Silence Is Golden

CAMINO FRANCÉS – Day 14: Tuesday 22 April 2025 – HORNILLOS del CAMINO to CASTROJERIZ (20 [+6] kilometres)

Up on the Meseta plateau early this morning I was more alone, and gloriously so, than at any other time on my Camino walk to date. It is difficult sometimes to even imagine total silence, but up here, at almost 1,000 metres of elevation, there is an absence of any flight path above, no roads to register even the merest decibel, and open country that offers not the rustle of a leaf in the occasional light gust of wind. When I stopped to take in the scene, and with my boots and poles no longer crunching the sands and gravels on the path, the only sounds to be heard were of skylarks in the fields and meadows, some finches perhaps in the cover of a thicket, and the distinctive distant call of a seemingly ever-present cuckoo. This landscape, on first viewing a little flat and uninspiring, thus exists as a haven for quiet, for birdsong, and for mindfulness. A truly special space.

This was a short walking day, just about five and a half hours including breaks,from leaving Hornillos to finding my accommodation in Castrojeriz, but it is a day that I will remember. The solitude of the high plain, that made up the first half of the walk, was punctuated by a pleasant coffee stop in Hontanas (a small village off a minor road that seems to be undiscovered aside from the procession of pilgrims through its main street), before an afternoon following the Odra brook down to Castrojeriz. The Odra valley is as green and verdant as any in Britain, and harbours an abundance of songbirds that flutter and call from within the trees and grasses on either side. Add in the stunning ruins of the 14th Century convent in San Anton, a spectacular sight indeed and, later in the afternoon a short tour of the pilgrim town of Castrojeriz itself, and I had all the ingredients for a perfect day’s walk. My experience did not disappoint.

So tonight I am rested, fed and watered, having had a short but unforgettable day of walking. I am starting to plan forwards now for my few walking days ahead into the city of León. I have decided to stick with my schedule for the next two days, before making a decision on whether to accelerate my pace for a couple of days, so as to reach León a day early for another city rest day. The weather forecast is looking dry and cool over the coming days, as perfect a scenario as I could hope for. I am now two full weeks into my Camino walk, and all is going well!

Quietness was all-pervading on the Meseta today, so my Blog heading ‘Silence Is Golden’ chose itself really. Written by regular songwriting collaborators Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio, the song of that title was originally released in 1964 by The Four Seasons (featuring the vocals of Frankie Valli), as the ‘B-side’ to ‘Rag Doll’ that reached the top of the US charts. Three years later British group The Tremeloes achieved their own No 1 hit in the UK with their cover of ‘Silence is Golden’, using a very similar arrangement to the original.