Tag: Sahagún

El Burgo Ranero

tree-lined sendas — welcome to us if not our guidebooks
the walk between Terradillos and El Burgo Ranero was one of the rougher stretches we covered — we opted for the “alternative” — more popular, less strenuous, though less scenic — route out of Terradillos and nearly missed out on a place to sleep as a result despite the fact that our calculation was supposed to prevent that possibility. we opted for this route because, unlike the alternate destination of Calzada de los Hermanillos, there were four albergues and two hotels and all manner of amenities. sure, the guidebook bemoaned the “improvements” of a gravel senda and the proximity to the highway but following this route cut a couple kilometers off overall route even if it made this day longer. 
one of the few distinguishing features of the Camino stands just outside Sahagún — a forest, now a municipal camping ground, is the site of the Field of Lances from the campaigns of Charlemagne. essentially, the night preceding a battle, Charlemagne’s troops planted their lances in the ground in preparation for battle; when they arose the next morning the lances of those fighters who were heading for their heavenly reward had been covered in bark and leafy branches. needing the lances for battle, the soldiers cut them off at the ground and, after the battle, a grove of trees grew up. some 40,000 Christians died in the battle.
beyond this forest it was mostly wide-open farmland. wool was a major business in the region as early as the 10th century; merino sheep were introduced from North Africa and proved highly resilient in the face of Iberian weather changes. the herds, sometimes as large as 40,000 sheep, were owned by nobles and military orders and tended by local villagers. the migration of these massive herds posed some difficulties that required a degree or regulation as early as the 13th century. a network of paths snaked throughout Castilla, León, La Rioja, north and south; herders were contracted for a year to tend and travel with the herds. nowadays most of the land has turned into agricultural fields instead of grazing, but sheep still sometimes put in an appearance.
there’s not much to El Burgo Ranero, apart from the albergues and attendant peregrino-related services. this day we almost stopped for the night at the preceding town — Bercianos del Real Camino — but after finding the only hotel booked and that municipal albergue didn’t allow access to the facilities until after 1 p.m., we decided to push on in spite of fatigue and shin splints. we’d left a bit late from the albergue (compared to everyone else, at least …) and sat for quite a while in Bercianos debating our options, which brought us into the small, rather desolate town much later than planned … only to have difficulty finding the lodging options (a couple of albergues and two small hotels) … and discover that all the beds were taken … almost. we studied the town map at the outskirts of the city with an Aussie and Scot and still took the wrong road through town; when we found the right one, the guys we’d followed were told “oh no, all the beds in town are taken,” so we went in search of one of the hotels … only to head further in the wrong direction. but that additional delay (ending up at a cemetery outside of town) probably saved us from trekking an additional 8km to the next town to find lodging. we made it back to town and actually went into the bar that served as reception for a hotel/albergue to ask for a room; the young woman whom I posed the question to initially said “no, we’re booked up,” but an older woman (the manager probably, her mother possibly) told us to wait and she headed off to check in the book. she returned with good news and sent us off with the first young woman to their second property. as it transpired, the double room in the albergue building had been requested by someone … someone who hadn’t yet showed up by 3:30 p.m. and who had been told to call if they wouldn’t arrive to check in by 3:00 p.m. the guy who checked us in seemed rather incredulous when the young woman brought us in and explained the situation — “but what about the other guests?” he queried in Spanish, “shouldn’t we wait for them to arrive before giving their room away?” “well,” she replied, “[so-and-so] said they’re here … and they’re ready to pay…” and he shrugged, took our credencials and signed us in. to our immense relief and gratitude. it was even a private room instead of bunks in the sheds out back (which was less shocking than it sounds)!

Sahagún — one way to say half-way

depending on how you measure your Camino, the town of Sahagún marks the half-way point … if you start your Camino in Roncesvalles and not St. Jean-Pied-de-Port, as we did. it’s long been an important religious and trading center.

it was named after San Facundo, whose body was buried near the river in the 4th century and later marked by a Visigothic church (which was under renovations when we passed). as rich agricultural land, it proved a focal point for conflicts between Muslims and Christians. over the course of the 9th and 10th centuries, Muslims destroyed the Visigothic church (833), it was rebuilt and a monastery added (872), reclaimed by the Muslims, rebuilt (904-5), destroyed (987), and rebuilt again. once chartered in 1085 and fully reestablished, it became the most important Christian religious and economic center in the region outside of León. Alfonso VI took refuge, was educated, wed his third wife, and was ultimately buried here. 

its location on the Road made it an excellent market for trading the the agricultural goods grown in the fertile area surrounding it. the three-week-long annual market the ruling powers permitted starting in 1155 was a length unheard of elsewhere. in the mid-13th century, Alfonso X granted safety and rights to all merchants travelling to the city, regardless of their religious affiliation. the rights and opportunities prompted rapid population growth and religiously-segregated neighborhoods quickly grew up within the city limits and then beyond. the city prospered for several hundred years; the monastery grew in strength and influence and by the 14th century housed a University. tensions gradually grew worse between Christian merchants and their Jewish counterparts, however, undermining the city’s influence and prosperity; local riots in 1127 killed many Jews, nationwide ones killed even more in 1391 and by 1492 very few Jewish families remained in the town. in the 19th century, the once influential monastery was closed and the building destroyed; now Sahagún is a small market city in the middle of the dusty Meseta Alta of León.

Terradillos de los Templarios

Terradillos, a tiny town of about 75 inhabitants and home to two separate albergues, marked our half-way point on the Camino. our guidebook offered some flowery language on the “humble life” found in this village “thankfully bypassed by modern life” and the N-120 which might bring it … some residents might not agree with that observation but, perhaps, all those residents have already moved to the larger cities.

origins of the town lie with the Knights Templar near the time of their downfall in the 13th century. the albergue in which we stayed was named in honor of the last Grand Master of the order, Jacques de Molay, who died in 1314, seven years after Pope Clement V dissolved the Order. however, despite the fact that there are now two albergues, one named after the head of the town’s benefactor (the Order), for hundreds of years there wasn’t an albergue in the town — peregrinos would have to halt their journey earlier in Calzadilla de la Cueza or continue on to Sahagún.

despite past ambivalence towards peregrinos, the albergue in Terradillos was pretty great. we arrived with enough time to secure two bunks, but filled the last two slots in a room and ended up on top bunks on opposite sides of the room. a sight above the last bed available in the albergue — a mattress on the floor in the hall; a bed, yes, and better than sleeping in the hall at your average tourist hostel, but still not as good as a bunk in a room with a door away from the bathrooms. our peregrino dinner was more communal than usual; there were a limited number of seats inside, dinner started promptly at 7:00 p.m. and they closed the door once everyone was seated. (in most towns there were an array of food options, all the seats at peregrino dinners didn’t fill up so we often had a table to ourselves.) we found ourselves sharing the table with three Germans — a retirement-aged couple and a single middle-aged man — and a guy from the Vancouver/Seattle area (and now I don’t recall if he was from the U.S. or Canada). it was a nice change for Andy to be able to have a conversation with someone other than me — with the opportunity to practice his fluent German, to boot! it was a prime example of some of the best the Camino has to offer in terms of interacting with an array of people you’d never encounter otherwise.