Day: 6 May 2017

The Day of Reckoning (first  day of walking)  dawned at 5°C, partly cloudy with a strong cool wind.  As we entered the town we saw the first of this year’s Characters of the Camino – a young couple coming toward the albergue, barefoot, carrying bindle sticks and looking like they had just spent the night sleeping rough.

After a few kilometers we took the (alternative) road less travelled, and branched off to follow the old Roman road rather than the new track by the super highway.  The track was built when the highway went in and consists of more than 20 km of gravel path with trees planted along it for shade.  On the part we saw most of the trees looked dead.  The old Roman road was a wider gravel road with few trees and not much else – at least there was no super highway traffic.  There are still the original Roman stadia markers on the side of the road.  We ate a snack by an abandoned swimming pool on the side of an otherwise uninhabited road. The Camino is full of surprises.

We arrived at our hotel in Calzadilla de Los Hermanillos just after noon – with a whole afternoon left that we could have been walking!  The 15 km today was enough of a starter day, as our legs are tired enough.  Tomorrow will be at least 50% longer, and the day after that longer still.

We took part of the afternoon and walked around the town.  It is very clean, appears prosperous, and as we have seen in these towns before, not a living thing apparent.

There are two churches, both of 16th century brick construction.  The larger is closed.  The smaller,  Ermita de la Virgen de los Dolores, is probably not really a full fledged church, but a chapel used as a church by the town.  It is only large enough for a single row of pews, but it is a lovely chapel, and has a very small retablo, with a nicely carved central pieta.

This being May, the month of Mary, a dozen or so of the very most elderly ladies of the town, plus a couple younger ones that were only grey haired, get together every  evening at 5 to recite the rosary.  We attended with a couple other pilgrims.  I have to credit Vic with my continuing religious education.