Bad Pilgrim
Veteran Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Yes
Hei alle og hilsener fra Sverige!
I walked the San Olav the 9-10 July in 2019. A Norwegian-themed Camino that stems from Prinsessan Kristina, Sankt Olav (den hellige)... You know the story. But I walked in the "wrong" direction, as I started in Covarrubias and ended in Burgos. I used the guide that our Right Honourable pilgrim Alex Walker has put together and which can be downloaded from this forum. But it was tricky using it "backwards"! Here is my story about it, and a few pictures.
Day 1: Covarrubias - Cubillos del César
I knew from before where to take off on the Camino de San Olav. I marched for about 1 km on the carretera out of Covarrubias, and then turned left at the sign that indicates the presence of the ermita San Olav.
From Covarrubias there are 3 kms to reach the ermita, hidden at the feet of the mountain. As Alex Walker says, it leaves no one indifferent. I have read elsewhere that some pilgrims are disappointed when they see it. They think it will be like your usual stone-and-brick ermita from the XIV century... And they get what looks like a rusty container merged with a recycling bin.
I hated it. For five seconds. Then I loved it! Who says how a XXI-century chapel should look?? And why in the world would modern architects try to imitate ancient sanctuaries? I wished I could have seen the inside, but it was closed. I started to walk up the mountain on what I believed was the Camimo.
Here comes the only thing I don't understand about this camino. I emerged at a sort of ridge, and the terrain evened out as I turned left. There were no San Olav waymarks but someone had put stones at the borders of the trail, kind of the remnants of a calzada romana, which I followed in every intersection. I emerged from the bushes a few hundred meters before the lonely house that Alex mentions... And I saw a wooden sign telling me to turn left and walk down the mountain, toward the chapel, again. Ok, I was walking in the wrong direction (from my point of view), but only for a few hundred meters. I turned around, walked back and soon saw a large wooden pole that safely pointed out the different villages in the vicinity.
But: The small wooden sign by the lonely house points out the way down to the chapel for those who come from the right direction. So why didn't I emerge from there??? What trail did I take from the chapel up to the ridge?!
This set the tone for the rest of this Camino, with me being afraid I would continue to be confused and finally get lost. I chose to play it safe and went straight to Quintanilla without passing through Mambrillas de Lara. The way I took was very camino-esque. The descent from the hills gives you a splendid view of the countryside below! But I guess the descent to Mambrillas is pretty much the same?
This means I passed right by the dino tracks! Cool. Pictures were taken. You can even see the claws in the footprints (last picture below)! When I was about to leave, two jeeps with dino logos turned up - kind of like in the movie Jurassic Park - and a bus full of students. I thought about hanging around and mooch during their guided tour, but decided to push on.
I made the detour in Quintanilla to see the ermita from the VII century (gasp). It's 1400 years old. Are the carvings/ornaments from the same century, or have they been added later?! If they are that old, it's amazing. See pictures below. It wasn't opening hours so I didn't see the inside.
Then I walked on asphalt to Cubillejo de Lara, which was totally unnecessary as I later saw that there was a trail running by the side of the hill. And from there on asphalt to Cubillos del César, probably unnecessary as well.
Walking in the wrong direction was annoying. The waymarks are placed so pilgrims face them. I had to look over my shoulder, and often I didn't see them at all. I have to walk the San Olav again, in the right direction, and see if it's a better experience.
In Cubillos del César I stayed at the Casa Rural that is indicated in Alex' guide. I could only afford the stay of 25 euros and decided to skip dinner. I soon realized I would run out of food! I got worried about the next day: if there were no open bars on the way - like today - I would probably starve. I had some dry bread, cheese and ham to survive the evening though.
I asked the owner of the casa rural for a bar in Cubillos del César, as Alex says there is one. She seemed strangely pensive, like she didn't want to answer my question. I repeated my question. Noo... No, there isn't a bar. She asked me what I wanted to find a bar for. I patiently said that I usually go to a bar to have a coffee or something to eat. I guess she wanted to sell me her stuff herself, because she asked me if there was something specific I needed. I found the situation slightly awkward and just asked for a some fruits. I know she provides food for pilgrims, that's all in the guide. But I was a bit annoyed that she couldn't tell me if there was a bar or not.
I discovered that there is free wifi at the sheltered benches, a stone's throw away from the casa rural! There doesn't seem to be one in the casa rural though. Add to guide! I spent a lot of time there preparing for next day's stage. I needed screenshots from Google maps, and a list of upcoming bars, if I was to survive.
If you do the San Olav in two days, this is where you'll probably stay. One stage will be 25 kms and the other will be 36 kms. Next time I will try to do it in three days, and hopefully also in the right direction...!
I saw bars along the way but none was open. They are usually checkpoints for the Camino where you can get the San Olav stamps. Sometimes there is a box outside the bar so you can get the stamp yourself even if no one is around.
There's zero action going on in Cubillos del César. All I could do was to nibble on the little food I had left and wait for the morning. I decided I would reach Burgos the following day, even if it meant I would starve to death...!
To be continued...
BP
I walked the San Olav the 9-10 July in 2019. A Norwegian-themed Camino that stems from Prinsessan Kristina, Sankt Olav (den hellige)... You know the story. But I walked in the "wrong" direction, as I started in Covarrubias and ended in Burgos. I used the guide that our Right Honourable pilgrim Alex Walker has put together and which can be downloaded from this forum. But it was tricky using it "backwards"! Here is my story about it, and a few pictures.
Day 1: Covarrubias - Cubillos del César
I knew from before where to take off on the Camino de San Olav. I marched for about 1 km on the carretera out of Covarrubias, and then turned left at the sign that indicates the presence of the ermita San Olav.
From Covarrubias there are 3 kms to reach the ermita, hidden at the feet of the mountain. As Alex Walker says, it leaves no one indifferent. I have read elsewhere that some pilgrims are disappointed when they see it. They think it will be like your usual stone-and-brick ermita from the XIV century... And they get what looks like a rusty container merged with a recycling bin.
I hated it. For five seconds. Then I loved it! Who says how a XXI-century chapel should look?? And why in the world would modern architects try to imitate ancient sanctuaries? I wished I could have seen the inside, but it was closed. I started to walk up the mountain on what I believed was the Camimo.
Here comes the only thing I don't understand about this camino. I emerged at a sort of ridge, and the terrain evened out as I turned left. There were no San Olav waymarks but someone had put stones at the borders of the trail, kind of the remnants of a calzada romana, which I followed in every intersection. I emerged from the bushes a few hundred meters before the lonely house that Alex mentions... And I saw a wooden sign telling me to turn left and walk down the mountain, toward the chapel, again. Ok, I was walking in the wrong direction (from my point of view), but only for a few hundred meters. I turned around, walked back and soon saw a large wooden pole that safely pointed out the different villages in the vicinity.
But: The small wooden sign by the lonely house points out the way down to the chapel for those who come from the right direction. So why didn't I emerge from there??? What trail did I take from the chapel up to the ridge?!
This set the tone for the rest of this Camino, with me being afraid I would continue to be confused and finally get lost. I chose to play it safe and went straight to Quintanilla without passing through Mambrillas de Lara. The way I took was very camino-esque. The descent from the hills gives you a splendid view of the countryside below! But I guess the descent to Mambrillas is pretty much the same?
This means I passed right by the dino tracks! Cool. Pictures were taken. You can even see the claws in the footprints (last picture below)! When I was about to leave, two jeeps with dino logos turned up - kind of like in the movie Jurassic Park - and a bus full of students. I thought about hanging around and mooch during their guided tour, but decided to push on.
I made the detour in Quintanilla to see the ermita from the VII century (gasp). It's 1400 years old. Are the carvings/ornaments from the same century, or have they been added later?! If they are that old, it's amazing. See pictures below. It wasn't opening hours so I didn't see the inside.
Then I walked on asphalt to Cubillejo de Lara, which was totally unnecessary as I later saw that there was a trail running by the side of the hill. And from there on asphalt to Cubillos del César, probably unnecessary as well.
Walking in the wrong direction was annoying. The waymarks are placed so pilgrims face them. I had to look over my shoulder, and often I didn't see them at all. I have to walk the San Olav again, in the right direction, and see if it's a better experience.
In Cubillos del César I stayed at the Casa Rural that is indicated in Alex' guide. I could only afford the stay of 25 euros and decided to skip dinner. I soon realized I would run out of food! I got worried about the next day: if there were no open bars on the way - like today - I would probably starve. I had some dry bread, cheese and ham to survive the evening though.
I asked the owner of the casa rural for a bar in Cubillos del César, as Alex says there is one. She seemed strangely pensive, like she didn't want to answer my question. I repeated my question. Noo... No, there isn't a bar. She asked me what I wanted to find a bar for. I patiently said that I usually go to a bar to have a coffee or something to eat. I guess she wanted to sell me her stuff herself, because she asked me if there was something specific I needed. I found the situation slightly awkward and just asked for a some fruits. I know she provides food for pilgrims, that's all in the guide. But I was a bit annoyed that she couldn't tell me if there was a bar or not.
I discovered that there is free wifi at the sheltered benches, a stone's throw away from the casa rural! There doesn't seem to be one in the casa rural though. Add to guide! I spent a lot of time there preparing for next day's stage. I needed screenshots from Google maps, and a list of upcoming bars, if I was to survive.
If you do the San Olav in two days, this is where you'll probably stay. One stage will be 25 kms and the other will be 36 kms. Next time I will try to do it in three days, and hopefully also in the right direction...!
I saw bars along the way but none was open. They are usually checkpoints for the Camino where you can get the San Olav stamps. Sometimes there is a box outside the bar so you can get the stamp yourself even if no one is around.
There's zero action going on in Cubillos del César. All I could do was to nibble on the little food I had left and wait for the morning. I decided I would reach Burgos the following day, even if it meant I would starve to death...!
To be continued...
BP
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