Burgos to Hornillos del Camino – 20.4km, 5.0 hours, Descanso de Hornillos, 45€

With both Melanie and I limping a bit, we chose to walk 20km instead of where the next beds were at 30km. We never really considered the 30km option but we were in the right frame of mind to walk today and if there was a 25km option, we would have done that.

We wanted to be walking again and it sure felt good going out the door this morning with a small backpack weighing only about 5kg on my back and Melanie with just a bum-pack. It didn’t hurt that we stopped for breakfast after only a 70m walk up the street.

The walk out of Burgos is shorter and a million times more beautiful and pleasant than the walk into the city, at least the walk that we ended up on. It may not be marked all that well but GPS kept us on course mostly through old neighborhoods and along a park-like main street. We travelled almost 10km before we reached a change in altitude more than stepping on or off a curb.

Breakfast #2 was at a busy bar in Tarjados just after we ran into Mikey, a Hispanic New Yorker friend we had met in Santo Domingo. He was planning to walk 30km today so he couldn’t stop yet or he might not get going again. I think the young bartender was stressed out with all the business because when I picked up a basket to point to two mini-sandwiches in the glass case underneath, he roughly grabbed the basket back and placed it back in its place of honor, hiding the sandwiches.

The next town was only 2.4km further along the trail but we knew we were not stopping there. In fact, in Rabé de las Calzadas we were carefully keeping an eye out for the hospilera who hosted us 11 years ago. We were afraid that if she saw and recognized us, we were going to be in big trouble. She would likely have either “denounced us to the police” for using her electricity to charge our phone, or finally got Melanie to eat the poisonous sandwich that was prepared for her so many years ago. I’m not sure the poison would still work but the ham may have gone off enough to still cause problems. At any rate, we mostly ran through that town. You can’t be too careful with witches.

Finally, it was time to do the only real climb of the day, a gentle 125m climb over a couple of kilometers. That took us to our first taste of the Meseta again – Spain’s high plains where wheat, oats, barley and pilgrims come to look at each other. At the far side of the alto meseta, we could look down to Hornillos del Camino but also the entire trail into town with all the pilgrims parading in front of us. We could also see a tree that was going to provide our shade for 5m too.

We are again in a lovely albergue today but Spanish seems to the primary language spoken among the pilgrims. I believe there are a lot of people here from Central and South America. We will see what happens at the communal dinner later. Paella tends to bring people together.

So how did our legs hold up? Personally, I had no trouble walking most of the way. The swelling did come back up at about the 10km mark and the heat soon followed but there was very little pain. I just wish it would go away. For Melanie, she needed to make several adjustments to her shoes and socks during the first few kilometers. At times, the ankle did hurt and at other times, the knee hurt. Fortunately for her, they took turns causing problems rather than ganging up on her. The ankle is going to be the worry going forward but she will take it one day at a time.

Back in the day on the Camino, we always did our own laundry every day, washing it in a sink and drying it on a line that we brought with us. Actually, I should change that “we” to “I”. That was my job while Melanie’s job was to sleep. I can’t remember who assigned the jobs but I suspect it was her. Now, many places where we stay offer laundry service so I have made the executive decision to avoid my job. At the same time, we have only now started to use the bag transfer service. Melanie has stepped up and is organizing that everyday. Sometimes, it’s easy but other times it’s more complicated. The balance of work is swinging like a pendulum. High five!

Final note of the day – the Paella was awesome, and that is what the Spanish guy next to me said. We also sat with German / Dutch / Kiwi friend Silke, an American named Sarah and a Slovenian Mia. We might not have solved all the world’s problems but we did find out that Sarah had her eggs frozen.

Peace y’all. Goodnight George and Leo! Don’t let the bedbugs bite but if they do, bite them back.