Saturday 6th May
Distance 31.5km / 19.5 miles
Burgos – Hontanas
Today was not a day to be up and about before dawn. The rules said you couldn’t leave until after breakfast. It was a simple shared breakfast of bread and jam with coffee. Staying in this parochial albergue was just what I needed. The accommodation was quite modern and very clean and the hospitality was second to none. Thinking back I recognised something about the seriousness of being a pilgrim, not an absence of joy, but more how this was not a task to be undertaken casually. It was 8.00am by the time I left. I had no place reserved to sleep that night and it was preying on my mind. I kept reminding myself of the promises of God but it dominated the walk today.
The walk out of Burgos was ok, though the route in the centre of the city wasn’t well marked. So it was through extensive suburbs and the University out into the countryside.
I got to the village of Rabe del Camino and stopped at a cafe for a drink and a comfort break. It was only mid morning and too soon to stop for the day so I continued on. This was the start of the area called the Meseta. Its mainly rolling hills with endless wheat fields, occasional villages and for some people very little else. Some pilgrims even get a bus and miss this section out altogether. Some guidebooks talk about this region being a challenge to the mind, the first part being a physical challenge, I’m not sure but I wasn’t going to miss it.
The village of Hornillos del Camino was my new goal for the day. It was getting hot and the trail went up and down, though it felt more up than down. I arrived at Hornillos full of hope only to discover that ‘there was no room at the inn’. Every albergue I came to had a Completo sign saying they were full. I tried a couple without signs but they were full too. It seemed the place was overrun with pilgrims, there were even backpacks lying in the streets. At this point I began to panic. I telephoned the municipal Albergue in the next village Hontanas and worked out with my rudimentary Spanish that they had space now but they couldn’t reserve anything. I realised all I could do was walk to the next village and hope for the best. It was a further 10.5km / 6 miles through hot and barren countryside. I was not mentally prepared for that.
I finally arrived in Hontanas, hot, sweaty, tired and aching all over. As I entered the village I saw the Albergue Juan de Yepes. I went in and stood in a queue at the reception/bar. I couldn’t quite believe it when they said they had beds and checked me in. It made me wonder whether I am really cut out for this faith thing.
After showering and doing my laundry I was sitting having a beer when I came across Cublin and his partner who I had met before Burgos. It was good to catch up. I also got talking with a lad from Liverpool. He had already walked the Camino five times so this was his sixth. He gave the reason for setting out as his feelings of despair, as a lifelong Everton supporter fearing that they might be relegated. I got into a surprisingly deep conversation with him and learnt about his poor upbringing with his father in prison most of the time and his embracing of Buddhism.
There was a lovely communal meal. While I eat a lot of paella I chatted to a couple of ladies from New Zealand and an Irish couple. The day ended on a high despite the challenges getting this far.