2013-09-09 On the way to Castrojeriz Everyone stayed nicely in bed until 06:00 this morning. As soon as the light went on, a number of them got up. I was awake at 5:30 AM and lay there quietly. At 07.00 AM I purchased a coffee from the municipal coffee machine, and we ate our bocadillos, which the nice lady of the bar had made the previous night. There were two Dutchmen from Haarlem (The Netherlands) at our table; they are doing the camino by bike. They had a special camino cycling map. The camino distance for these bikers was 100 km more than it was for walkers. We started walking at 7:45 AM and we walked the first 11 km (7 miles) quietly. Again on the meseta to Hontanas, where we bought coffee and a hamburger. We sat down to eat inside and noticed that outside three of our four Austrian ladies were enjoying a beer, and that at 10.30 AM!! Hontanas, a nice small village on the meseta We got up and walked for the last 9 km (5.5 miles) to Castrojeriz. The weather was beautiful, with lovely views along the way. The first miles were pretty cold. That is not surprising when you walk at an altitude of 800 meters (2600 feet).
The Austrian ladies at 10.30 AM.. Entering Castrojeriz..
We were in Castrojeriz at 1.00 PM and went to the municipal refugio. There were no bottom bunks left, and no one was willing to give up his bottom bunk to me. So I had to take the 1st bed on the floor, near a bunk bed so I could grab it firmly as I wanted to get up. Next to me there was a Brazilian beauty, who lies deep under the covers, and she appeared to me to be sick. The information I got was that she had a flu. Our beds lie adjacent to each other. My bed, where the hat is lying., near the sick Brazilian lady Beside her were Mary and Leon from the Netherlands. Again, the Internet was not working. I had a shortage of clothespins, and had lost my 2nd bottle of water. I heard that there was a shop down in the village where I could buy water and clothespins. This time, I washed my own clothes and hung everything in the sun to dry. That's right... it was beautiful weather that afternoon. Under a bank is a beautiful cat with some youngster... Norbert, from the German Red Cross in Dresden, looked at my small toe and said that I should do nothing to it. It looked good. While writing this story, I'm sitting outside at the table and see the dogs and cats, young and old, just entering the refugio to see if anything falls off the table...
Cats, lying at the entrance of the refugio. General: in guidebooks it is stated that a pilgrim should take into account that hiking on the camino costs approximately 1.00 per km.( 1,60 per mile ). That may be correct if you cook your meals yourself in the refugio and you only buy, eat and drink purchases from supermarkets. If you are not doing this and you buy, eat and drink in bars on the way, then the cost picture looks very different. Most pilgrims do their eating and drinking in bars. Then you spend on average 40.00-50.00 per day. You start with a bed at 5-10 euros. Breakfast 3-5 euros. Along the route, you have one or two bocadillos with a drink.and in the evening you enjoy your pilgrim dinner at 10 euros. Then, that does not include buying a round, or purchasing anything extra. In short: pilgrimage for people / companies on the camino is big business. A lot of small villages depend on pilgrims for their income.