5th May 2024 Rest Day in Castrojeriz

It was a sleep-in for us both, so we didn’t head downstairs until almost 10am.  The owners of A Cien Leguas have been wonderful and said not to worry about getting down at a particular time.  They would be very happy to make us some toast and coffee when we got downstairs.

We played with their gorgeous dog, Pepe, who loved having his ears scratched and I think he loved the toast too.  It was nice to get our dog “fix” before heading back upstairs to pack our day packs with our wet weather gear. 

Off we headed towards the information centre where the first of the blue and white signs to the Castillo appeared.  We followed them for a while, with the view just getting better and better – going past multiple small cellars cut into the limestone before the track narrowed and got a lot steeper in the final rise to the Castillo.  We were lucky as there had been no rain as the ground seemed to be made from a mixture of clay and limestone dust and that would have been sticky and slippery if it was wet.

We made it to the Castillo and were amazed at the views and how far your vision stretched.  You could imagine armies on horses heading this way, but the Castillo has such a great position on top of a steep hill, and you wondered how any attacking force could possibly be successful. Inside the gate information boards showed us that there would have been a medieval village set up in the open area below the true entrance to the main structure of the towers.  I am sure the protection given by the Castillo would have given the people a lot of comfort.

 The wind was howling as there was a storm front approaching and we wanted to get down before that happened, so we stayed about 20 minutes but enough time to enter the Castillo and head up the two narrow flights of stairs to the viewing platforms.

We headed back down hoping to find a Farmacia but it was closed.  The supermarket, however, was open so we stocked up on bananas etc for tomorrow as well as toothpaste and Vaseline as our supply was getting low.  It was back to the Tourist Office and a visit to the church attached where there was a great display about the Camino and it was well worth spending the time there.

Back to do washing and catch up on photos, blog etc and think about tomorrow and what it might bring.

We will have dinner at the hotel again tonight and I hope the zucchini soup is on the menu again.