Day 15 - Under a Hard Sun : Belorado to Ages

Today began early at 5am, with the rush of pilgrims preparing for a day which took us through the towns of Tosantos, Villabistia, Epinosa, Villafranca, and St. Juan. Following a breakfast of coffee, toast and jam we headed out into what we discovered with delight was a cool and foggy day.

 

Revelling in the pleasant temperature, we spent most of our morning's trek trying to avoid stepping on the countless banana slugs and snails wandering the pathway. As we travelled through the flat countryside and past seemingly endless farmland, I was amazed by the array of colours at the side of the trail consisting of the purples of wild heather, greens of the vibrant moss, and yellows of the gorse bushes. 

Early on in the morning we enjoyed a coffee break in Espinosa. As we continued onward in the foggy weather, the pathway wove through a forested region and down logging roads. In this section the trail was 30 or 40 feet wide, and people had written encouraging messages using stones, such as "Buen Camino" and "I love you". We also came across a signpost upon which people had mounted painted arrows showing the distance to their home countries. In this beautiful spot we took a break, enjoyed some water, ate a granola bar, and rested in a hammock.

 

By noon we reached a small juncture called San Juan de Ortega, named after a man who rid the region of bandits. This village contained a beautiful church, which was undergoing renovations, and it had a bar in which we had a cafe con leche and chatted with some of our friends. While many pilgrims remained at San Juan for the evening, the albergue here only held 15 people, and there was a line of about 20 people already waiting to get in.  

 

So, we decided to continue on. Though our bodies felt good hiking today, the final stretch of our trek was undertaken in the full heat of the day, which made the last few kilometers challenging. 

The Camino took us alongside recently harvested farmland and past large hills of hay in the midst of which stood a beautiful, lonely church on the horizon. The structure piqued our curiosity, so we deviated from the pathway, and when we arrived at it, found perhaps one of the most simple and peaceful places of worship that we had yet seen. 

Ages, now just a kilometer away, was clearly a very small village located at a crossroad. As we entered town we were surprised as a tour bus crept past us, and then parked to unload its passengers. Regardless, tired, thirsty and hungry, we refreshed ourselves at a quaint corner bar, with a pint of beer and a sandwich which we enjoyed in the dark interior of the establishment. 

 

Afterwards, we sat in the shade of a stone wall and cooled our feet in the base of the fountain while we waited for the albergues to open. 

Of the three albergues in town, only the El Pajar de Ages had bunks available. It is part of the Red Albergue organization, which we had previously seen advertised, but never had the chance to experience. The entrance and common room was clean but chaotic, given the number of pilgrims who had just arrived or been dropped off, and the piles of suitcases that filled an entire room. When we made our way up to the dorm room, we discovered that the space between the beds was less than 2 feet across, and that the room was already quite crowded with a tour group who had been brought in via bus. 

We decided to explore the town site to escape the over-crowded feeling dorm, and we ended up visiting the central church, Santa Eulalia, and relaxing on the edge of town. Here we were presented with a difficult situation. While visiting the chapel we left a donation in the collection plate. As we left, an older lady sitting outside directed two little boys to run in, and we watched as they took the money from basket. We waited nearby and watched as this process was repeated after each pilgrim left the church. I don't pretend to understand to understand what was going on or why, but it made us feel both very lucky to have the means to spend five weeks walking across a foreign country, and very sad to realize that the people living in the areas we were passing through might not have enough money to meet their daily needs. Once again the Camino has made us see the world and others in a new light. Today has given us lots to think on.

 

By late evening, tired from walking in circles around the village, and with no meals offered at the albergue, we ate at the corner restaurant, the wonderful El Alquimista de Ages. It was at an outside table here that we spent a pleasant evening with friends, waiting until curfew at 10 pm, in the hopes that our room might have quieted down.

 

On this point we were to be sorely disappointed. I admit that I am writing this entry after spending a sleepless night in that room, so my frustration may get the best of me here. Each member of the tour group we shared our sleeping quarters with had a large suitcase, which they attempted to stow under their bunks. Instead of each person keeping their possessions in their own case, a seemingly endless stream of necessary items were spread across everyone's luggage, and when something was needed by a member of the group, every suitcase had to be retrieved from under the bunks (with a loud scraping noise), diligently searched, the contents duly discussed, and then returned (with another loud scraping sound). This went on literally all night long. This cacophony was added to by several members of the group watching movies on their laptops and Skyping, and a constant chorus of whispers. Furthermore, as the night progessed, several members of the group decided that the room was unsafe, and so, after a brief and loud conference, they decided to slide one of the beds across the door, which meant that every time one of the 20 people in the room needed to go to the bathroom, the bed had to be moved twice. Words cannot describe it, so I will stop ranting about it now.

As of today we are approximately 500km from Santiago! Tomorrow we are heading to Burgos which is only a short hike away, but which appears to travel past the airport, industrial sector, the suburbs of the city which will present a change in pace for the day.

 
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Practical information:

Distance: 27.8 km
Max Temperature: 28°C
Accommodations:El Pajar de Ages