May 8, 2015 Day 13 - Burgos --> Hornillos del Camino - 21K
Left Steve and Leon after a sad goodbye and headed uphill on the Camino. It wasn't more than a few steps uphill before we came upon an albergue where pilgrims were sitting outside eating breakfast. There beaming and waving at us was Lotta, from Denmark, who was flying home today after her 2 week "experimental" Camino - I have no doubt she will return. We walked with her yesterday. Also saw Patrick from Australia that we walked with for a while last week.
A few more steps and we came to the famous cathedral. Gorgeous. Unusual in the sense that you would expect a large plaza or courtyard out front, but just a small area and the cathedral itself was closely surrounded by other buildings.
We continued to wind around and down the streets of Burgos, through lovely parks and eventually reached the outskirts of town, where we then transferred into dirt and gravel paths. It was quite cool and overcast, although it did not appear that any rain was in sight. Just after leaving the immediate Burgos area, we came upon a bridge crossing a highway where a woman named Maria stopped us to help point out how to navigate upcoming construction. Having hiked the Camino 16 years ago, she now considers it her "nourishment" to assist present-day pilgrims. She asked where we were from, and when I said Austin, Texas, she grinned broadly and said, "Ah..the capital of Texas."
Shortly after we left Maria, a woman walking quite briskly and efficiently caught up with us and said Maria told her to follow us as to the upcoming route. My immediate impression was that this woman was quickly leaving us in her dust, and we would not see her again any time soon. However, she started walking with me, and we had a very compatible walking speed. When it bacame apparent that we would be walking together for a while, we introduced ourselves. Her name was Chris, and she is from Holland. Same age as me, and we seem to have a lot in common. She left her job with the government about a year ago and is starting her own type of personal training / life coach business. She even attended 1 1/2 years of law school at one time. Chris started the Camino at about the same time we started, then ran into some major blister problems. She ended up taking the bus from Estella to Najera to give her feet a break. Now on the mend, she is moving along quite nicely in my estimation. She is also blogging her trip, and raising funds for an organization doing research to treat and cure certain blindnesses.
By now, we had all settled into a certain gait for the day, and it appeared that Chris was walking with us. We stopped mid-morning for coffee and a snack in Tarjados. Chris took a picture of Donna and me in front of a map that showed the route we are on, and Donna and I pointed to our location with our trekking poles.
On we hiked through what is called the Meseta. I think this considered a sort of desert portion of the Camino. More rocky terrain and views, although still plenty of green and wild flowers.
Our destination for the evening was Hornillos del Camino. When we called ahead from Burgos, we learned that all the albergues were booked. However, Donna spoke with this very helpful gentleman who said there was a place we could stay about 7 K from Hornillos. They would send a shuttle to pick us up and return us the next morning to resume the walk. Donna went ahead and reserved 2 beds, although we had no idea what this meant, or how Spartan, or whether food was available, or...anything.
Walking into Hornillos was yet another of those stunning views that take your breath away, with an added bonus. I was walking just behind 4 men - 3 Irishmen and 1 Scot - they started excitedly looking up and pointing at this bird. I thought it was probably a hawk of some sort, but when I asked one of the gentlemen told me it was an Imperial Eagle - the largest eagle in this part of Spain. For the next 5-10 minutes we all watched as several of the eagles floated and soared above us before heading off to what appeared a nesting area. It was awesome. I tried to take a couple of pictures, but they were just too high up and too far to get a good one.
Thus exhilarated, we traipsed the remaining K or so into town and found the gentleman who was to call our ride to the place we were staying. Chris asked if there was room for one more and decided to go with us. On the way out, I asked Donna how much it would cost, since I did not know whether they would take a credit card or if we would have to pay cash. She said she didn't ask - she had done good just communicating in enough Spanish on the phone to get the reservation. (I have to give Donna cudos for the way she been able to communicate in Spanish and arrange for places to stay, food, etc). In any event, I was praying for a nice place to stay - but not too nice in case we didn't have enough money. What we came to was nothing short of a mirage-like experience. Case Rural Min..A rustic old mill house out in the country that was nothing short of awesome. Gorgeous, with a huge lush lawn out back, a roaring fire in the entrance, a large dining table, and a nicely appointed room with our own bathroom. Chris and Donna and I had a nice afternoon tea/wine and cheese break. Dinner was a traditional Spanish meal (I think) and a little challenging for Donna and I. However, I did venture out and try the Burgos Black Pudding - told Chris I did not want to know what was in it.
Turned in fairly early. Donna's blisters appear to be healing and doing better. But what we think may be shin splints was causing a lot of pain. She was able to get some ice from the mill house people, and hopefully that will help. Tomorrow is another relatively short 21k/ 13 miles to Castrojeriz. Donna continues to forward her backpack to take some of the stress off her feet and legs. We went ahead and booked a hotel room for tomorrow night because, once again, albergues and other accommodations are hard to find right now because of May festivals, etc. I told Chris we had found fairly reasonable rooms and she went ahead and booked a room as well. If Chris continues to walk with us, we are going to try the "faith" approach and not book ahead, in hopes of finding something better than the monastery, but more reasonable than hotels. Chris is determined to help Donna learn to let go and "experience" life a little more without planning. To Donna's credit, she has been more and more willing to be open to different ways of doing things. Really listening to these Camino Angels who seemed to have been strategically placed to assist and encourage her on this journey. It has been fun to watch, and I am really proud of her.
It seems like we are getting more and more into our daily rhythm. My legs and feet are getting more and more used to the walking, although my feet do still hurt at the end of the day. The good news is that each morning everything usually feels near normal to start, and I am encouraged.
Buen Camino!
Kim
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