Castillejo de Robledo to San Esteban de Gormaz

Friday 30 September 2022

Distance: 16.8 km (from Miño de San Esteban) Time: 4:00 Ascent: 110m Descent: 190m – Wikiloc

Stage 9 of Camino del Cid finishes at Miño de San Esteban after 15 kilometers but there was no accommodation available so we took a taxi there and walked on the 17 kilometers to San Esteban de Gormaz. Every village seems to refer to San Esteban (Saint Stephen).

Miño de San Esteban (pop 48) is a small town in the province of Soria.

Church of San Martin, Miño: Romanesque church with 9 arcades, from the 12th century, has an unusual defensive tower

Miño’s *Fuente de la Tejera* (Weaver’s Fountain)

Rain threatening between Miño de San Esteban and San Esteban de Gormaz

The path goes close but not into Soto de San Esteban

Aldea de San Esteban (pop 13) appeared bigger than expected for its population. On the outskirts of the town, many traditional bodegas (cellars) are carved into the hillside. Nearby, lies the Torre de Doña Urraca where El Cid’s daughters rested after being beaten by their husbands but nothing remains of the tower.

Traditional *bodegas* (wine cellars) at Aldea de San Esteban

Saint Mames of Capadocia Chapel outside Aleda de San Esteban

San Esteban de Gormaz (pop 2419 ) is the biggest town since Burgos. We passed here in 2019 on the Senda del Duero. Click here.

Being on the Duero River, the Christian to Muslim “border”, it changed rulers on several occasions during the 10th and 11th centuries. In this town, the daughters of El Cid were cared for after the savage beating by their husbands.