Camino Day 18: Boadilla to San Zoilo
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
Day 18: 28.1 kilometres - 45,168 steps
Wow the alburgue breakfast was so dodgy. Tinned juice, cold toast and a huge kettle of instant coffee. Now I know why so many pilgrims leave early and grab breakfast later on the road. Ok, ok we are completely spoiled - but at least we know it.
We are keen to hit the road - and the day is glorious. Sun is shining. Birds are chirping - madly chirping. And frogs are croaking happily.
We start out from Boadilla along a pretty canal way which at Fromista turned into a dramatic lock with five steps. Canal de Castilla. It is both unexpected and delightful. We have (a second) breakfast at a bakery in Fromista. Yummy.
We decide to add an extra one kilometre to our route so we can take the scenic canal path rather than follow the road. Donna agreed!! She is so much stronger and happier in this leg of the Camino. We had a picnic lunch at the old Ermitea. A short way along the path to join up to the road route we stumble upon the Palomar del Camino a two hundred year old dovecote. We had no idea this was there, and would have no doubt walked straight by but Donna was feeling a little ill (she puts this down to eating in the alburegue!) and so when I saw a café, I thought we could grab her a cold drink.
In the courtyard of the cafe was a sign pointing to the dovecote. It was incredible. I had heard of such things but never seen one, a dedicated building for keeping doves and pigeons. Although no two dovecotes are the same, this one is circular, made from mud and originally with tapial external walls, though now reinforced with concrete. Internally the walls have hundreds of nesting niches (holes) for the birds, which were raised for meat, the feathers sold for pillows and quilts and the Pigeon guano sold for fertiliser. Dovecotes have been common in this area since the middle ages. They lured the birds by placing food in the niches, which the pigeons then used as nesting boxes. It looked a little like a mini Hall of Faces from Game of Thrones. Fascinating. Another Meseta gem.
Further along The Way we see the building of the Knights Templar, in Villacazar de Sirga. In the square outside we meet an old knight. He tries valiantly to communicate with us in Spanish. Why are we doing the Camino? For peace? He explains that older pilgrims are more spiritual and the more times you walk the Camino the more enlightened we will become. At least I think that’s what he was saying - my Spanish isn’t really up to this level of conversation! He is a delightful and earnest fellow, trying to spread a message of love and tolerance. We should listen to this and not gripe about simple breakfast offerings or other mild inconveniences.
We arrive at our accommodation around 5pm. Tonight it’s a stunning converted monastery in San Zoilo. By the time we arrive in town, the girls are tired and worn out. There is a street fair being set up, and tonight a classical guitarist will be playing in the church. They want to push through to the hotel, which is so lovely, no-one wants leave. Donna is still not feeling well. So after a G&T (Nordes of course) in the hotel’s elegant terrazzo bar with the three English Gents, I abandon the girls and head into town alone to explore, with a promise to be back by 8pm for dinner in the hotel.
It was lovely to go exploring by myself in town. The street fair was interesting, very rural with a focus on farm machinery and small town arts and crafts. With jumping castles for the kids and charity raffles for new cars. It had a strong community feel I loved. At 7pm I crept into the church for the classical musician. The church was full but Matt was there so he shuffled across and I sat with him. The guitarist had serious skills. I was very impressed, the acoustics in the church were perfect and the atmosphere was slightly etherial.
Back at the hotel, Jean Claude had arrived. Matt was also staying here with his partner who had flown in from London for the weekend! I wish Ben could surprise me!! I miss him all day, everyday.
We had an extraordinary group dinner in this hotel’s incredible restaurant. The ceiling beams were so low nearly everyone had to duck to walk though parts of the room. The most memorable dish was the entree - the cured meat platter - we were just expecting jamon but no, we had three variations. After tasting we asked the waiter who advised us of the differences. #1 horse, #2 venison, #3 beef. Whoa! I’m not sure I would have tried the horse had I known but honestly it was awesome. The venison too was amazing, both much better than the beef. The whole three course dinner with wine was 30 Euro per person.
POSTCARDS FROM Boadilla to San Zoilo
