Camino de Santiago
Stage 3/5
8 days, 116 miles October 2025
Burgos to Leon complete Endlessly flat through farmland (known as the Meseta) -miles of harvested wheat fields, some corn and more sunflower. Unfortunately, lots of dirt paths went along roadsides. Blisters started. Had our longest day ever - 23+ miles. Continues to be physically demanding. Favorite parts of day - sunrise cool, crisp, beautiful lighting, and when we get into our overnight town to share a drink with fellow pilgrims. Love the random festivals we continue to hit. Big bustling tourist towns (Burgos and Leon) or small sleepy towns of mostly fellow pilgrims.
Day 16: Rebe de las Calzadas to Castrojeriz
Date: Tuesday, Sept 30, 2025
Weather: Warm even at night for the first time in many days -no wind.
Miles: 18 miles
Time walking: 6.5 hours, 8:30am - 4pm
Difficulty: Easy. Mostly flat but a bit of rolling hills here and there
Said goodbye to our friendly host who spoke very little English but had no problem communicating
Lucky enough to experience another gorgeous sunrise
Continue to be obsessed with the sunflowers
Heard nearby windmills - swishing sound
Saw our first town in the distance
Coffee break in that town with a cool rock and roll theme, including classic 70s videos and music.
At 11.5 miles, walked down into our second town - Hontanas.
Stopped for lunch in the sunshine, while everyone else was sitting across in the shade. Saw policia enjoying a beer on a hot afternoon, which we decided was a good idea.
At 16.5 miles, we came upon the ruins of San Anton convent 14th century. Very cool. There is a small albergue one can stay in.
As we walked into our town for the night George and Terri texted us for a glass of wine (or 3) as we were literally walking by their place.
Then headed to dinner after checking into our place. Initially sad our place didn’t provide dinner but host recommended Italian restaurant (El Fuero) just up the stairs, and what a view. Ran into Ruth and she joined us for a slice of pizza. Perfect evening. Also saw other pilgrims we knew.
Hotel: Casa Rural EL RINCON DEL CHEF ($111 no breakfast) 👍. Ran by a blind man. Large clean room. Nothing wrong with it but felt we probably could have gotten decent accommodations some place else as it was a large town around $70.
Day 17: Castrojeriz to Fromista
Date: Tues, Sept 16, 2025
Weather: Cloudy 70s
Miles: 16.5
Time walking: 6 hours, 9:30pm - 4pm
Difficulty: Moderate - initial up hill, some rolling but mostly flat. In general rocks weren’t too bad.
Had “breakfast” in a bar. Coffee with milk and toast 🤣. About a mile in, saw we had a climb up the hillside and over a ridge (no tunnel 🤣).
Views were fantastic.
Again ran into George and Terri, so we walked together for a while.
Down the hill into the never ending flats of the Meseta.
Lunch at our first town about 7 miles in.
First time we saw some corn growing-was expecting lots.
Otherwise more flat open harvested fields.
Last mile or two with some welcome shade along a canal
That ended in a waterfall
Dinner (El Chiringuito el Camino) 3 min walk from hotel. Got there a few minutes before 6:30 opening, as it is popular and heard it can be full by 6:40. Food, in particular ribs, were outstanding.
Church was beautiful at night all lit up.
Hotel: Hostel Camino Santiago ($69 no breakfast) 👍. Greeted with a cold cerveza. Host did not speak English. Clean small room with a good size bathroom. Large window with sunshine to dry our laundry. Comfortable beds. Nearby restaurants.
Day 18: Fromista to Carrion de los Condes
Date: Thurs, Oct 2, 2025
Weather: cold morning turned into a beautiful day
Miles: 12.5
Time walking: 4.5 hours, 8am - 1:30pm
Difficulty: Easy, although Amy had blisters on both feet, so she felt every step
First couple miles along a country road. Headed due west. Long shadows.
At 2.5 miles, had 3 options. We choose middle along the river. More of a creek than river. Walking trail had some nice shaded areas.
Hotel: Comfort Suites ($75 no breakfast) 👍👍. On the Camino in the beginning of the old town. Big clean room, big smart TV, great shower, very comfortable bed and room temperature. Good WiFi. Thin walls. Bonus a pool an area outside to relax.
Day 19: Carrion de los Condes to Ledigos
Date: Fri, Oct 3, 2025
Weather: Warmer start. Very pleasant day and evening
Miles: 15
Time walking: 5.5 hours. -8am - 2pm
Difficulty: Easy, although last few miles hard even though primarily flat route.
Pastries - Horno La Peresrina Sticky triangle, cream filled pastry, and chocolate filled one -all flaky and tasty.
And coffee and tortilla nearby for the win
Amazing sunrise above our pool deck as we left hotel
Beautiful church beyond the river on the way out of town.
Walked 4.5 miles with Beth and Jan from San Clemente CA and eastern OR - jr high friends
10.5 miles of flat straight dirt roads through endless fields
Welcome relief when we approached the first town
To sit and rest with many other pilgrims thankful for a break. Definitely got ripped off at Bar El Camino, but too tired to look elsewhere.
Saw our first ambulance arrive to help a pilgrim having knee issues. Must have been bad, as they drove away with her.
Last 4 miles a dirt path primarily near the road.
Our hotel was a welcomed site. We spent the afternoon relaxing and doing our laundry in a machine rather than the sink.
Had the pilgrim dinner but a la carte in the bar might have been a better option. We ended up with a choice of veal stew or fried anchovies. For us neither great options.
Hotel: Albergue LaMorena ($90, breakfast 5.5 euro per person) 👍👍. Welcoming hotel. Large bar outside, inside bar and separate dining room. Grassy court yard with comfortable chairs in back. 1 laundry machine and dyer. Clean, small bedroom. Beds a little hard.
Day 20: Ledigos to Sahagun
Date: Sat, Oct 4, 2025
Weather: Another day similar to others. Started out coolish, turned beautiful.
Miles: 10.5
Time walking: 4 hours. 9am-1:30p
Difficulty: Easy. Mostly flat
Walked out of hostel and saw Ruth, so walked the morning with her.
Saw rolls of straw collected in a field, rather than baled as we saw previously.
Around 4 miles in got our beautiful wax stamps for a donation.
Had another coffee and sat with Fizz for a few minutes -Larry ate her “no kooties” leftovers. More flat open fields with windmills out to the north.
Spotted Sahagun in the distance.
As we approached town and some interesting statues, a biker returned past us frantically asking “el teléfono”. We thought he wanted to make a call on our phone, but quickly realized he had lost his. He continued to backtrack, while we proceeded forward looking on the ground. Sure enough, Larry spitted his phone and ran backwards with it. He yelled to pilgrims, who in turn yelled back to the next group, and so on until the message made it to the relieved biker who eventually returned.
Entering town we saw the bull ring. Apparently they now just use it for celebrations, and the end point of their own “running of the bulls”.
Randomly landed at El Arco. Thought it was a tiny bar but had 3 big inner rooms of locals having lunch. We got the daily menu weekend special. Large portions including a bottle of house wine and dessert. Amy suggested a random act of kindness for the woman seated near us, so we bought her lunch. Communication was difficult but think she appreciated it. She was dressed nicely and seemed to be saying she was not in communication with her family or children, but really not sure we understood.
Got our halfway certificate and toured the Sanctuary of the Pilgrim Virgin. They have a tube that you can purchase to safely store the certificate.
On our way out we ran into who else but Ruth, so walked back toward our hotels together. We stopped for a glass of vermouth with the locals at Cafe Europa.
Hotel: Hostel San Juan ($94 continental breakfast). On the Camino. Clean simple room. Comfortable bed. Netflix
Day 21: Sahagun to Mansilla de las Mulas
Date: Sun, Oct 5, 2025
Weather: High 10 degrees cooler. Took longer to take our jackets off. More shade from trees planted all along the roadside path.
Miles: 23.5
Time walking: 8 hour, 8am - 5pm
Difficulty: Fairly flat but amount of miles made it tough. In retrospect we should have just booked the hotel the previous night for 2 nights and walked half way taken a taxi back to hotel and taxied to where we finished and done the rest of the walk the second day.
Beautiful color/lighting this morning.
Walk seemed all the same. Dirt trail beside a country road for miles and miles.
Lunch in El Burgo Ranero where it seemed everyone was staying in, or was shuttled back to. Only one restaurant open in town since it was a Sunday. Food was good.
Afternoon highlights - seeing sheep
Mini tornado or dust devil.
Continued along past more sheep. Crop transitioned to corn, but seemed it was drying out rather than being harvested.
Finally arrived in our town of Mansilla de las Mulas. Very very long day.
Had Italian food at Casa di Duro. Good to have some pasta. Not the nicest ambiance.
Hotel: Casa Belia ($104) - Accommodation was a four-bedroom apartment. Nice to spread out a little and do laundry. Wonky floors.
Day 22: Mansilla de las Mulas to Leon
Date: Mon, Oct 6, 2025
Weather: Quite cool in the morning but eventually warmed up as the day progressed. Able to eat dinner outside with a light jacket
Miles:11.5
Time walking: 4.5 hours. 9am - 2pm
Difficulty: Easy but boring walk as mostly along roads. Many pilgrims we talked to bussed into Leon
Our accommodations had medical supplies so we popped Amy’s blister that had been growing for days, but not hurting.
Breakfast at another hole in the wall. Fresh pastries and good coffee.
Passed by old city walls leaving town
At around 9 miles got first glimpse of Leon. Big city!
Double wall coming into the old city
Ate lunch at a great Italian restaurant Rigoleto Trattoria. Sat outside and watched the world go by, enjoying a Tempranillo.
Leon is a great place to have a coffee or glass of wine as there are lots of plazas with outdoor seating. Big tourist town.
Went to 6pm mass in the cathedral. Thought it would be super crowded but fairly empty.
Had a great dinner (El Topo) with Patsy and Richard on the plaza in front on the church.
Beautiful when they lit the church up.
On way home followed the sound to a rock band playing in the plaza mayor, ending the weekend celebration.
Hotel: Hotel Rincón del Conde👍👍 ($146 for 2 nights, no breakfast). Great location in the old town. Friendly staff. Large clean room. Comfortable bed. Netflix worked.
Day 23: Rest day Leon
Date: Tues, Oct 7, 2025
Weather: Cool morning, warm afternoon
Miles: 0
Found a small bar below our hotel for breakfast
After spending a couple hours on life we went to the cathedral. The most stained glass windows of any in Europe
Afterwards went to a sporting goods store and each of us bought a cheap fleece jacket for expected cold mornings.
Lunch at Los Cazurros, in a different plaza than yesterday. Beautifully warm when the sun was out.
Rested in the afternoon, followed by meeting up with Terri and George for dinner at same Italian place as night before, El Topo. Unfortunately this was the last time our paths would cross with either of our “Camino Besties” couples.
On way home ran into Fizz (UK doctor) and Carolina (from Netherlands moving back after 10 years in DFW). Stopped for a quick drink with them and ot
Later night than we planned, but worth it. Did hear a sad story of a fellow pilgrim, 70, who died of an infected blister that turned into septic. Was told there were underlying conditions but regardless must keep an eye on those blisters.