Burgos-Hornillos-Castrojeriz-Boadilla

Whelp, the best made plans never last long, do they? My goal of walking shorter distances fell apart as I left Burgos and trekked onto the meseta. Think of the Great Plains but maybe a bit hillier and arid - that’s what the last few days have been. I hear it gets flatter as we move west. With this in mind, it may not come as a surprise to anyone that towns are smaller with fewer resources and spaced out quite a bit. So, that’s left me walking 12-13 miles the last 3 days with a 15 mile day planned for tomorrow. There’s less physical effort required; I’m finding that the start of the day is the best time to think and pray. Today, I intentionally went slower: I left later than usual, walked slower, took time to watch a bird fly through the air, journaled after a big hill climb, and took breaks when I thought it was time. With that, I think today was one of my favorites so far.

Sending my main bag ahead by car to the next town has been so helpful. It takes a bit more planning, but now I know there’s always food I can eat, and I don’t have to worry about how much the food weighs. My daypack is light, which helps make the walk more enjoyable.

A big issue today remains my feet. I’m pretty sure I’ve developed some plantar fasciitis in both feet- heel pain isn’t pad, but the arch pain is pretty bothersome. I’m doing what I can to work on it, but obviously would appreciate prayers as well. I’m enjoying the meseta and would like to continue walking it for as long as I can.

The other main thing I’m struggling with is sleep. My body refuses to fall asleep before 11 or midnight, then I wake up countless times before getting up at 6 or 6:30. For now, I’m trying to focus on a phone-free evening wind down. Tonight I’m sleeping in a room with 30 of my new best friends, so we’ll see how it goes. So prayers for sleep would be great too!

(Side note: I’ve decided that the main smell of albergue dormitories is stinky feet mixed with damp towels, stale clothes, and sweaty bodies 🤢 pretty sure I won’t ever miss that smell!)Read more