Crossing Castilla #1

Day 1 (82 km, 462m+)

Despite a sunny forecast, it took 5 minutes since we left Javi’s home in Vitoria to start snowing. It also took around an hour to realize that the cycling routes of Google Maps are rather “mountain bike routes”, not exactly suitable for bikes with 15 kilo of luggage.

Little by little, and after changing the GPS to “bikewithGPS”, the sun opened up and we made it to Miranda de Ebro, the first town in the Spanish region of Castilla. We took a break and continued to Briviesca, through the mountain pass of Pancorbo and among snowed fields.

Due to the big amount of people shouting to us “BUEN CAMINOOO!!”, we realized that we were in the Bayonne version of el Camino de Santiago. This eased dramatically the sleeping options because instead of camping outside we could sleep in the local “Albergue de Peregrinos” or Pilgrim Hut of Briviesca. A very particular old man full of goodness but with a strong wine smell gave us thorough details of how to make it to Burgos, despite telling him that we had internet. Cheers to him!

Day 2 (91km, 640m+)

With an early start from Briviesca, we passed through the first small challenge, the pass of “La Brújula”, where we made it to 980 m. Then a smooth descent took us to Burgos, first city on the road, with its astonishing Cathedral of the XIII century.

A small lunch in front of it, and ready to continue! We left the snow and started crossing the well known Castilian green fields that inspired Spanish poet Antonio Machado. You basically don’t see nothing but fields around! Suffering a bit we made it to Castrojeriz, a village that makes its living out of the pilgrims of the Camino. Very beautiful, but quite empty due to the few pilgrims that pass by at this time of the year.

Gaspard’s knee was hurting a bit so we took a rest day and visited a bit the village and its Castle in ruins on the top.

In the “Peregrino hut” we met Amandine, a french pilgrim who was returning from Santiago and was already travelling for 1.5 years. She gave us great tips! Cheers to you Amandine.

Day 4 (67 km, 230m+)

Holy sh*t it’s freakin cold! We took an early start to Palencia but the fog surrounded us and the cold got inside us through every single hole. We had to stop to warm hands and feet every 10 minutes! The sunrise among the fog was magical, though.

In Palencia Javi had a doctor appointment for his 2nd “Rabia” vaccine, as it needs to be 7 days after the 1st one and of course Javi had the appointment for the vaccination 3 days before the departure. Great planning, Javi. We had plenty 1€ bocadillos in a local authentic bar called “El Trompicón”, what a spanish would call a “Castizo” place. Great stuff!

We were eager to have our first camping experience, but we could not find any “cozy” place outside Palencia, since it was full of fields. Finally, we found a big tree in the middle of a field 100 m away from the secondary road we were following. Time to rest and to be cold again! Since free camping is ilegal in Spain and it was not going to rain, we decided not to set the tent and to bivak instead, which is allowed. Some heat pads from Decathlon made the night a bit more comfortable.

Day 5 (70 km, 282 m)

Our next stop was Tordesillas, a town in the province of Valladolid that Spanish people will know for its very controversial “tradition” of “El Toro de La Vega”, which basically consist of 100 guys chasing a bull with lances through the fields, with the one giving the final stoke getting a prize…

The route to Tordesillas was unreally beautiful with empty small valleys among incredibly wide fields. Every village had a medieval castle, crazy! We treated ourselves with a “hostel” room for 20 bugs each, but we compensated the budget by cooking in the terrace of the room with the camping stove. Great budget management, Gaspard.

Day 6 (84 km, 450 m)

We wanted to make it to Salamanca, despite being a bit too far, to be able to sleep in the local “Peregrinos Hut”, also from the “Camino de Santiago”, but this time from the “La Plata” version, which connects Sevilla to Santiago. These places are full with nice people and are very cheap, plus it’s possible to clean and dry clothes (needless to say, manually).

We followed the national road N-622 all day long, not specially beautiful. We crossed briefly the province of Zamora, and made it to Salamanca tired as f*.

Salamanca is a town that was very important in Spanish history, and consequently is full of churches and noble old buildings. The Cathedral and the Plaza Mayor are some of the most beautiful ones in Spain, which is not easy to achieve.

Funny enough, the local “Peregrino Hut” is run by a Canadian hutkeeper, with a limited fluency in Spanish. Mary is 65 years old but lives like in her twenties. You rock, Mary.

View full Route and elevation profiles here