Judges 5:10 You who ride on white donkeys, You who sit on rich carpets, And you who travel on the road—Sing!
Day 18 — 18.93 Miles — Hontanas to Boadilla, May 15. Today was another day of walking through La Meseta. The high was 80 degrees. No trees for shade and 80 degrees caused some people to have heat stroke problems.
Sunrise Behind Us on La Meseta 
Plateau in the Distance 
Trees!
The scenery was beautiful until we saw “The Road”. A road was visible in the distance going across and up a very high hill. As we got closer to “The Road”, we could see people walking on it. Yep….that was our path. A climb to the top of Alto De Mostelares was in the walk today. The elevation increased about 600 feet in 8/10’s of a mile……and it was hot. The view at the top was great. The decent down was hard. It was so step the trail had been paved with concrete to prevent people from falling on gravel. The view of the valley below was like looking at a post card then we realized the trail across the entire valley was the pilgrim path.
The Road 
View from The Road 
The Valley 
Steep Decent 
The Valley 
A Picture of Ron
Taking a Picture
We Made it to the Top!
The ruins of San Anton Convent and the ruins of a castle were outside the village of Itero de la Vega. The convent was founded in 1146. It was founded to provide care for pilgrims. We were able to walk under the archway of the convent ruins. The castle was on a hilltop over looking the village. A climb in the heat was out of the question. A picture would have to suffice.
Castle Ruins Above
Itero de la Vega
Ruins of San Anton Convent
During the day, we shared a picnic table with Bridgette and Marteen. A cool down period was shared with Andreas (laughing man) at a shaded cafe. We passed Peter from Germany sitting on a bench. If you remember from a prior blog, Peter is the tortoise and we are the hare. Dinner was shared with Kathy who we met in Madrid and Toby who shared the “nightmare hostel” with us.
The first part of the Camino is said to be physical, the second part is mental and the last part is spiritual. We are past the physical part. Our blisters are healed and the backpacks do not seem so heavy. We think the mental part is approaching quickly. To make oneself continue on with one foot in front of the other in the heat requires a certain amount of detachment from one’s situation. The heat surely will not last forever.
Peter from Germany 
Andreas-Laughing Man 
Trees! 
Inscription on a Rock at the Beginning of “The Road”
Tomorrow our destination is Carrión de los Condes. Buen Camino. Sharon and Ron
I remember “The Road” vividly, except I thought it was called “The Hill” ( by me anyway). It was coincidental one of the hottest days I experienced on The Camino! It’s all downhill from here (except for the remaining uphill sections)!
Buen Camino. You are doing great. I love that you’ve interacted with so many people, over and over. It adds a lot of value to the experience.
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So green and beautiful.
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Hi Sharon and Ron
it was so nice to meet you guys on the way. and most certainly, i will never forget the day (and the reasons), why i became the laughing man.
The camino is a very special, very emotional experience – thanks so much for helping me on my way.
Please do stay in touch – and if you ever make it to Ireland, you are always welcome.
All the best
Andreas (the laughing man)
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Laughing Man! We are so glad to hear from you! We arrived in Santiago on June 4th. The blogs are a few days behind because of internet issues. Did you make it or decide to go home? Yes….let’s keep in touch. If you follow this blog, your email address is sent to me only. The follow link is at the very bottom of each blog on the right. It is touchy. Just follow the instructions. We are hoping to get to Ireland and have a good laugh!
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Hi Andreas. Please send me your email address to skfreund@msn.com. I will then send you my real email address privately. Ron and I would like to stay in touch with you.
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