Burgos to Hornillos del Camino

May 1, 2016 Sunday

From Burgos onto the Meseta and Hornillos del Camino     Walking Day #13

I was able to leave Burgos early on Sunday morning, at about 8 AM. It was cold, a thermometer reported 4 degrees, which is about 38 degrees fahrenheit. I am glad I got the wool hat, and I am glad I have gloves.

Walking out of Burgos was very different than walking in to Burgos. While walking in, there were no yellow arrows or way markers to be seen (but I may have been far off the path), and the streets did not have any signposts or other indicators I could locate. Once into the old city (past the Arch of San Juan), it seems that every street is clearly identified, and the Camino path is very clearly marked with a variety of way markers and yellow arrows.

Once out of the old city, the Camino path is along a park by the river, then over a bridge and continues along the river park.

The Camino is clearly identified with these brass Camino shells in on the brick-looking walkway, about every 30-40 feet.

Where the walkway changes to a concrete-tile looking composition, we see these pressed-concrete Camino shells also about every 10-15 meters.

And, along the street, even with the shells on the walkway, there are clear signs.

Just on the outside of town, there is a small park with benches. Many pilgrims stop here for a break. I took a break to shed a layer as the sun was out and warming us nicely. I met a young woman, Meagan, who lives in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, and is walking the Camino to spend some time contemplating her direction in her professional training of trauma and abuse counseling. This is her first day walking; she started the Camino in Burgos because of limited time. She asked many questions, and I told her that this is her experience and to follow her instincts about how long to walk, where to stay, etc. I also suggested that she not try to do too much too soon, and she already had that as a plan. We walked fairly slowly today which suited me well after my rest day.

Once out of town, we continue into farmland, and eventually arrive back at the river for about a kilometer or more.

Finally, we are far away from the town of Burgos and back out in the farmland. Today we are all heading for the meseta, a long plains-like area of Spain (where "the rain in spain falls mainly on the plain.") that is known for grain farms and sheep. We will be on the meseta for over a week, up to the city of León. 

One last time we cross the river, and here I found a Camino shell marker built in to the bridge railing.

Here we are out in the farmland, walking gradually uphill to the meseta. That is part of Meagan on the far right.

The walk from Burgos to Hornillos del Camino was only 22 kilometers (13 miles), and as we descendes into a river valley, we could see Hornillos del Camino in the distance. This is always a bit problematic, because when you can see your end point, it seems so close, but takes so long to get there.

Once I got into the town of Hornillos del Camino I bid farewell to Meagan as she went off to investigate a couple of albergues. My hotel is out of the town, and my instructions were to call them and they would pick me up. I called, told them where I was, and in about five minutes, a man approached and told me my ride woud be about 45 minutes, and I should get some lunch, because there was no lunch at the hotel. So I had a nice lunch, and after a little while I was driven out to the out-of-town hotel.

The El Molina hotel is far out of town, out in the farmland. No mobile phone service, no internet, quite isolated, but quite nice, too. It is a large farmhouse converted into what we would call a slightly elaborate B&B.

Because of language differences, I did not get the story straight, but either a scene from the film "The Way" was shot at this hotel, or Emilio Estevez and Martin Sheen stayed here while filming. There were several framed, signed posters in the living room area. [I have seen the film more than once, and I cannot think of a scene that reminds me of the El Molina hotel.]

There were only six of us there: a couple from Germany, a couple from Brazil, a man from Ireland, and me. Dinner was a communal dinner, and it was very good from the oeur d'ourves to the salad, to the main dishes, and the desert. The company was delightful, and we all had a very nice evening.

Breakfast the next morning was good. The German couple and the Irish man left in the car to be dropped off to continue walking on the Camino, and about a half hour later, the Brazilian couple and I were driven back to the Camino.

Next: Walking to Castrojeriz with the Brazilians