For two years, we have been regular visitors to the Las Merindades region, in the province of Burgos, where we have family. Little by little, we have got to know the area and discovered its artistic and archaeological wealth. From perfectly preserved Roman churches to large mediaeval castles, with stop-offs at hermitages carved into the rock, the region is a hidden gem.
In towns like Bisjueces and Espinosa de los Monteros, you can find the origins of what would later become the Kingdom of Castile. But, before this happened, the Romans also lived in the area. Today, you can find numerous remnants of their time here.
Specifically, we chose the path that connects the town of Almiñé to the sanctuary of Santa María de la Hoz, which follows a Roman road. It is a stretch of the Camino Real, which connected the Meseta to the Cantabrian coast. Known as Almiñé Hill (Cuesta del Almiñé), the path connects Valdivieso Valley at the bottom, with the plateau of the Meseta at the top.
It was built as a carriage road, for four-wheeled vehicles, and was sufficiently wide to allow them to pass each other comfortably. At the sides, the stone sits at a slight angle, probably to assist drainage when it rained.
This trading route connected Cantabria to Burgos, and was used by such illustrious figures as Isabella I of Castile and Charles I of Spain. We started the route at Almiñé, a small town with an extremely well preserved Roman church (San Nicolás de Bari). The bell tower, with its sober adornment, is its most remarkable feature. There are studies to suggest that the first synagogue in the region may have been here.
The road starts at a slight incline, which, as we soon discovered, gets steeper (taking you up 300 m). It progresses through forests of holm oak, which sometimes seem to hug the stones.
We had our first stop at the start of our walk, where you can see remains of stone stables formally used by local villagers. We took advantage of the opportunity to try to record some sounds from the nearby forest. This is an important part of the project we are running, Unusual Journey, where we talk about different trips. We record the sounds of the places we visit.