Villambistia to Cardeñeula Riopico

It's amazing to see the difference that a single day can make. At the end of yesterday it felt as if I was dead on my feet. Today however, it felt that all of my physical ailments had mostly disappeared, and my stamina boosted beyond what I've felt so far.

My left knee is good, virtually no pain or swelling in my right ankle, a developing hikers rash on my feet is less severe, and the blister on my heel hasn't worsened.

After leaving Villambistia this morning, lightning could be seen in the distant pre-dawn sky, with a foreboding threat of rain later in the day. As forecast, the sky opened up at 11.00am, which is when I was grateful for the poncho and rain pants that I'd been carrying for the last 10 days. Fortunately, I was only 500 metres from a small village, with the perfect little bar to wait out the rain for the next couple of hours over a couple of coffees.

After the rain cleared, the air felt fresh, and the clouds eventually parted enough to let some sunshine through, further lifting the spirits. Upon arriving at our intended destination of Atapuerca, reading of an albergue at the next village of Cardeñuela Riopico sounded appealing enough to walk another 6km. It turned out to be a good decision, with a comfortable bed, amazing showers, and room to move freely around the bunks (unlike last night). It's likely to be a cold night, with an expected mininum of 4 degrees Celsius. Glad I spent a little extra on a warmer sleeping bag.

I've decided to have a night of relative comfort in Burgos tomorrow night by staying in a hotel, which is only a 14km walk from here, making it my shortest walking day yet. Leaving Burgos on Wednesday the 16th will be 2 full days ahead of my plan. It makes me wonder whether I should keep walking for a couple of days, and then get a bus to Sarria, meaning that I could walk the last 100km to Santiago de Compostela. This would still enable me to get the church-issued compostela for walking the Camino de Santiago. I'll ponder this over the next couple of days.

Steps: 40,500
Distance: 29.7km
Total Distance walked from St-Jean: 273.1Read more