Day 18. Hornillos

It feels good to be back on the Camino trail with fellow pilgrims. Getting out of Burgos was much easier, and more scenic, than entering the city. One of the drawbacks of taking a rest day is getting separated from the group you’ve travelled with, unless they chose to also take a rest day. One person who did that was Doug, from California, but the first person I met was his autistic son, Joe, who Doug had talked about so much. Joe was shy, but very soft spoken, pleasant and enjoying this time with his father. Doug informed me that we were one-third of the way through, that we had finished the physical challenge, and that we were now entering the wilderness of the Meseta, consisting primarily of earth paths across the peace and quiet of endless crop fields like the prairies. This, apparently, is the beginning of the mental challenge.
Despite the regret of seeing so many move on , I’ve had the opportunity to meet others. Today, I had a good chat, en francais, with Jean Marc, an accountant from the south of France; Jean Marc started his Camino from his home town, and will be ending his walk in three days because of work commitments. He gave me a quick lesson on how to use walking poles more efficiently. I also had an interesting chat with Julia from Ukraine, who discussed the war situation in her country. She said it’s fairly easy for females to travel, but it was a long process for her to get here, travelling primarily by bus. Her boyfriend, an engineering PhD student, cannot travel because of the war, but he will be applying for a student visa to England. So far, her former acting teacher, who became a medical assistant, and her best friend’s boyfriend have become war casualties. She is on this Camino praying for all her countrymen and women. I have included a photo of her and I holding her flag.
I’m now at a hotel 3 kms from the Camino trail. My travel company arranged a transfer where I was picked up by the hotel’s shuttle van, driven to this hotel, then returned to the same spot tomorrow morning. There are very few hotels just off the trail in this section. It’s nice being out in the countryside. The weather has been cold, 5 degrees when I started this morning with a high of 14. I like it for walking, and no rain. Many people with foot and knee issues, BUT-knock on wood- I’ve escaped unscathed…..so far.Read more