Saturday, November 21, 2015

To Tosantos and Espinosa del Camino

2006

La Virgen de la Peña hermitage carved into the face of the cliffs above Tosantos.
In 2009, we walked past Tosantos

Instead, we stayed at a lovely new albergue in Espinosa del Camino. 
The owner, Pepe, was doing some construction 
and when Joe asked about staying, 
at first he said no.
But when I asked again,
and he invited us in.

The rooms were clean,
and the price was right at €18 for bed, dinner, and breakfast.


Pepe served us a lovely dinner of Paella and bread and fruit.

His toy soldier collection was fascinating.

We left at daybreak.
2013 - Tosantos


In 2013, I slept at Tosantos
and it was one of the many highlights
of the Camino for me.

There was a pilgrim there giving out free foot rubs,
and oh, my! It was heaven!

We were given a tour of the Ermita Virgen de la Peña, 
which you can see from the Camino.
A pretty chapel, carved into the cliffs,
legend says in 712 a statue of the child Jesus
was hidden inside a church bell in this cave
to protect it from invading Muslims.
(The statue, however, is from the 12th century.)

We were not allowed to take photos inside,
but if you plan it right,
you might be in Tosantos for the fiesta
and the procession celebrating 
the Virgen de la Peña.

Tosantos has existed since at least the late 10th century.
Here is a link to a Facebook page
with some fun video
of the festival:



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