Peregrinos on their designated way
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Camino de Santiago Day 5: Burgos to Ledigos, Spain

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Camino de Santiago Day 5: Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

Day 5: Burgos to Ledigos, 110 kms.

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I wanted to see more of Burgos, but I changed my mind about staying longer. This wasn’t a tour, and I had a tight schedule to keep. So far, so good—I am right on the dot. But I anticipate some delays later in the tough mountain range as I get closer to my goal. And so at the crack of dawn, I saddled up and left.

Landscapes like this that you pass along the way make you want to stop and explore but there was no time so a quick shot would usually suffice

Landscapes like this that you pass along the way make you want to stop and explore, but there was no time so a quick shot would usually suffice

Burgos to Ledigos, 110 kms.

Peregrinos on their designated way
Peregrinos on their designated way

My aim in the first stage was Fromista, 73 km. away. Some guys I met who had biked the Compostela previously told me that this is the best part of the route for making good time after the Meseta, the long 235km. The stretch between Burgos and Astorga is all flat and isolated. So I brought extra water since I had no plan of drinking from a stream.

Stopping for a breather on the long, straight road to Fromista.
Stopping for a breather on the long, straight road to Fromista.

I had been biking just by myself, which is more what I like, since I wanted to be alone with my thoughts, not to be interrupted by noisy chatter. Sometimes an occasional cyclist passes by, or I pass a group, and we ride together single file for several kilometers until one of us gets tired and stops for a break, and the other continues on his/her way after a brief wave of the hand.

When I complain to myself about the load I am carrying, I stop and am amazed when I see others with bigger packs straddling their bikes’ panniers and a backpack slung around their backs. I mean, how could they do that!

Shady trees like these along the route give you a welcome respite from the sun.
Shady trees like these along the route give you a welcome respite from the sun.

All sorts of bikes are used on the Compostela, and once I saw a very sleek BMW touring bike that the owner said cost him a cool 4,000 euros. Is it much better? I asked. The difference, he said, was in the suspension, so it made for a smoother ride.

I looked at Compo, whose lineage I could not make out, and saw that there was nothing wrong with him except for that troublesome pedal I changed earlier. We had been together for five days now, and he had been a steady, reliable partner, and I loved him for that.

Passing thru an old town that looks deserted because people are having their afternoon siesta.
Passing through an old town that looks deserted because people are having their afternoon siesta.

I had been biking along the national road N120 all the while, a two-lane carriageway that meanders through all the towns on the pilgrimage route. There is a one-meter shoulder for bikers most of the time, so you are shielded from traffic, but still, when the huge trailer trucks rumble by, you feel as if the sudden gust of wind would blow you off the lane into the ditch.

Well, on one lone stretch before the town of Villandiego, I did end up in the ditch, but it was because while reaching down for the water bottle with one hand, I stupidly made the mistake of adjusting my helmet at the same time with the other, and before I knew it, Compo swerved to the right and sent us all flying into the small canal!

Luckily, it was dry and covered with grass, so nothing broke or dislocated, except for some bruises on the left knee. Lesson learned: don’t multitask on the road!

Typical notice on an entrance door of a pilgrims inn, the albergue.
Typical notice on an entrance door of a pilgrim’s inn, the albergue.

Much of the way was ridges and uncultivated fields—it made me wonder how people earned their living here. A shady, tree-lined road past Hontanas offered a nice respite from the sun, and I stopped to rest and eat some of the Granola bars I had bought in Kuwait, which I had completely forgotten. Seems like ages since I left home, and it seemed so far away!

Two pilgrims striking it out on their own.
Two pilgrims striking it out on their own.

I arrived in Fromista past noon and visited the beautiful Church of San Martín, which was said to be one of the most perfect Romanesque churches ever built. Now, as I pulled out the Nikon to shoot, caramba! – The battery was dead! What happened, I dunno, because I charged it that night in the albergue.

It was the second disaster after shooting the other day without an SD card in the camera! What to do? You just shake your head and promise yourself you’ll take better care of stuff like that. I guess it’s the numbing tiredness that slows the brain down, leaving the synapses from not firing properly!

I passed by a helicopter landing pad and it made me wish to just take a ride on it and get rid of the travails of biking!
I passed by a helicopter landing pad, and it made me wish to just take a ride on it and get rid of the travails of biking!

Continued on, aiming to make it to Sahagun, a further 67 km. Away by day’s end. Again, most of the road was flat and quite scenic, which is why there were many picnic places along the way. Several walking pilgrims were feasting in some spots. Sometimes I envied them, for they didn’t seem to have much care in the world and had all the time in the world to get to Santiago.

These peregrinos take 4-6 weeks to make the walk from Pamplona. Those of us who bike are labeled bicigrinos (a corruption of bicicleta + peregrino), and it seems to be a derogatory term because it implies an easier way to do the Compostela. But it’s definitely not — just wait until the mountain climb starts!

Undulating sunflower landscape.
Undulating sunflower landscape.

Made a pit stop in Quintanilla de la Cueza. I wasn’t really hungry, but in the coming long stretch, there would be no place to eat, so why tempt fate? A quick jamoniberico sandwich, washed down with Coke and topped with gelato, did the trick of boosting my energy level, so I found it quite smooth sailing once more on the empty road.

My cozy hotel that looks like a house.
My cozy hotel that looks like a house.

Nearing my destination, I felt leg cramps, and my left hand started getting numb on the handlebar, so I decided not to push it and call it a day. Therefore, in the next town, Ledigos, I looked for an albergue to stay the night. Surprisingly, most were full – I think there were just a handful – so I ended up staying in a hostel that had a TV in my room and caught the news of what was happening in the outside world.

For the past few days, I had been completely cut off from what was going on around me, and except for some WhatsApp messages to my wife (when there was Wi-Fi) to tell her I was still alive and kicking, I didn’t tap much into the communications grid.

The view outside my window of undulating fields was beautiful, so I just sat there on the small verandah, a cold San Mig beer in hand, watching the sunset until darkness blanketed everything and the stars came out. Ah, welcome rest for the weary……

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Written by Al P. Manlangit

I'm a Filipino architect based in Kuwait who loves to travel everytime I get the chance to do so and shoot pictures. The genres that I explore are landscape, architecture and street photography which come in handy wherever my wandering spirit takes me. My travel/photoblog pretty much shows interesting places I've been to with short stories to tell behind each frame.

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