crossing the sublime meseta

This morning, we walked a 12-mile stage from Hornillos to Castrojeres.

Hornillos is a tiny little town, one street, about 4 blocks! As we were walking out of town I saw several doorways that led right into the ground! Like Hobbit holes!

Martin, our Canadian soldier friend had also commented that Spain is like Middle Earth. I thought that France was more like the Shire, since it is so green and fertile but Spain is more fantasy-like.

Also, when we´re on the Meseta, at a higher altitude, we can see these pointy mountains in the distance (the coastal range) that look like the beginning of Mordor. Burgos reminded me of Gondor, with the fantasy white spires of the Cathedral.

Anyway, we walked to the next city, Castrojeres, easily. Right before Castrojeres we came to an ancient, ruined monastery, Saint Anton.

It was open to the sky because the roof was long gone but you could see that it was once a lovely building.

The sky was incredibly deep blue today. Saint Anton had one wall that used to have a rose window. The glass was long gone but the rose window now enclosed deep blue sky. It was so beautiful. Also the open arches that used to be the windows were enclosing deep blue sky. The original doorway was still there, a pointed Gothic style doorway with figures of people in the plaster. It was also beautiful.

The Saint Anton monastery was associated with Saint Anthony, from Egypt. I don´t know the whole story but his symbol was the Saint Anthony´s cross, which is the shape of the Greek Tau, like a T, and a symbol of love.

The monastery has a few tables inside and a coke machine, and a sheltered area where pilgrims can camp. It had a powerful spiritual feeling, I don´t know, maybe from the beauty of the building, apparently the building still kept its power in spite of the fact that it is open to the sky and doesn´t have all its walls. Maybe the sky added to the feeling.

Castrojeres is really strange. It is like a ghost town. There are many ruined and abandoned houses and shops. Many of them look like they were once very nice but now they are falling into ruin. Beautiful old doors, door knockers, holes for those big old-fashioned keys. We saw one half-timbered house with ancient wooden beams.

We stopped for lunch in a hotel that made me think of the Hotel California in the Eagles song. It was a kind of tattered elegance, but no actual people anywhere in signt. It had a nice outdoor patio with a view overlooking the Meseta. We sat at a table under a tree for more than an hour. I explored the hotel and discovered an old piano in the empty parlor! I played 3 John Denver songs and some of my 12-bar chord progressions.

Castrojeres has existed since Roman times and has been important on and off in history. It was the site of battles in the Reconquest, and also in the Spanish civil war. You could see that most of the religious figures had the heads knocked off. The Communists, who were athiests did this as a way to harass the Fascists, who were religous.

Okay that is enough for today. I hope we can get some pictures uploaded soon.