Burgos to Sarria

So today we say goodbye to Inga. She has been part of this 'Camino family' since Roncesvalles, and today made her way to Bilbao for a more leisurely idea of a holiday. Safe travels, and thank you for your friendship over the past 2 weeks.

Before boarding a train from Burgos to Sarria today, I had been watching the weather forecast for the Galicia region, which doesn't look great from a walking perspective unless you have the right gear. With everything else waterproof I came to the decision that my shoes weren't going to fit the bill. €110 later and I'm all ready to go. The antibiotics and a decongestant from a Sarria pharmacist have made a difference to my chest, so by Thursday morning I hope to be roaring to head towards Santiago de Compostela.

With no real walking today, the afternoon was spent on the train with Els. We passed time in conversation as well as you can when you have no common language except for a very small amount of broken German. About 50km from Ponferrada it felt good to be passing through forests again. This had been missed over the past few days of walking through open land.

A chance find on Booking.com landed an albergue for only €12, which included a nice private bunk (with draw curtain), lockable cabinet for my backpack, and powerpoint within my cubicle. It's amazing how such little pleasures can mean so much!

A restaurant right across the road provided a great three-course meal of the day, including a bottle of red wine for just €16 (about A$26).

The film 'The Way' inspired me to walk the Camino, and I'm happy to have come to Spain and do it. However, I've experienced a lot that the film didn't mention. This includes; the realities of sleeping in albergues, the unreliability of shops throughout the day (including opening times), the exhaustion that can go with climbing hill after hill, the physical afflictions that you might fall victim to (I've had a few), and the fact that pilgrims are rarely seen wearing stylised fashion (as was done in the film) - opting instead for lightweight clothing that packs well and dries quickly (fortunately I was prepared for this last one).

The prospect of rain tomorrow has me wondering how my Camino experience will change, but I suppose there's only one way to find out.

Steps: Not counted
Distance: 0km (all by rail)
Total Distance walked from St-Jean: 287.1kmLeia mais