I wasn’t sure when I woke up this morning if I’d be capable of wallking the longest day of our Camino, 20 miles from Belorado to Atapuerca. I’d gone to bed last night dehydrated, exhausted and dizzy. Fortunately, after a good night’s rest and drinking plenty of liquids, I felt confident enough to suit up and give it my best shot.

What a gorgeous day it turned out to be.  The sun was back shining, for the most part. Birds were singing nearly the entire way and we passed through terrain different than we’d seen previously. The only hard part of today’s journey was the long mountain ascent through pine and oak forests. While beautiful, the hills required a slow, steady pace with lots of rest breaks.

The highlight of the day was stopping in  San Juan de Ortega after coming back down the other side of the mountain. Juan from Ortega was a good friend of Santo Domingo de la Calzada. They worked together to service pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago. In the small town square is a Medieval monastery housing the tomb of Juan, who is now a  Saint. I spent a bit of time in the monastery cathedral, where I lit a candle for my sister.

From San Juan de Ortega it was 4 miles through deep green countryside to Atapuerca. Atapuerca has the oldest human remains ever found in Europe,  over 900,000 years old. There’s an archaeological museum in the town, which is now a Unesco World Heritage site.

We found our way to our 400 year old inn, settled in and called it a night. 20 miles, no problem.

Camino from Belorado to Atapuerca

Church in mountain between Belorado and Atapuerca

Ruins of ancient building near Villafranca

Pilgrims built this heart of carried stones

Mountain crossing into San Juan de Ortega

Lighting a Candle for my sister in San Juan de Ortega

Monastery of San Juan de Ortega

Tomb of San Juan de Ortega

Resting with other pilgrims, San Juan de Ortega

Our country inn, Atapuerca Spain