Looking back toward Hontanas to catch the sunrise.

The sun’s just up, and I’m about 3 kilometers on my way.

These are part of the ruins of a 12th century hospital and monastery. Note the Templar crosses and insignia. This site was run by the Knights Templar, who were a strong presence thought this area.

That’s the town of Castrojeriz at the base of the hill. The castle ruins are much older than the town, as locating the town on the valley floor – and out of the wind – suggests that it was built at a time when comfort and easier access to farmland and water sources were more important than security.

Wild flowers on the way into Castrojeriz.

A view of the castillo ruins viewed from the town of Castrojeriz. These remains date from the 14th and 15th centuries, but previous battlements on the site were Roman, then Visigoth.

Look closely – or open and zoom the photo – and you’ll see the Camino goes across that valley and up the side of that mesa in the distance. A good start to the morning.

Yikes.

I encountered this shepherd and flock just before I entered Boadillo.

Québécoise I met at a stop for coffee and pastry. When I learned they were from Quebec, I told them that ma femme is studying a Le Cordon Bleu. They were delighted. “The French cuisine really is the best, don’t you agree?” asserted one. “Eh, oui,” I replied, throwing my best Gallic shrug. Immediate street cred.

The albergue at Boadillo was a walled enclosure. Inside was a garden of delights: laundry sinks and drying lines, sculpture and other art, a bar with ice-cold cervezas, and a grassy lawn.

Friends I met on the road, as we gathered at the Boadillo albergue. Kneeling: Damien (Australia) and Sue (Denmark). Standing: Martin (Belgium), ??? (Belgium), me, and Helmut (Austria, but now retired in Las Vegas).

One of the sleeping rooms at the Boadillo albergue. As in most albergues so far, sleeping rooms, showers, and bathrooms are shared by men and women. (Even convents and monasteries often have shared sleeping rooms, although the showers and W.C.s are usually separate.

I found this stone baptistery inside the 12th-century church at Boadillo. One of a few times on the trip that I missed carrying a camera that would do justice to the shot.

Storks nesting atop the 12th-century church at Boadillo.