Estépar

We left Burgos while dark and walked along the river beside the cathedral and old town. The city was coming alive with bikers and pedestrians all headed to work. There was a nip in the air and it was the coldest morning so far on the trip. It made the first portion of our walk go by very quickly and before we knew it we were at a cafe having our first cup of coffee. It was a big morning to use Julie’s knife, that she bought in SJPP, and we cut up an apple and had it with some nuts we picked up on our hike around the city yesterday.

Properly fueled we were on our way and headed for our final destination of Hornillos - 22km (13+ miles) away.

Along our hike we encountered our THE best place for lunch we have found so far. Fried eggs, chorizo, leafy green salad and all around perfect brunch and our halfway point of 10km. Joan literally moaned as she finally had her beloved salad. Outside of the black flies, and the hot, hot unseasonably warm weather it was one of our best stops yet.

The terrain has changed. We have entered the Meseta, the high plains desert of Northern Spain. The sun is beating upon us. It is dusty with little shade. While we don’t have extreme inclines and declines of the past week, the monotonous never ending gravel road is just as taxing on our bodies as the mountains were.

For the first time on our journey we did not plan for the night’s accommodations. We thought, “let’s be pilgrims” and see how far we can go. We made the full stage, but the inns were full and left us with only Albergues had room. We found a private room, clean switch a bathroom - a far cry from our luxury hotels. But for tonight it was just perfect.

After a quick shower, we went to the common area outside our Albergue where we could wash our clothes with a course bar of soap. It smelled fantastic- lemony and Joan bought two beers to help us with our chores. We literally scrubbed our clothes like peasant women by the river.

Once our work was done we hit the town. We walked the village in search of a cocktail. We found the church, town square and saw that mass was starting in 10 min (6pm) and we attended. As our earlier church experience, it was an absolute blessing. The priest brought all pilgrims to the front of the church. We said prayers and sang songs in our languages and we were blessed with holy water. Another moving experience on our pilgrimage.

We left church following other pilgrims and walked into a bar/restaurant which had live music and a pilgrim dinner. The bartender spoke English and called himself “Mr fix-it” and we sat down with a beer and started to unwind. We asked what was for dinner and he asked us to “trust him”. As we were waiting for dinner, the musicians began to play. And oh my goodness were we surprised. One a tenor and one a jazz musician- blew us away.

Joanie got another salad, and Julie her chicken wings and rice. Three pilgrims joined us- two sisters from France and a young man from Germany. It was a magical evening. It truly represented the spirit of the Camino.

Tomorrow we are off on another 20km. We have a spa booked and going bougie…Buen Camino!Read more