Walk with Sandra: Camino de Santiago: Day 15 - Tosantos to Atapuerca (June 28, 2014)

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Camino de Santiago: Day 15 - Tosantos to Atapuerca (June 28, 2014)

I walked the longest distance on the Camino today, covering 27 km (16.7 miles) in 6 hours 30 minutes. The walk from Tosantos (at elevation 818 m) was mostly uphill, with a steep incline after Villafranca Montes de Oca to peak at a height of 1,000 m at San Juan de Ortega after which the trail descented gradually all the way to Atapuerca at elevation 960 m. I felt great on the trail today and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and gorgeous weather (cool, sunny, and breezy). I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Have a wonderful day, y'all! Love from your happy pilgrim.

Above right: Tom from Scotland, a retired psychiatrist

Above right: Arriving in Villafranca Montes de Oca

Above: The Hospital of San Antonio Abad de Peregrinos in Villafranca Montes de Oca

Above left: Inside the Hospital of San Antonio Abad de Peregrinos in Villafranca Montes de Oca ~ for 5 euros a night, I wished I could have stayed a night here for the experience (but it's too short a distance to stop here, coming from Tosantos)

Above: Arriving in San Juan de Ortega

Above: The Church of San Juan de Ortega

Above left: A statue of Santo Domingo de la Calzada (San Juan de Ortega was a disciple of his ~ with whom he learned to run the hospital and church, and maintained, repaired, and constructed several parts of the pilgrimage route)

Above left: The tomb of San Juan de Ortega

Above left: Fabiola from Mexico (enjoying the gorgeous views from a tree)

Above: Arriving in Ages

Above left: No Fracking???

Above: Arriving in Atapuerca ~ A UNESCO World Heritage site for her Paleolithic sites

Above: El Peregrino Albergue in Atapuerca ~ after 2 consecutive nights of sleeping on a thin mattress on the floor, I'm so happy to finally have a bed to sleep on (with a blanket to boot!); the cost was 8 euros per bed ~ it is clean, has a storage and shelf for each bed, and free wifi