Fromista - Through the Years, Through the Rains!

Looking up and contemplating the climb to the Alto Metolares.
(The path begins lower right to upper left).

I was up and on the road early (6:40AM) for the 16 mile hike to Frómista.  It is definitely a hike as there is a steep climb of over 100 meters almost as soon a you leave Castrojeriz.  That truly wakes you up at 7AM as one struggles to reach the Alto Mostelares at 2,950 feet.  What made it exceptionally miserable was the rain and the wind.  Climbing the mountain in the rain and the mud you thought it couldn't get any worse.  But as you reached the top the winds came at us head on and very strong.  We were up that high for 3 or so kilometers and I can't tell you how fat I tries to slip and slosh in the mud it was that bad.  I think I hurt my right knee a little sliding on the unstable muddy path.

Albergue "Ermitia di San Nicolas" has not even a doorbell! 

It was not much of a day for admiring the path.  It was more just get it done.  The rains stopped about three hours into the five and a half hour trip.  There were two pretty neat things along the way.  The first is an albergue (the pilgrim houses that we stay in along the camino) that is run by an Italian group.  It has no electricity.  It has plumbing (toilets and showers) but uses candlelight for the evening meal!  How about that to put you in the spirit of a 1, 500 year old pilgrimage.  The second thing was walking over the bridge where Martin Sheen looses his pack over the side in the movie "The Way."  I would like to have spent more time with both places which were rather close but the weather was against me.

A very ominous looking Puente Itero.

After the rains ender there was a stretch along a canal that lead to Fromista.   It was a nice flat and relatively dry run and I was able to chat with a man from Vancouver, Canada.  Kind of a free spirit, he has no maps, no plan on what the next day brings.  He is not sure if he will make it to Compostela or not.   And if he does he is not sure if it will take a month or two.  While I am much more structured than that, we did have common ground to talk about crossing the Pyrenees.   He came over the day after me and "enjoyed" the remnants of the storm I battled through.

The beginning of the Castilian Canal.

After arriving in Fromista (population of about 800) I got my bed at the albergue and went for a wonderful Sunday Lunch.  While this place has WiFi, they don't have the heat on yet and so I'm in my top bunk bundled in my sleeping bag with my sweat shirt.  Mass is at 7PM tonight.

The Castilian Canal leading to Fromista.

 Fromista gets its name from the Latin "frumentum" so important was this area in growing grain and other cereal crops to feed the Empire.  Fromista has been a crucial link along the camino from its beginning.  Today is no different.   It is famous for two churches one is now a museum run by the state.  The other I'll go for Mass tonight.  The first, the Church of Saint Martin dates from 1066 and is a beautiful example of pure Romanesque architecture.  The second, the later gothic Church of Saint Peter still welcomes pilgrims in prayer and of course houses a beautiful statue of St. James.

Church/Museum of St. Martin of Tours, Fromista 

Seems like time for a nap and then Mass and my oranges!  Tomorrow looks for better weather.  Tomorrow the walk is about 21K or 13 miles.

Church of St. Peter, Fromista