Initial Thoughts on the Meseta

Third Sunday of Easter

14 April 2013

Hot. Dry. Sunny. This is the Meseta, a large arid plateau that makes up the middle third of the Camino through Spain.

The Meseta is said to be the second trial of the Camino. In the first third, you are tried physically. In the bleak Mesta, you are tried mentally.

It has not yet, however, lived up to its reputation for flatness.

We had two trying climbs today, one after we left San Bol, the other near the end of the day.

Eamon and I left San Bol early with the idea of getting the majority of our walking done before the heat of the day set in. I had also hoped to get to Castrojeriz in time for an 11am Mass.

Pretty much a spectacular failure in both respects.

Castrojeriz surrounds a tall hill, atop which sits the ruins of the Visigoth castle.

Thanks to the steepness of the hill, and my collapse after climbing it, we didn´t make it to town until 11:30. It hardly would have mattered, as of the five churches we found in the town, we couldn´t find one that was actually open.

We had lunch and continued on.

The afternoon was rough. Water and sunscreen flowed. And that final hill was a killer, and after a 27 km day, we arrived in Itero de la Vega exhausted.

Originally published at Another Pilgrim on the Way

The Meseta Begins to Leave its Mark

15 April 2013

Today Eamon and I walked a record-breaking 34 km.

The walk to Fromista along the Canal de Castilla was very pleasant; it was not yet hot (we left at 7:30), and a cool breeze blew through the trees beside the canal.

Lunch was in Fromista, where I spent some time in the Romanesque masterpiece of the Iglesia de San Martin.

From there, a straight-shot walk next to the highway that continued to the horizon, which brought home the reality of the Meseta.

This pattern would be repeated during the day, as we later walked for a while beside a small river, lined with trees, only to be followed by a razor-straight road going to the horizon like some sort of illustration of the vanishing point, with nothing but oceans of grass to either side.

Eamon typically pulls ahead of me on these long straighaways, and we are each enveloped by the Meseta, left alone to struggle with our own thoughts and our own demons.

The big news today was the failure of my footware. The heels in my shoes are rapidly deteriorating, and as a result, I´ve pounded both pairs of hiking socks to dust – heel holes in both right socks.

Also had my first blisters, both on my right foot.

Both feet are swollen and bruised. I was, however, able to purchase new hiking socks in Carrion de los Condes.

Today in Poblacion de Campos, I saw a lamp post I had seen in a dream in Carcosa and sketched perhaps twenty years ago.

Originally published at Another Pilgrim on the Way