29th April 2024 Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Belorado

We headed downstairs for breakfast, and I thought I would try the Migas I had seen on the menu yesterday.  Turns out it is what they call “Breadcrumbs” – it is made from stale bread, bacon, chorizo, garlic and paprika.  It was delicious and even better when shared with Steve and eaten with some of his scrambled eggs. I finished off with some delicious fresh pineapple and melon.

First thing to do today before checkout was to get around the corner to the Pharmacy to get some electrolytes.  During the walk I was video chatting with Joanne as we hadn’t spoken for a week or two.  We spoke for a few minutes before heading into the pharmacy that, unfortunately, didn’t have any in stock so we knew we would need to go over the route and what facilities were on the way to ensure we could get to Belorado without too many problems.

While Steve went over the route I rang Joanne back and it was lovely to chat for a bit longer before we finalised our packing and headed downstairs to check out.  By this stage some time had passed so we grabbed a taxi to catch up the time lost, crossed over into the next province (Castilla y Leon) and started walking.

We really wanted to see the Romanesque baptismal font in the church Virgen de la Calle in Redecilla del Camino but the church was closed.  The Plaza Mayor was small but quite pretty and there were lots of homes that looked hundreds of years old. 

We continued on to the small town of Castildelgado but everything there seemed to be shut as well – there may have been a place down off the Camino but we just wanted to keep going and we weren’t too worried about getting another coffee just yet.

The next town Viloria de la Rioja is reportedly the birthplace of Santo Domingo de la Calzada and where he lived until he was about 10 or 11 years old.  The building was quite a large one and the town also had quite a lovely church but, once again, everything was closed.

We continued on towards Villamayor del Rio past lots of fields sown with pea plants about 20-30cm tall.  As we got closer I just wanted to be able to turn off my sense of smell as it really was horrible and then we noticed that there appeared to be lots of pigs in that area.  The only good thing was that it got us closer to the bar/café where we stopped for a coffee and ended up trying some interesting things – a hollow savoury puff, a chicken empanada and a scone sized cheese roll.  The bar was great – it even had a pole so, of course, Steve had to have a dance using it!  We laughed quite a lot.

Another 3 or so kilometres later we arrived in Belorado.  As we walked through the town towards our accommodation the Castille became more and more prominent.  It initially looked like an outcrop of rock but as we got closer, we could see features on the outcrop that are manmade and further down the slope there were buildings that are seemingly part of the rock face.

For background information - the Castle is estimated to have been built in the first half of the 9th century, during the reign of Alfonso III, at the beginning of the Reconquista.  It was part of an important stronghold in the defensive system that was established in the region to guard the passage between the Kingdom of Navarra and the County of Castile. The walls were built using a double-face system of masonry joined with mortar where the centre was filled with gravel.  This could have a thickness of 3.5m which is perfect when used as a defensive wall.

Belorado is an interesting place as it was originally built by Celtic tribes before the Romans and in the Middle Ages was divided into separate neighbourhoods for Castilians, Franks, Muslims and Jews.  Eventually the Muslims and Jews were expelled from the town and the Franks were “absorbed” into the local population.

We saw our accommodation come into view after the church that was originally the church for the Castille (and with a few stork nests with chicks) with gorgeous murals painted on its side wall and a lot of other buildings nearby.  We headed inside and checked in and, of course, up the flights of stairs to our room.  The bed was very comfortable, and the bathroom was modern and clean. 

Steve had a shower then headed out to grab a cerveza and found a delightful garden out the back with a fountain, lovely murals and a great view of the Castile above us.  I had a shower and joined him.  It was still quite cold in the shade, so we followed the sun and changed seats a few times.  We had the place to ourselves.

We really needed to find some more electrolyte powder sachets for Steve and Google said that a Farmacia was opening shortly around the corner so we headed there and managed to get 2 boxes that should last for about 4 days.  We will get more in Burgos in a couple of days.  We also dropped into a supermarket to get a couple of bananas each and a packet of Kit Kats to pull out if we needed a pick me up while on the trail.

Those purchases were dumped on the bed, and we headed down to dinner.  The pilgrims’ menu had quite a few different things on it but the region is well known for its garlic soup so that was my priority.  I had a second entrée instead of a main, so a small plate of pasta went down beautifully.  Steve had the mixed salad and then pork cheeks that he really enjoyed.  The meal was finished off by a small piece of the local cheesecake before we headed upstairs to finish off photos/blogs etc.