From Itero de la Vega to Carrion de los Condes, Camino Frances Stage no. 14

Basic Information

Starting Point: Itero de la Vega, Spain – A quiet agricultural village on the Pisuerga River. With roughly 150 inhabitants (the number decreases with each population count) you will find in the village three pilgrim albergues, a small shop, and some places to eat dinner (if they do not serve it directly in the albergue).
Ending Point: Carrión de los Condes, Spain – A historic town with rich medieval heritage and one of the Camino’s most beloved stops, for true Christian hospitality, one amazing albergue, and overall a feeling that locals like pilgrims and try their best for them. Count with three albergues and some private accommodation options, and all facilities for pilgrims. The town has roughly 2,000 inhabitants.
Availability of an alternative route: Yes, for roughly 9 kilometers you can leave the official camino, and walk along less busy local roads and trails. The landscape is almost identical, but you avoid the crowds and a quite busy road for a good stretch of today’s walk.
Distance: Official Camino route 33 km (download GPS here). Alternative Camino route: 34.5 km (Download GPS here).
Online Map: Official camino: map. Alternative route: map.
Elevation Difference: +160 m ascent, -100 m descent, virtually the same for both ways.
Difficulty Score: 3/5 – Long but flat Meseta walking with full exposure to elements of nature, be it sun or wind. However, you’re already accustomed to walking by now, and should do well unless you start late and expose yourself to too much heat.
Beauty Score: 2/5 – Some parts are nice, with endless landscapes and skies. But there’s too much road walking on this stage, and approaching Carrion the road can be quite busy with cars. At least the stage ends in the wonderful town of Carrion de Los Condes.
Terrain/Asphalt Walking Ratio: Official Camino: 35% trail, 65% asphalt/paved roads/right next to the road. Alternative route: 45% trail, 55% asphalt.
Next stage: Camino Frances Stage no. 15, Carrion de los Condes – San Nicolas del Real Camino.
Previous stage: Camino Frances, Stage no. 13 – Hornillos del Camino – Itero de la Vega.

Elevation profile for the routes

– Official camino route, and the flattest stage so far. The whole day we move only between 770 and 850 meters above sea level, with 0% climb gradient for over 80% of today’s walk, and never surpassing 4%. This is as flat as it gets. Love it or hate it, the choice is yours :).

– Alternative route, the profile is almost identical, just the distance is 1.5 kilometers longer than the official camino.

Advanced Info About the Stage

Trail Marking: Well-marked but pay attention where the route joins the Canal de Castilla, exactly here. Here one of the long-distance GR routes (marked with red-white stripes and circles) joins us for a while, leaving us again just before Fromista, exactly here. The GR way continues to follow the Canal de Castilla, but we leave it crossing the bridge to Fromista. The detour to the alternative route is clearly signposted as well.
Alternative route info: The alternative route is basically a way to escape the busy provincial road P980 for a while, and add a bit more dirt road walking to your stage. The detour starts at the bridge in Poblacion de los Campos (exactly here). Instead of crossing the bridge, you turn slightly right. The variant is clearly sign-posted. Leaving the road, you follow local dirt roads and trails, passing through some settlements with no services. 11 km later, you connect back to the Camino, in a village called Villalcazar de Sigra, where you can replenish your water supplies or even eat something in the bar. While the detour isn’t spectacular in any means, I believe it is worth taking–to get away from the road and the crowds for a while.
Natural Highlights:
- Canal de Castilla: This 18th century waterway (nice to see there is still some water in the Meseta) will accompany us for about three kilometers on today’s walk (km 11 to km 14). Originally intended to transport wheat from Meseta to Basque country, the canal is used nowadays mostly for tourism and for irrigation of the Meseta fields. Running 207 kilometers across three different provinces in the autonomous community of Castile and Leon, it is both a natural and historical highlight of today’s stage.
- Meseta Fields: Expansive wheat fields that change colors with the seasons are extremely prevalent on this flat stage of the Meseta. In spring the colors and flowers can easily take your breath away. Walking in summer or autumn, however, one has to have an eye for beauty to still appreciate these endless fields :).
Historical & Cultural Highlights:
- San Martín Church (Frómista): Nicely restored Romanesque church dating back to 1066. One of the most beautiful churches on the Meseta. Open every day from 10am to 2pm and 3:30pm to 6:30pm. Beautiful from both outside and inside. Entrance fee 1 euro. Location and reviews on Google maps here.
- The town center of Carrion de Los Condes. The entire town center is beautiful and one can breath history at every corner. Be it a church of Santiago, church of Santa Maria, or one of the convents in town (some of them still active), you won’t be disappointed spending your afternoon and evening in Carrion.
Camping/Bivouac Options: There is one organized camping place in Carrion de los Condes, called Camping Eden. Location and reviews on Google maps here. The camping is located in a green peaceful zone next to the river, and it allows dogs. Prices change during the season, but you should be able to camp here for roughly 15 euro as a single pilgrim with a tent. There is a bar on site and the place is about 5 minutes walk from the center of Carrion. A grate place to stay overall should you prefer to camp. When it comes to wild camping/bivouacking, I do not have any particular spot to recommend on this flat stage with lot of road waking and open landscapes.
Dog-Friendly Score: 2/5. The cons are obvious on a Meseta, plus there’s much more road walking on this stage. The pros is the section next to the water canal (close to Fromista, km 14 of today’s walk), and a beautiful river zone in Carrion de los Condes. For dog friendly accommodation, you can either stop in Albergue Amanecer (km 23 of today’s walk), or try the camping I suggested in the camping section.
Special Remarks: In Carrion de los Condes, one of the least known Camino de Santiago ways, called Camino del Besaya, merges with Camino Frances. This interesting way connects Santander (on Camino del Norte) and Carrion de los Condes (on Camino Frances), and was historically used by pilgrims from Northern Europe or even from afar, who arrived to Spain by boat to the port of Santander. Just a few dozens of people walk this way every year, so it is a stark contrast to Camino Frances :). The way has beautiful landscapes and plenty of Romantic monuments. Of course, it is very different to Camino Frances, in all means, and speaking Spanish (at least a bit) is almost a must to get along in many places. If you fancy a solitary camino, you can learn more about this way for example here.

My picks for accommodation on this stage

Albergue Amanecer, Villarmentero de Campos (km 23). A nice hippie-like albergue, with options to sleep outside in tents or hammocks (installed by the albergue, you do not need yours). A friendly host with passion for guitar and singing, great communal dinner (10 euro), and overall an interesting albergue in a nice location. Accepts dogs. 20 beds, 10 euro/night. You can make a reservation on the following phone number: +34 629 178 543. Location and reviews on Google maps here.
Albergue Espíritu Santo, Carrion (km 33). Run by Augustinian nuns and volunteers, a nice place with evening vespers, and a warm welcome. 50 beds in three rooms, only 9 euro/night. Check-in from noon, they do not accept reservations. Perfect central location in Carrion. Location and reviews on Google maps here.
Albergue Espiritu Santu, Carrion (km 33). Run by Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, this albergue is the no.1 choice for people staying in Carrion de los Condes, for a simple reason–only single beds, in amble luminous rooms. With 96 beds in 7 rooms, an almost symbolic price of 10 euro/night, and a well equipped kitchen, this is the place that fills up before anything else in Carrion does. Check-in from 11:30, they do not accept reservations. Location and reviews on Google maps here.

Pictures from the stage

– I do not really know why, but I have just one picture from this stage. Maybe the batteries of my camera died, or there was some other issue. And maybe walking so much close to the road with cars I just didn’t feel like taking pictures. At least you’ll have more surprises today :).

Few tips at the end

Even if you’re not catholic, do not miss the pilgrim blessing by Augustine nuns in Carrion. One can go to many pilgrim masses and blessings along the way. But the one in Carrion feels special. Maybe it is because of the isolation of the place, maybe because of the sincerity and warmheartedness of the nuns. Or the hand-made stars they give to each pilgrim at the end… In any case, the mass and the blessing is open for everyone, and starts daily at 7pm, in the Church of Santa Maria (check on Google maps here).