Camino Francés 2025: Day 13: Castrojeriz to Villarmentero de Campos

It was a very difficult morning; to say it was wet is an understatement. At one stage, the rain was very heavy, and the wind was blowing directly in my face, not a good combination.

I left Castrojeriz at 7:00 a.m. on the dot.

The exit from the town was easy, with the path stretching out ahead towards the ridge I needed to climb. Initially, it was dry, but I was pretty sure that it wasn’t going to stay that way due to the thunderstorm in the distance. A light rain started and accompanied me to the top of the ridge, where it cleared, but this reprieve was only for a short time, as it started again, much heavier this time. Eventually, I was completely soaked, except under my coat. So, the legs of my shorts, my legs and shoes and socks, as well as my hands and face were soaked, although the baseball hat helped a lot.  I squelched along, moving quickly to keep my core temperature up, as my extremities were cold. The paths were now very muddy underfoot, with very large puddles in places that you could not navigate around. So, I used my walking stick to gauge the depth and went through them. To keep my spirits up, I sang a lot: “Danny Boy”, “Green Fields of France”, and “Two Little Boys.” (I know, I know, Rolf Harris, etc., etc., but he didn’t write it; it goes back to 1903; Billy Murray recorded it. Rolf did modify it, but regardless, it’s a good song, and I don’t know that many.)  At 14 km, there was a cafe, but I couldn’t face the thought of having to restart in this rain, so I marched on. The next town was at 19 km, and I needed/wantedto stop and have coffee. It was still raining, but the wind had died down, making it easier. There were signs and pictures of a restaurant, but it was closed. I swore out loud and gritted my teeth and plowed on. I came to a canal and walked along the towpath for several kilometers before reaching the outskirts of Frómista. Now I was at 24 km. In the center of town, I found a cafe, but they were not serving food, just cakes, so I had a pain au chocolat and an Americano. I only stopped for 15 minutes and decided to plow on. At the edge of Frómista, a long, straight road disappeared into a forest and towards the edge of what I thought was my destination. I rang Orlagh for a chat, then Duncan, then listened to Newscast. As I progressed, I was drying out, but behind me were black clouds, and it was spitting rain. On reaching the town, I realised it wasn’t my destination; it was still another 2 km. OMg.

I sped on and got to my destination at 1:30 p.m. So, it was 34.5 km in 6h30m, averaging 5.3 km/h. It is by far the fastest I have walked on a Camino; the fact that it was mainly flat, apart from the initial 300m climb, helped.

The albergue is awful; it feels like a few sheds held together with sticky tape, but the bed is fine and it’s dry🤣.

As there are no bars, cafes, or restaurants here, I booked lunch and dinner. It was basic but eatable. I washed my socks and insoles and crossed my fingers that my shoes will be dry.