Spain
Hornillos del Camino

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    • Day 17

      Day 16, Burgos to Hornillos

      June 8, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

      Today has felt like a significant day and not just because I had no blister pain for the first time in a week though that was wonderful! We were back on the road at 6.40 this morning, setting out from Burgos with the moon still visible in the sky, in the company of Rachel, our English friend who we’ve shared a room with for the last few days. She walks even faster than Fiona and is described by some of the other pilgrims as a Amazon. Before long she strode on ahead of us, and was on her way to a destination some kilometres beyond ours. We expect to see her next in Leon.
      This morning marked the beginning the Meseta, the section of the Camino many people avoid. It is a high, flat plain with little shade which is often very hot and some say deeply monotonous, though others claim it as their favourite part of the journey.
      Early on we faced the usual issues leaving a city - crossing motorways and searching for the Camino’s yellow arrows.
      11 km on we stopped for breakfast at the sad little town of Tardajos, which last night Rachel christened ‘Tired Horse’ in response to my attempts to pronounce it authentically. It had the usual storks on the church roof (one nest for each of the four corners of the bell tower) and some lovely roses in an otherwise down-at-heel town.
      A few kilometres along the road we stopped at what my guidebook described as ‘the unremarkable Ermita de la Virgen’. I found it a really special place of great serenity. It was very simple and of no architectural merit but I sat in a pew and felt deeply moved. I think this was my first spiritual experience of the Camino. Afterwards I turned my attention to the 70 year old woman at the back of the church called Teresa who was issuing stamps to pilgrims. I think she was a nun but can’t be sure. She only spoke Spanish but seemed to have an instinct for those most in need and spoke to them at length, whether they shared her language or not. She touched each person and wished them a happy arrival in Santiago, told us to be kind to each other, to embrace the dispossessed and to keep the Camino in our hearts when we went home. She took her time but people queued to receive her blessing. She gave us all a medal and stamped our Camino passports. I think for many of us, this was an important encounter.
      We walked on, marvelling at the big skies (which threatened rain) and the wild flower verges which proliferated in poppies.
      We did encounter our first Camino rain (we have had rain before but it has always fallen after our arrival), I got a chance to put my yellow poncho to use but we were almost at Hornillos before it began so we have hardly been tested yet for rain resilience.
      At tonight’s communal dinner I spoke to Gregory, a 36 year from Poland who is walking with a prosthetic leg. He spent two weeks in hospital in Estella with an infection and is clearly in some pain. He told me he had suffered badly from Covid and spent a month in hospital in a coma. When he recovered consciousness he had lost the sight in one eye and now has failing sight in the other eye. Doing the Camino was his dream and he is determined to reach Santiago even though his progress is slow. He was religiously inspired and asked our names so he could pray for us. He said he added the names every day of those he spoke to and asked them to reciprocate. It was a very Camino encounter and encapsulated the special nature of this experience.
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    • Day 14

      Day 10- Hiking the Meseta to Hornillos

      October 9, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

      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!
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    • Day 19

      Hornillos del Camino

      June 5, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

      Bwuee between wwwwell fffolks wez made it here. Me, myself and I and my pics y ampulles

      Within reasons I still feel them (one day rest technically is not enough to heal) but I moved along fine in the sandals

      20 klicks..kicks... Did a good chunk of it in the morning with cooler temperatures (it did rain last night, Thanks be to GOD)

      Attended Pilgrims Mass tonight with was awesome
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    • Day 15

      Day 11- Jaunt to Castrojeriz 20km/12.4m

      October 10, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 46 °F

      After an incredible gift from the Camino last night, we were up at 6:45 am and out the door by 7:30 am to begin our trek over the ancient Meseta.

      As hot as it was yesterday afternoon, it was that cold this morning (43 degrees). We had our cold gear on for the first time. (Joan left her puffy coat in Pamplona, so out came the raincoat- with tag still on it). It was an invigorating way to begin the day.

      Only two cities / stops / rest on our 20km hike today, but both were traditional Camino medieval towns with rich histories.

      We stopped mid-day (10km in) for lunch in Hontanas, our only rest of the day. Joanie got her watermelon and it was a good stop all around. We are getting to know some of the new pilgrims on this leg.

      After Hontanas, we emerged from the dusty hot, gravel roads to the San Anton Monastery and their ancient ruins. We could have stopped and slept outdoors under the stars with no electricity, but Kenzie suggested a 5 star Spa and relaxation resort and we hoofed another 5km to Castrojeriz and our 5 -star resort.

      We could see the next city, Castrojeriz, their beautiful church and the castle ruins high up on the hill, and those last 5km were hard.

      We came in hot, dirty, dusty and with very sore feet. Luckily Mackenzie’s recommendation did not disappoint and we limped into a desert oasis. Our first stop was the cold water foot plunge and cerveza’s. We finally had a proper siesta and a wonderful dinner with local wine.

      We are now so tired, waiting on our clothes to dry 9:30 pm. Tomorrow we train to Leon (45 min) to explore the city. We are cutting two days of the desert Meseta. We end with 13+ days of consecutive walking to Santiago . We still have 309km / 192 miles from Leon to Santiago. We believe we are halfway. Buen Camino!
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    • Day 22

      Shivering in Hornillos del Camino

      May 1 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

      A wonderful day of walking, Amr says it was 21.82kms. But it was cold! We left Burgos a little after 8.30 in our usual blue and cloudless sky, bracing but lovely…but have to admit that soon fingers ached a bit, and it was a bit too cold for comfort, and my blue Lululemon pants seem to feel more breezy…I think it was about 7° but a cold breeze.

      An easy walk out of Burgos, and then an easy, but not picturesque section walking back and forwards to get through and under many main roads and motorways leading in and out of Burgos. But after that it all became spectacular…the amazing greenery of the new crops, the new spring growth in the trees, undulating vistas.

      We paused at a dear little Ermita where we had our camino passports stamped, and were blessed, that we remembered from before. And we stopped for a break at a spot just off the track where there were picnic tables, and suddenly we realised this was where we had gratefully paused last time as an oasis to escape the heat from the very exposed track we had been walking along…SO different, now we wanted protection from the cold (which it didn’t give!)…

      But being cold puts a spring in your step just to keep warm, and it was a great day. The cloudless sky had become scattered with puffy clouds which a couple of times had produced 3 drops of water…but the breeze never let any cloud stay overhead for more than a minute, and the sun shone intermittently. We all remembered that you walk along a plateau with nothing in sight but fields (this time green) and then there is a fairly steep descent and Hornillos, a small village, appears. This time it was magical…a sweet town amongst green fields…in September it was a clump of houses in the middle of nowhere!

      So we arrived, at the little place we stayed at in 2018. But this is May Day and a public holiday here, and everything quiet…our place was closed, with a sign saying “completo” but the door was not locked, so we went in and found a table with keys on little notes - one with Rachel Higgins, and one with Rosemary Marzouk, and room numbers (I think we were the last to arrive and collect our keys!) and found it is self serve today…got to our rooms, bags there, all perfect…except Amr says the shower doesn’t drain well and I’d better have a quick shower so it doesn’t overflow. Also the note said we had a voucher for dinner at a restaurant up the road between 7 and 9 (dinners are included for the next few days) and gave us the breakfast times…so all taken care of and we are very content. R and R have the exact room we had last time, with a sloping ceiling and a skylight!!

      We went for a walk up the road to find where we would be eating, and as we walked along, feeling even colder, some drops started falling and this time we realised that they weren’t raindrops but snowflakes!! They only lasted a few minutes too, and after checking the restaurant, which had a delicious smell of roast chicken, we went back to a closed bar and all had a celebratory drink. Now still cold, with every layer on, but hope they will turn on the heating at night!

      Oh dear, bad reception and difficult uploading..will remove pics and just do words, add photos later…
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    • Day 19

      Catrojeriz

      October 6, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 52 °F

      Today we left Hornillos in the dark and walked to Castrojeriz. The walk was mostly flat and through agricultural lands where wheat is typically grown although we didn’t see any wheat until the end of the walk. Tomorrow’s a rest day for us so I will write more about this place, but it is really beautiful. There’s a big hill above the town with a crumbling castle on it.

      People here have been very nice. We’re looking forward to checking out the church tomorrow.

      And they have a farmacia! Although David is pretty healthy now, I’m a week past my COVID positive test and still struggling with congestion and cough and very scant voice. We’re doing well with our walking (although any hills have me wondering “is it always this hard to clim a hill???”) but in the afternoons I’ve been napping. I guess my body just needs the extra down time.

      It’s funny (in a great way) how now that we’ve settled into a routine, David’s cognitive challenges are basically just what they are at home. He gets a little confused about where we are and has trouble making decisions. But he now pretty much seems like his old self. I can’t say enough good things about predictable routines. As long as David kind of knows what to expect, he seems engaged and having fun.’ Our first few days on this trip he was so confused that I feared I had broken some abilities that work well for him by bringing him here. But it’s been a very pleasant surprise to see him rally, adjust, and thrive in this new place! I’m so glad we are able to do this together!

      Also we have been discussing the role of religion and our spiritual beliefs a lot on this trip, something we rarely talk about. I believe in a creator and in the mystery of “everything,” where David is more accepting of the teachings of his Lutheran upbringing. Anyway, one of the things I’m pretty skeptical about is the power of prayer. However, I know a lot of people are praying for us now, and I don’t know if that too is helping, but I’m very grateful fair our friends and family members who are praying for us.
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    • Day 24

      Rain Got Me

      June 20, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

      Bruce and I got caught just outside Hornillos Del Camino in my 1st real deluge on the trail and I gotta say.... Not a big fan of walking on open plains with lightning.

      I am a big fan of when the rain stops and the sparkling sunshine begins.

      If that's not a metaphor, then I'll just stop looking.
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    • Day 18

      Hornillos to Castrojeriz

      June 9, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

      Lulled to sleep by a nightingale and woken by a cuckoo - possibly only on the Camino and on the Meseta?
      Slightly wild dreams but was awake just before 6 and left around 6.40.
      Unbelievably beautiful landscapes again and again I’m wishing I could paint. It’s hard to describe how stunning our environs are here. You need to see it for yourself.
      We have been lucky with the weather - not too hot and very little rain today.
      Stopped for coffee at an albergue just before Honteras and then again in the town itself where we met up with Sheryl and Janice.
      Easy walking today with the final stretch into Castrojeriz passing a ruined monastery now run as a very simple albergue by the Canadian Confraternity. I have to stay there next time if I’m lucky enough to be able to do this again. It has no electricity so dinner is by candlelight. No hoy water either - but I can do cold showers!! I’m aiming for it!
      Arrived at our Albergue, Iacobus, which was at the very far end of the town. Hopefully this means a bit less distance tomorrow which at the moment looks like quite a long day.
      Managed to get washing dry despite heavy thundery showers.
      Dinner at the albergue - not very veggie friendly so had to eat fish as a main course but did get a cup of camomile tea at the end which was a bonus.
      Now trying to get an early night as very tired!
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    • Day 22

      Day 18: Hornillos to Castrojeriz, part 1

      June 4, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F

      Mileage: 12.5 miles
      Altitude gain: 676 feet
      Altitude loss: 722 feet
      Weather: very warm and sunny
      Total mileage: 209.5

      Another beautiful day! We had the room (with 7 beds) to ourselves last night - it was helpful to get so much good, quiet sleep. It took us a while to get breakfast and coffee but it was worth the wait. Most of today was on the meseta, which I had read would be boring, but so far that’s not the case. The green grain fields and poppies continue to be beautiful, and even the very flat parts just remind me of Kansas, which I don’t mind. In fact, I have two posts’ worth of photos to share today!

      1. In Hornillos. They do like their pollos here!
      2. Hornillos door with misty morning meseta just visible in the background
      3.-6. Meseta views
      7. The bell tower in Hontanas, where we finally had coffee. The bells rang while we were there - very cool. I have a video.
      8.-10. More meseta views later in the day. The poppies make me so happy.
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    • Day 23

      Day 20 - Finish of the Mesta

      September 10, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

      Left Hornillos del Camino 6.30 am arrived 12.30pm at Castrojeriz
      20ks
      We had a breakfast of toast and orange juice before we left this morning. Left in the dark as usual. The terrain today was similar as yesterday on the Mestea, not much except for dry paddocks, no animals at all. No shade. Only a few paddocks of sunflowers today.
      We passed through one village and a monastery.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Hornillos del Camino, 09230

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