Today felt easy peasy. In fact, I am happy that I had a reservation in Hornillos or I may have been tempted to go on to Hontanos, another 11km from here. I am what they call a “fresh pilgrim,” one who just joined the Camino. You can tell by my clean clothes, a little lift in my step and incessant picture taking. Fresh pilgrims get added to the Camino everyday, but especially in Sarria which is the closest town to Santiago de Compostela from which you can walk (at least 100k) and still get your Compostela (certificate).

I left Burgos at 7am with my head lamp at the ready. Sunrise isn’t until 8:05am and I really prefer getting started earlier in the morning. Luckily the Camino rush hour was on and I was able to follow several pilgrims out of Burgos. Had I been on my own, I definitely would have taken longer and likely would have gotten lost.

I didn’t see the beautiful city gates in the park where Martin Sheen bid adios to his newfound gypsy friend. This is what Informed me I was leaving Burgos.

I didn’t end up needing the headlamp and within an hour of leaving luckily turned around to see a beautiful sunrise at the perfect time.

I stopped for breakfast after about 13km in Rabe de las Calzadas. I am trying to focus my morning meal on protein more than carbohydrates (chocolate croissant) as I did last year. So, I had a slice of tortilla (similar to an egg and potato frittata) which was delicious and provided great fuel to get me into Hornillos just after noon.

One mistake I think I made training is that I always had an RX Bar with me and would eat a portion of one on each training walk. Creature of habit that I am, I started craving my RX Bar fix about 5km into the walk. Even though I typically only eat 1/3 of a Bar when I walk, it is filling and energizing. (RX Bar, Venmo me a commission if you want.) I only brought two bars with me and they are my emergency food so they are off limits. I think tomorrow I will keep a little trail mix handy as a stand in for the RX Bar.

Faster Walking Gets You There Sooner

I passed several pilgrims on the way to Hornillos. YES! I passed people. Don’t misinterpret this as some kind of competition. It is just reality. My average pace was between 3-4km/hour. My goal this year is to average 4-5km/hour. In my training this summer I averaged 5km/hour.

Here is why this is important. If I walk 20km at 4km/hour it will take me 5 hours. But, if I walk at 5km/hour those same 29km will take just 4 hours. I read a study that concluded the extra effort expended to walk a little faster is tiny compared to the extra effort to walk for longer at a slower paste. It isn’t that I want to get the walking DONE, but I want to be able to enjoy the towns I stay in and have a relaxing afternoon.

I was making great time. And then I walked past a pilgrim who started talking with me. From behind I noticed he was walking slowly, depending on a cane. I ended up walking with Juan for about 3km. He is from Spain and was a career officer in the Spanish Army. He lived for 3 years in the US and loves our country. He told me about his family and where he has lived in Spain. He also gave me a great history of this country starting over 1000 years ago. At first when I started walking with Juan, I thought, “this is going to screw up my km/hour average.” But then I remembered the real reason I am here and totally enjoyed Juan’s company.

Coming into Hornillos there is a somewhat steep downhill and Juan explained he has blisters and would bid me adios so he doesn’t slow me down. What a great way to make sure he takes care of himself and doesn’t allow another pilgrim to dictate his pace.

Juan looks like a young Jose Andres and was a very sweet man.

I won’t see Juan again. He was going to Hontanos tonight and will be leaving the Camino in two days as he is doing the Trek in one week segments each year. This is how the Camino works. People come and go…literally and figuratively.

Reflections

It is so great to be back in Spain on the Camino. I will say that it is different than my experience last year. You are only a virgin pilgrim once. The excitement, fear, anticipation, nervousness can’t be compared to the first time you start walking the Camino.

I have some friends who will start their virgin pilgrimage later this week in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. I am so excited for them. I met with them several months ago to share my experience and tips, but have been careful not to give up too much about what they can expect. They deserve to learn it in their own time. Buen Camino Paul and Elizabeth!

The planets were aligned last night. Although my plane from Barcelona to Boston arrived at 6:32, 15 minutes after the scheduled arrival, I managed to get through passport control, claim my checked bag and go through customs and border control and boarded the Dartmouth Coach at 7:03. This was great because the next and last bus of the night wouldn’t be for another two hours. Global Entry gets big kudos!

Ray and I spent most of the day today catching up on work and life. I washed all of my clothes and have all of my Camino gear put away and ready for next year.

I just had an amazing experience and have many thoughts swirling around in my head. I will share them on this blog over the next days and weeks. I don’t want to crowd your inbox so feel free to unsubscribe or delete the blog posting updates.

Thanks for coming with me on my Camino. I hope I gave you a little taste of this amazing experience. Your comments were so welcome and encouraging. I can’t thank you enough for saying just the right things at the right time.

I am happy to talk with anyone personally about the Camino if you wish. Just let me know.

Today probably wasn’t the best for starting out before dawn. It was pitch black when I left at 6am and there was still nearly 2 1/2 hours before sunrise. The Camino took me out of the village and up a hill with a questionable path. A couple of speedy walkers passed me and while I was able to follow their light for a few minutes, soon they were gone and I was back on my own. Luckily my constant companion over the last three weeks, the Buen Camino App, was by my side and I kept checking it to make sure I didn’t bear off the Camino, which would be very easy to do in the low-light conditions.

When I turned around I could measure my progress when I saw the lights of Atapeurca in the distance.

There was the slightest hint of sunrise on the horizon when I noticed a large cross.

Because the entire area around the cross was rocky bare ground, it was hard to figure out where the Camino route was but then I found a sign.

Next I came across a large labyrinth. Why anyone would need to walk around in circles after walking the Camino, I have no idea. 🙂

I wish it was light because I would have gotten a picture of the giant circular maze, but you would never be able to see it in a photograph taken in the dark.

So, at this point I was confident and started thinking about what a crazy thing this is that I am doing. Here I was, walking around on a mountain top in Spain in the pitch dark. This is giving me serious points toward achieving one of my Camino objectives; getting comfortable with dealing with uncertainty.

And then things got really uncertain! I came to a sign that told me I was headed to a town that was northwest of where I needed to be. I was no longer on the Camino! I pulled out my app that confirmed this.

I could either take my chance and retrace my steps in the dark or wait until it got lighter when I could see better. I decided to go for it. After about 10 minutes I saw a headlamp (a real one, not the eyes of a wild animal) coming toward me so I walked toward it. It turned out to be a young German couple.

The guy insisted they were going the right way. He kept showing me his phone and I kept showing him mine. Eventually we went our separate ways, but I was worried about them. I continued walking back in the direction of the Camino and saw three more headlamps walking across a path in front of me and I knew I was where I should be.

As we started to descend the hill I saw a headlamp way off to the right coming down from a different direction. It turned out to be the German couple. I was relieved to see them.

Throughout the day those two kept showing up, usually coming from a different direction than I, and we would say hi. Right as I got into the old city area in Burgos, I turned the corner and there they were! We hugged and formerly introduced ourselves and took a picture before we continued walking toward the Cathedral. Sebastian and Laura were sweet and we said our goodbyes when our guidebooks took us in different directions for the last time.

So, back to the rest of my story of the day, it was still dark when I crested the mountain and I got a beautiful view of the glowing lights of Burgos.

We came to the first town, but there was nowhere to get coffee. The sun was finally rising and the headlamp went back into my bag.

After another couple of kilometers, finally we were at a town that had a bar and it was time for breakfast. I had a delicious lomo (pork loin) boccodillo (baguette sandwich) with a fried egg and roasted red peppers along with cafe americano and orange juice. It hit the spot and fortified me for the next several hours as I negotiated my way into and through Burgos.

Leaving the bar it started to rain lightly so I stopped and put on my poncho and pack cover and of course, it stopped raining within minutes.

I do have to say, with the forecast of rain for the next four hours, this bus was very tempting.

But, I continued walking.

There is always encouragement when you most need it.

Soon the dirt roads turned into asphalt and I knew I had seen the last of the quaint ancient villages that I had been passing through for the past 16 days.

I had been planning for weeks that I would enter Burgos through the scenic park alternative route as I had done when entering Pamplona. But when I should have been looking for the signs directing me there, it was pouring rain and I was just focused on moving forward, not getting hit by a car and not tripping. I missed the turn which meant I would go into Burgos through the industrial route.

But first, I would have to walk around the airport. If you have ever done this, you know that even small airfields are huge! The route I was on took me around three sides of the Burgos regional airport where I would be flying out of the next day on my way to Barcelona.

Next I had to negotiate a huge traffic circle which was probably one of the most daunting things I did in the past 16 days. I would never imagine that a traffic circle could provide a life lesson, but this one did.

Looking at where I was and where I was going I just thought, “Shit, I am screwed!” There were no other pilgrims around. The group I was following had ducked into a bar to dry off and get something warm to drink. However, I was following the yellow arrows and that gave me confidence. I decided that rather than worrying about the entire traffic circle, I would take each ramp crossing one at a time.

There were a lot of crossings as this circle served as an off and on ramp to the highway was well as feeding the main artery into Burgos.

I approached the first crossing and a tractor-trailer stopped and let me cross. Because he was blocking other traffic I felt safe. I yelled gracias and he replied, “Buen Camino!”

Now I was in a small median strip in the middle of the off and on ramp. To my surprise, two cars coming off the highway stopped blocking the traffic behind them and I made my second safe crossing. One to go!

The last crossing was the most challenging because the median strip was under construction. I had to walk across a fairly narrow, wet and slippery wooden plank to get onto and off the median strip. But once again, the traffic stopped and I had made it!

So, you are probably wondering what life lesson I gained from this experience. Sometimes things can seem impossible because they are so big and complex. Rather than trying to figure everything out before taking the first step (as every good control freak does) take the first step and the next will be more clear and one step at a time the challenge will be overcome.

I know. It is crazy it takes a traffic circle to add deep meaning to your life, but the Camino works in mysterious ways.

After getting through that traffic circle I had no idea of what was in store for me over the next 3 hours. The rain continued on and off so I kept my bright orange poncho on reasoning that it served as a beacon that a human was crossing the road and could save me from getting hit.

The scenery was uninspiring, the tile sidewalk slippery and hard and this went on forever! My legs are still screaming with pain from that trek on such a hard surface for hours.

Finally about an hour and a half later I was in Burgos proper.

Home free! But then I walked for almost another hour to get to the old city! Part of the problem was that I was going slowly. I felt like I was like a kid on a car ride to Grandma’s house! Are we there yet ran through my mind every 5 minutes!

Bumping into Sebastian and Laura lifted my spirits and soon I walked through the arches of the old city of Burgos and got my first glimpse of the cathedral.

Back in March, I had made a reservation at a hotel right across from the cathedral to treat myself after 16 days sleeping in a bunk with 20 to 40 other pilgrims. Of course, at that time I had no idea how hard bunk living would be, so I didn’t know that I would resort to private rooms when they were affordable and available. Nevertheless, I rationalized I still deserved the treat.

As I was walking toward the hotel, I heard someone calling out, “Robin!”

Pinch me! I am in a city in Spain thousands of miles from home and I have friends who spot me and call out my name. It was Gene and Hyun who I hadn’t seen in several days. We hugged and caught up with on our journeys. They had attempted to walk into Burgos the day before during the thunder/hail storm and ended up checking into a hotel by the airport. They too had just arrived and were looking for an Alburgue.

We asked a local woman to take a picture of the three of us and she had a hard time getting the iPhone camera to work. Finally when Gene suggested we just take a selfie with his camera, she pushed the magic button and caught a great picture of us taking a picture of ourselves.

As we were talking, Kerrie, who founded the Sacramento chapter of American Pilgrims on the Camino, came walking up and said she was on her way to the next town at the beginning of the Meseta portion of the Camino Frances. But after a few minutes, she changed her mind and decided to stay another night in Burgos so we could get together for drinks or dinner.

I checked into the hotel and did the standard pilgrim end of day routine; took a shower, got dressed and talked with Ray.

I had an amazing view of the cathedral from the window in my room.

I heard from Henry and Angela and a whole group of folks were still in Burgos and we made plans to go to the 7:30 pilgrim mass. Then I went out to get something to eat and to check out the cathedral.

I haven’t been to all of the amazing churches in the world, but I have been to some of the most famous; Notre Dame in Paris, Westminster Abbey in London and St. Peter’s Bascilica in Rome. None hold a candle to the Cathedral in Burgos. It is massive, ornate and has probably a dozen different chapels, each with it’s own history. Pictures don’t do it justice. When in Spain, I encourage you to check it out. In fact, it is worthy of planning an entire trip to Spain as the country is amazing.

It was like homecoming at the pilgrim’s mass. Stanley and Esme were there as were Henry, Kyle, Angela, Damion, Kate and Efflyn. The group represented the core of my initial Camino family from Orisson and my adopted Camino family from Lorca on the day I couldn’t go any farther. I had no idea of what was being said during the mass, but used the time to reflect on my Camino.

At the end the priest called up all of the pilgrims for a special blessing. I went since I was still officially a pilgrim until the end of the day, I reasoned. Priests have been blessing pilgrims since the beginning of the Camino and that makes participating in the ceremony powerful and emotional for me.

Here is the Pilgrim’s blessing:

After the Mass we gathered outside of the cathedral and figured out where we would go for drinks and dinner.

We asked a young guy walking past if he would take our picture. He did a great job using the pano function to capture the entire Cathedral. As he was taking the picture, I asked under my breath, what would prevent the guy from running away with my camera. Basically nothing. But luckily he just wanted to take a good picture of us

For dinner, Kerrie, a Camino veteran, led us to a place that had plenty of room for our group of 12. I bought the first round of drinks to honor my friends who would be continuing their pilgrimage the next day. The group toasted me and had some very nice words for me. I can’t remember exactly how Kyle put it, but this 20-something made me feel like I had been an important part of their Camino and that I would be missed. So touching.

Camino families, like many families, work because of the range of ages with the elders providing wisdom and the youth providing energy. I would argue, however, that each youngish pilgrim I met on the Camino was wise beyond their years. They will carry the memories and lessons of the Camino for the rest of their lives, for many many years.

I was hungry because I had just had the jamon earlier in the afternoon. I order a dish that was fries, eggs and jamon. It hit the spot along with a couple of beers.

After dinner we said goodbye to several of our group and we were down to just Henry, and the three amigos (Kyle, Damion and Angela). Most of us were jonesing for a nightcap, but Kyle was craving gelato. After walking a LOT and checking out many tapas bars (it felt like the three bears, this one is too big, this one is too crowded but finally, this one is just right), we settled on one that offered the liqueur Henry was searching for, 43, which is made in Spain.

43 is a delicious, delicate elixir with a vanilla overtone. Henry got the first round and “future” Damion the second (more on that later; probably tomorrow).

Then it was time to say goodbye to my friends. It was sad, but I am happy that they are all continuing on and will be back to the life of a pilgrim tomorrow.

Henry figures that he will be reaching Santiago in about a month and I suspect it will be around the same for the others providing they don’t have any injuries that set them back. I hope not!

Reflections

I feel a strong connection to most everyone I walked with. The Camino is ageless because we were all focused on the same goal; completing our Caminos. When you share a common goal, you work together to achieve it. You help each other out and you celebrate together.

This is something I want to take home from the Camino. I want to focus on what bring us together, whether it is with family, friends or people I don’t even know. I think if we all did that this world would be a better place.

My plan today was to get an early start so that I could get to my destination of Atapuerca by the time the Alburgues opened and started giving out beds. Typically that is 2pm.

I knew from reports of friends who passed through yesterday that there are limited beds and they filled up quickly. When that happens, a pilgrim has no other choice but to continue walking to the next town in search of a place to sleep for the night.

Typically there wouldn’t be a bed crunch this time of year, but Friday, October 12 is a holiday in Spain. Does the date ring a bell? It is the official date of Columbus Day in the US and a proud day for Spaniards as well! The focus of the celebration is now more about Spanish nationalism rather than Spanish conquests around the world.

In any case, holidays like this drive Spaniards to the Camino for 2 to 4 days walks that add to the regular pilgrim traffic. (I had no idea to look at the calendar when I was scheduling this trip. It may or may not add to the enjoyment of my sightseeing day in Burgos.)

I left Villafranca Montes Oca before 7 am this morning in the pitch dark. (Sunrise is a very late 8:20am this time of year!). Luckily I have an awesome headlamp that really lights the way.

Before I could start the mountain climb I would have to survive walking on the street to the Camino path.

There is little to no sidewalk and the trucks come barreling through as if they are on the open highway. It was daunting!

I gave myself even more of a challenge by continuing on the road longer than necessary. When I couldn’t find a yellow arrow, I knew something was wrong so I checked my GPS map and saw I was off course. Great! That meant I would have to retrace my steps backwards for several blocks to get rerouted.

I finally was heading in the right direction up a rocky path that didn’t seem well travelled.

The signage gave me confidence I was heading the correct way as did a group of three Spanish pilgrims who confidently charged ahead of me.

As I proceeded up the hill, two headlamps were coming toward me so I figured the Spaniards discovered it wasn’t the right way, but their headlamps were really dull; just two dots of light coming right at me. From my training walks at home in the early morning I have encountered enough animals that I finally realized these were eyes reflecting the light of my headlamp. Just as I figured that out, I saw something small dart off the path. Because the trail was steep, the dots of light seemed to be at my eye level which caused the confusion and made the animal seem much larger than it was. It was likely a cat because then I noticed a black cat to my left, also with glowing eyes. I schussed it away as I did not want to to cross my path and bring me bad luck. He obeyed and I was back on my way.

I walked up hill for about an hour not being able to see anything around me. I have read it is beautiful, but I missed out on that. This 12k stretch of thick forest had a reputation in the medieval days of being a dangerous passage for pilgrims. It was an ideal place for thieves and bandits to hide out in the woods and rob them as they passed. My guidebook assured me this is no longer a problem so I continued. It never ceases to amaze me that I am walking in the exact same footsteps of millions of other pilgrims who have been doing this for centuries.

This seemed like a very long 12k. Toward the top of the mountain it started to drizzle, so being safe rather than sorry I put on my pack cover and poncho (which is tough to do on my own with the pack on, but I managed). It immediately stopped raining.

I walked past a monument to the people killed during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930’s. It also marks the shallow grave of over 300 people who were executed at the start of the war.

I was really dragging and I assume it is because my energy reserves were low from just eating a sandwich around 4 pm the day before and no dinner. I promised myself when I came to a place I could stop, I would have a snack fortified with one of the NUUM electrolyte replacement tablets Nancy T had given to me.

There actually was a rest area that some enterprising person set up, but it wasn’t operating so I sat there and snacked on some cheese, chorizo, nuts and an apple I was carrying and tried not to think of how good it would taste with a hot cup of coffee. In about 6k I would be in a town and could get some real caffeine.

Finally I was in the town of San Juan de Ortega!

This was the first time I saw empanadas! All they had was tuna and it turned out to be delicious!

Five of us from Orisson were there so I got a picture to send onto the folks ahead of us.

Here is Stanley (his wife Essa was sick and traveling by taxi to their stop for the night), Ye, me, Kate and Efflyn.

Stanley was committed to stopping in Atapuerca but the other three were hoping to get one town further making for a shorter day into Burgos on Thursday. That sounded good to me Efflyn and I walked out of town together and for the next couple of kilometers were walking at a good 4K clip, but I wanted to slow down so I would take some pictures so I said goodbye to her.

As I reached the village of Ages I ran into Norah who I had met earlier in the day and we walked together into Atapuerca. It was a little before 2 and she was staying there for the night. I was reluctant because I had already called ahead and talked to every Alburgue in town and knew that none of them had a private room and the bunk was just not appealing to me after so many days in the comfort of my own room.

But I walked into the first place with Norah and asked if they had a private room and bingo! I took it and was relieved to be done for the day. It was so easy. I paid for the room and immediately gathered just about every piece of clothing I had and went to the laundry room. I knew this would be my last chance to do serious laundry before returning home on Saturday.

Pilgrims started arriving shortly after 2, but the hospitalaros running the place take siesta from 2 to 3:30. There were over 25 people waiting for a bed by 3:30! By dumb luck (kind of) I got there exactly when I should have! Most pilgrims were coming from a further distance than I which is why they arrived later. My plan to set up in Villafranca Montes Oca the day before worked!

I had texted Kate to see if they made it successfully the 6 additional kilometers from here to the next town. She, Ye and Efflyn were there, but they had to walk through a thunderstorm and hail!

Norah is my Camino angel for today since had I not been walking with her, I might have just walked through this town and missed a wonderful meal and a relaxing night.

I wanted a good meal today and there were a couple of very nice restaurant options. The place I wanted to go to was across the street so I thought I would stop in to see if I needed a reservation.

The owner said they closed at 3:30 (it was 3:45) and they would not be open tonight. After reading reviews I was so disappointed and it must have showed. He yelled something into the kitchen and then quickly sat me.

They offered a menu del dia for €15; 50% more than the typical €10 pilgrim menu. I didn’t care; I was hungry and wanted a good meal.

I started with Spaghetti with a spicy tomato sauce.

Followed by roast pork loin with a delicious sauce.

And then had fresh Burgos cheese with honey and walnuts.

It came with a small carafe of wine and bread that was also delicious.

After the meal I used google translate to express my gratitude to the owner.

I told him it was the best meal I had on the Camino and he explained that the problem with the restaurants serving pilgrims is they don’t have cooks. They are reheating commercially prepared foods ( kind of like Olive Garden or Applebee’s). I do get that it is darned challenging to feed people a hearty meal for €10 including wine and this isn’t supposed to be a gourmet experience. But to me, food isn’t nourishing if it isn’t prepared and served with respect for the ingredients and I think I have been malnourished for the past few weeks.

When I come back next year, I am going to try to alternate pilgrim menus with ordering from the menu and I will seek out better restaurants. I know I sound like a food snob, but when I have had a good meal on the Camino I have a better day walking. I know that many people eat to live. I live to eat.

After an early, but filling dinner, I took a walk around town and stopped into a bakery/mini market and bought a split of wine and an apple tart and retreated to my room to prepare for my final day on the Camino.

Reflections

I can’t believe I have been walking for 15 days straight and am nearly 1/3 of the way across Spain! The number of people I have met from around the world is just incredible. I will definitely be back to finish up.

Tomorrow I will walk into Burgos and remove my pilgrim shell and check into a hotel I have had reserved for months. I will become a tourist and visit the cathedral and other places of interest. I look forward to having a nice meal and checking out some of the shops for some souvenirs. On Friday I fly from Burgos to Barcelona where I will tour La Sagrada Familia on Saturday morning before boarding a Boston-bound plane.

I am really missing home and can’t wait to see Ray when he picks me up at the Dartmouth Coach terminal on Saturday night.

I wonder how my life will change? Will I keep up the intense walking without a compelling reason to train?

Will I try to simplify things. After living out of a backpack for three weeks, I have learned just how little we actually do need.

I know that I cannot wait to cook! Ray will be harvesting all the rest of our peppers before I get home and I have big plans for them! Inspired by the wonderful meal I had in Belorado, I will roast and skin them and store them in olive oil in the freezer to serve with meat dishes.

I am happy we didn’t grow any potatoes this year because I don’t need to see another one of those for a while. But I am going to try my hand at Paella because the two I have had have been very comforting and delicious. And, I want to continue learning about Spanish wines. I have had a few here that have been delicious and would like to discover more at home.