San Juan de Ortega was a disciple of Santo Domingo de la Calzada who worked with him on the building of bridges in the area. The large Romanesque pilgrim Church of San Nicolás and monastery have been restored, and a crypt built for the Saint’s tomb. A tiny hamlet. Not on all maps but clearly signposted down quiet roads.

Church and Mass - Iglesia de San Juan de Ortega (Barrio San Cristobal). Mass 18:00 (not December - March).

Bar Taberna Marcela next to the monastery - some meals. Open for breakfast at 08:00. Summer only. No shop.

Shortly after San Juan de Ortega, there is a large noticeboard giving details of an alternative route to Burgos, via several villages.

San Juan de Ortega (1080-1163) was a follower and friend of Santo Domingo de la Calzada and helped in many of the Camino renovation projects that Santo Domingo led. He is the patron saint of quantity surveyors, of riggers (people who specialise in lifting and the movement of very large objects in construction), hospice keepers and barren mothers.

Following the death of Santo Dominigo in 1109, San Juan made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem but upon his return was shipwrecked. During the shipwreck he prayed to San Nicolás de Bari and promised to build chapel in honour if he survived. Upon his return he decided to dedicate his life to helping pilgrims as they passed through the then dangerous Montes de Oca. San Juan settled and built his chapel dedicated to San Nicolás de Bari in the area known as Ortega (meaning nettles). This chapel forms the base of the church in this tiny town. San Juan attracted a lot of supporters and his pilgrim hostel grew in to an Augustinian monastery which survived uptill the disbanding off all religious institutions in Spain in 1835. The monastery now serves as a large but friendly albergue with a communal meal.

The feast of San Juan de Ortega is on June 2nd is celebrated by 23 local communities (including Burgos) with processions and parties.

There are several miracles associated with San Juan including one that when his tomb was opened a pleasant small arose together with a host of white bees. This sign was interpreted as San Juan being a protector of unborn babies. This miracle attracted many childless women to pray at his tomb including Queen Isabel I who went on to give birth to a boy and a girl both names after the saint called Juan and Juana.

There is a minor natural miracle which occurs at both the March and September equinoxes (March 20th and September 22/23) at approximately 5pm solar time (18:21 local time) when a shaft of light passes through a window to illuminate an engraving of the annunciation on the capital of a column.