This is a big town, at least 3 ATMs and a supermarket or two plus lots of alburgues, hostels and hotels. But it's closed on Mondays!
There was one hostel with a bar that we passed on the way in. We were planning to find an ATM, bar, supermarket, in no particular order. We only found the ATM, and that was hidden.
After getting some cash out we had to walk back to El Manzano

for a well deserved beer after wasting 3k on foot.
Rant over! Just about. But don't let me get started on WiFi upload speeds...
Ruth carried the pack for a while, possibly 8k, which was good.
We met an Irish lady named Melissa who stopped for a drink when we warned her about the town's closure.
The walk into town was actually very nice. We passed through an old, ruined monasterio
Then we took a walk along a long road through grain fields

Some were covered in poppies.

This is a view of the town of Castrojeriz, with the ruined castle dominating the skyline.

We might have walked up there in another life.

But this gives you an idea of how dominating the castle might once have been.
We spent ages and kilometres walking through this town trying to find something open.
But it's closed on Mondays, apart from the Albergues and two shops.
We later found out from the Albergue owner that the town is full of grandparents. There are 8 children at the school, which serves 6 other villages.
In summer the place is busy with Pilgrims and people visiting parents and grandparents. There are festivals, like the Garlic Festival, which bring in local tourists. But there is no work apart from in the Albergues or farming. So most young people move to Burgos or Leon. That explained the lack of people on the streets and no children playing anywhere.
But this is a big town in relation to most places we have visited. Rural depopulation in action!
Anyway, this is our Albergue. It's really nice and we had Korean Bibimbap for dinner! Apparently the Camino is well known in South Korea, with many books and documentaries about it. We got brownie points for recognising that the food was not Japanese, obviously Korean and we wanted some it was great but does not go well with red wine. However it works well with beer. I was happy and Ruth kept stealing my beer.
We also met a guy called Alan. Very interesting as he was born in Odessa, speaks Ukraine an and Russian. He left Odessa aged 15, and has lived in the States for 40+ years.
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