Santa María – view from baptistery toward main altar.
The main altarpiece (1548) in Renaissance style is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, with various scenes from her life at the left and right sides. The carvings, bas-relief, and high relief were carved in walnut. The gilding and polychrome was added in 1620.
The altarpiece consists of a banco ([literally bench] predella, base), 3 bodies (tiers) divided into 5 calles (posts [literally streets, vertical rows of panels]), and an attic.
In the banco (base), from left to right, are a relief of La Piedad (pieta, removal of Christ’s body from the cross), an image of Mary Magdalene, the tabernacle of later times, St. Martin of Tours, and a relief of the Epiphany.
In the first body, between two scenes painted on wood of the Annunciation and Visitation, appear St. Bartholomew, the seated Virgin and Child, and San Lorenzo (St. Lawrence).
The second body is likewise flanked by paintings of the Marriage of the Virgin and the Nativity, between which are the images of San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist) and San Antonio Abad (St. Anthony Abbot). The central street is occupied by the aforementioned figure of the Virgin and Child, which is twice as large as the other figures.
In the third body are carvings of San Gregorio (St. Gregory), the Assumption (which seems shoddy because of unfortunate overpainting), and San Jeronimo (St. Jerome), flanked by paintings of the Nativity and the Adoration of the Kings.
The attic is decorated with a high relief of the Coronation of the Virgin and prophets painted on wood. The pediment that crowns the altar is occupied by the figure of God the Father in an attitude of blessing.
All the parts of the altarpiece are topped with angels, female figures, and fruit bowls.
6:14 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Iglesia de Santa María – main altarpiece.
Boadilla del Camino: Main altar – scene of La Piedad (pieta) at bottom left (boadilladelcamino.es).
Boadilla del Camino: Main altar – scene of Epifania (Epiphany) at bottom right (boadilladelcamino.es).
The Retablo de Ecce Homo (Ecce Homo altarpiece) in the epistle (south) nave is from the 15th century, in Renaissance style. It has a carving of the Crucifixion. It consists of a base, two bodies, and an attic with 6 paintings alluding to the Passion and 2 of San Roque and Santo Entierro flanking sculptures of Ecce Homo (Christ tied to a pillar) in 1st body, La Piedad (pieta, Christ taken down from cross) in 2nd body, and Crucifixion in attic. The pediment that crowns the altar is occupied by the figure of God the Father leaning out over the altar in an attitude of blessing
6:15 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Iglesia de Santa María – Ecce Homo altarpiece of side altar in gospel (left) nave, with scenes from Passion of Christ.
The vaulted ceiling is from 1770.
6:18 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Iglesia de Santa María – ceiling of center section and apse.
6:19 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Iglesia de Santa María – ceiling of rear and center sections.
6:21 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Iglesia de Santa María – side altar at rear of gospel (north, left) nave, with Virgin and Child.
6:54 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Iglesia de Santa María – Virgin and Child statue on that altar at left rear of nave (MT took); both Virgin and Child have scapulars (with Carmelite shield) hanging from their hands.
6:55 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Iglesia de Santa María - Virgin and Child statue at left rear of nave (MT took close-up to show scapular with Carmelite shield).
6:20 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Iglesia de Santa María – statue of San Roque on left side of that side altar.
6:19 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Iglesia de Santa María - statue of another saint (Santiago?) on right side of that side altar.
Then we went back to En el Camino restaurant for the 9€ dinner menu, for which we were seated at long tables with pilgrims of many nationalities from the albergue: 1st course: bean soup (each half of the long table got one serving bowl with ham or chorizo and another without; we had some of each); 2nd course: both had merluza and salad (other choice was chicken); dessert: ice cream bar with chocolate coating; 2 bottles of wine for 4-5 at each part of table; pitcher of water; bread.
7:12 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Restaurante En el Camino – MT with other pilgrims eating bean soup at dinner table.
7:34 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Restaurante En el Camino – Don eating merluza and salad with other pilgrims at dinner table.
7:34 PM – Boadilla del Camino: Restaurante En el Camino – other pilgrims eating 2nd course at dinner table.
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