We left Granon before 6:30am because we had a 27 kilometer hike to Villafranca Montes de Oca. Id already noticed how many towns we would pass through, so we didnt look in Granon for a place for breakfast. Turns out, that was a mistake. We had to pass through four towns before we found a bar that was open in the fifth town. About 20 minutes out of town, we got to the sign for Castile y Leon, showing we were entering a new province. Our first town was Redecilla del Camino, which we reached in just under an hour. It was a small but interesting town, with a nice plaza, but no bar or cafe.
Next, we walked a lot beside the highway before reaching Castiledelgado. It had a quaint church, but again, no bar or cafe. We continued on for about 20 minutes before we entered Viloria del Rioja. Again, an interesting church, but no bars or cafes. By this time we were getting hungry, and wondering how far wed have to go. We continued on to Villamajor del Rio, about an hour later, and ... no bars or cafes. Finally, almost an hour later, we entered Belorado.
This was a rather large town, with a number of bars and cafes. There was an albergue at the edge of town that looked pretty cool, with a swimming pool and all. We also passed the albergue Id stayed at in 2017, Albergue Quatro Cantones. We chose Cafe Bar Kais for a late breakfast, took our time, then got on the Camino heading for our stop of the day, Villafranca Montes de Oca. About an hour later, we passed through Tosantos, a rather small town, but with an interesting cave on the hillside about, Ermita de la Pena.
We entered Villambistia about an hour later, and stopped for a coffee break at Albergue San Roque. About another half an hour and we passed through Espinosa del Camino. Finally, just after 2pm, we entered Villafranca Montes de Oca. Before checking into our albergue, Hotel/Albergue San Anton Abad, we stopped Meson Alba for a late lunch. I had a slice of pizza and a pepper, and Manoli had callos, a vegetable dish. My pepper wasnt as good as Id expected, and I only ate half of it. After lunch, we headed up the hill (of course) to the Hotel/Albergue San Anton
Abad and checked in. Besides being a hotel, they had a nice albergue for a lot less money, with a kitchen and patio. Also, the beds were singles, not bunk beds. We took our showers, washed clothes, and relaxed a little, then headed back down to Meson Alba for dinner. This time Manoli had a Ensalada Rusa and I had a nice piece of cod, and some of Manolis salad.
Tomorrow we head to Atapuerca, where the earliest remains of man were found. It is only 19 kilometers, but the book says the first 2 kilometers are all uphill. We will be staying in an unusual albergue.
