On to the Meseta!
20 km
October 21, 2011
This morning I had breakfast with Hans at the hotel and then he insisted on paying for my two nights in the hotel. What a very nice gesture. I started walking through the streets and past the cathedral at dawn. Hans quickly caught up and passed me on the outskirts of Burgos. His knee was bothering him a lot, and he was debating that he may need to quit. When he passed me that day, as I was taking pictures, it was the last time I saw him. I did hear a couple of weeks later that he did have to stop and go back to Switzerland. He had been walking since the beginning of August.
I walked alone today which was a change from the previous week. I felt a little isolated now because all the familiar faces were gone. Today would be the start of walking the meseta, the vast plains of northern Spain. This is the section of The Way that can be the most psychologically taxing because the landscape is flat and unchanging, with little shade for protection from the sun. It is categorized as boring. Some pilgrims elect to skip this part of the Camino, and take a bus to Leon and carry on from there. I was personally looking forward to it as the walking would be conducive to some contemplation and soul searching. At least, that is what just about every book I had read about it, said.
At one point in the walk today, when I had stopped for a break, I heard many bells. It was a shepherd, with his dog, herding his sheep. He must have had 100 sheep. The man led the way and the dog kept them moving along from behind. I watched them until they were out of site.
I got to the albergue in the small village of Hornillas, (pop. 70) and was soon joined by a familiar face. It was Kim, the girl from Holland. She had had a wonderful stay in the hotel in Burgos. She got a massage and a strange Tai treatment on her sore leg. It seemed to be helping. We went next door to the only bar/restaurant/store in town. The bar tender was a very friendly young man named Miguel, and he was playing “The Doors”. Kim and I sat outside in the setting sun, and met Philip (56), from Australia. I had passed Philip several times that day along the trail. I would stop for a break and he would pass me, then I would pass him again. He was walking very slow and was in a great deal of pain. His shins were swollen, red and warm to touch. Philip was an education administrator and was blogging his way across the Camino. He, like Kim, had a following who were reading about their experiences day by day. With the i-phone and Wi-Fi, it was relatively easy to do. A picture of Kim and I are featured in Philip’s blog on this day. 
The three of us went for the pilgrims menu at 7 pm in the restaurant in the back room of Miguel’s bar. It was a standard pilgrim’s meal with great green bean soup and lots of wine because Kim does not drink. So, Philip and I got to drink her share! Back at the albergue, bunking above me, was Diago (30’s) from Granada, Spain, and Marcel, a 75 year old Swiss man, who was walking the Camino to Santiago. He liked to walk, on average, 30 km a day. Those Swiss are crazy walkers. My legs continue to be hot and aching at night but other people seem to have bigger problems than me. I am grateful that my body is holding up.
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