The Oca Mountains

There's nothing like starting the day with a steep uphill climb followed by a ski worthy downhill path. The Camino led us straight up and down a mountain today before leveling off in the beautiful pine and oak filled Oca mountains. After our cardio blast and knee taxing workout, the path only required one more hill with the rest of the way a delightful walk through a once feared forest. 

Pilgrims used to fear these woods because brigands and thieves would ambush them as they went through. We weren't worried about that today, thankfully. Instead, we were treated to various artistic expressions meant to encourage the pilgrims. After 12km without any towns we arrived at San Juan de Ortega where we got coffee and aired out our toes. 

A few more kilometers later, we emerged from the Ocas into a new vista overlooking the meseta which we will be walking through for the next 260 kilometers. With a little bit of trepidation we passed by a bunch of cows milling about the path. We hadn't seen any cows since the Pyrenees. There was a rather long descent into Ages where we are spending the night.