I got up pretty early in Sahagun. Maybe because I was claustrophobic, maybe because I just wanted to escape my cell. I met Diane early, and we went to the train station. While waiting, we met a German who was on his third Camino. He was also taking the train to Leon, however he was ending his Camino. He said that the Camino for him had lost its soul. This combined with Jerry’s words from Friday night (“the meseta is soul crushing”) rang true to me at the time. I was exhausted and needed to recoup.

We got to Leon in record time. The train station was across the river. We walked around a bit and then went to,the hotel to drop our large packs.

We went to the cathedral and took the tour. It was a beautiful in comparison to Burgos. Not as much gold and a lot of stained glass. We were lucky enough to pass a side chapel at mass time, so we stopped in. Even in this small chapel, with no more than one hundred in attendance, there were seven priests celebrating mass. I don’t know if I have ever been to any event in the U.S that had seven priests attending.

After mass I headed back to the hotel for a rest. I took a bath and a nap. Pure indulgence!

I had dinner with Diane in the old town and it started to rain as it was time to head back to the hotel (I almost typed ‘time to go home’. That’s how much I love this place ).

FitBit Stats:

Kilometers walked: 10.33
Steps taken: 14,077
Floors climbed: 0

I got up pretty early in Sahagun. Maybe because I was claustrophobic, maybe because I just wanted to escape my cell. I met Diane early, and we went to the train station. While waiting, we met a German who was on his third Camino. He was also taking the train to Leon, however he was ending his Camino. He said that the Camino for him had lost its soul. This combined with Jerry’s words from Friday night (“the meseta is soul crushing”) rang true to me at the time. I was exhausted and needed to recoup.

We got to Leon in record time. The train station was across the river. We walked around a bit and then went to,the hotel to drop our large packs.

We went to the cathedral and took the tour. It was a beautiful in comparison to Burgos. Not as much gold and a lot of stained glass. We were lucky enough to pass a side chapel at mass time, so we stopped in. Even in this small chapel, with no more than one hundred in attendance, there were seven priests celebrating mass. I don’t know if I have ever been to any event in the U.S that had seven priests attending.

After mass I headed back to the hotel for a rest. I took a bath and a nap. Pure indulgence!

I had dinner with Diane in the old town and it started to rain as it was time to head back to the hotel (I almost typed ‘time to go home’. That’s how much I love this place ).

FitBit Stats:

Kilometers walked: 10.33
Steps taken: 14,077
Floors climbed: 0

Since I had planned a short day of walking, I didn’t leave until 8:15. Today’s walk was to Sahagún, only 13km from Terradillos. It had a little bit more scenery than yesterday, rolling hills and a few towns. It was almost a stroll through the fields and then into town.

The town was having a fiesta (still trying to figure out the reason) and so all the rooms were booked. I went to one hotel and they said they had one small room for one person, but no others. Diane said that I should take it. She would look elsewhere. The receptionist worked a miracle and found her a room at another hotel.

I am in the smallest room I have ever seen. I can reach across the room and touch both walls. I think that there are jail cells larger than this. Not that I have experience in this topic. The cell in the Shawshank Redemption looks huge in comparison to my room tonight.

It’s only for one night, and then I am off to León tomorrow to stay at the Parador.

I spent the afternoon relaxing and exploring the town. No pilgrims meal for dinner, just croquettes, my first since coming to Spain. I must admit the croquettes in SF at Bask are better. Oh well, off to sleep early to catch the train first thing in the morning.

FitBit Stats:

Kilometers walked: 19.61
Steps taken: 26,714
Floors climbed: 36

Sadly, I had to leave my cucumber in Castrojeriz.

Today’s walk would be long, the longest so far. And the were very few stops along the Way. The Way lead out of Castrojeriz across the river valley. Then there was a steep incline (12%) for about 1.5 km to get us up to the meseta. There was a short walk across the meseta and then an even steeper decline into another valley

I crossed the valley, the whole time with a very cold wind. Even though the valley appeared immense when I first saw it, it took less than an hour to cross. Then I crossed the river Pisuerga on a beautiful six vaulted bridge. This crossing meant I was leaving Burgos and entering Palencia.

It was still a couple more kilometers to the first cafe in Itero de la Vega, so I kept walking while chatting with a French couple from Marseilles. I rested at Itero and had my hot chocolate (Cola Cap) and some bread and jam. It was another 8+ km to the next town, Boadilla. The path was uneventful, but fast.

I spent the vast majority of the day solo walking. It was quite peaceful after the two previous days. Those had been spent with Mary and Cathy and Veronica and Diana…just to name a few. It was a treat to just spend the day in quiet, listening to my boots crunch away the miles, uh, I mean, kilometers.

Just before Boadilla I came across a shepherd and his flock…so here’s the fun picture for the day.

In Boadilla I met Diane at her albergue. I was just looking for a bathroom, but ended up staying about an hour just catching up. It was late to get back on the trail, but I had reservations in Fromista.

The last 6-7 km were surprisingly pretty after a rather dull scenery day. The path ran through tree lined roads, and then next to the Canal de Castilla. It was nice to be walking near water again. It’s no Pacific Ocean, but I’ll take it. I crossed over a dam just before entering town.

The evening was uneventful, with the exception of the Korean pilgrim asking me what something was on the menu. I knew it was trout, but was at a loss for how to describe it, given her limited English. I asked if anyone had a pen, so I could draw it, but the restaurant (all five tables) turned into a game of menu charades. Everyone was trying to do their best swimming fish impersonation. Amusing to say the least. I must admit, my chicken imitation was understood in less than one second.

A good night sleep for another long day.

FitBit Stats:

Kilometers walked: 29.45
Steps taken: 40,137
Floors climbed: 71

Today was not a good day. I was feeling sick all throughout the night, and it didn’t subside in the morning. I had felt a cold coming on during the night, with my sinuses draining. To top it off, my stomach was also acting up…perhaps from something I ate. There was no pharmacy in Hornillos del Camino to buy Immodium, so I had to keep moving. The path today was manageable, but there was only one stop at the 11km for the whole day. Knowing that the path went through the desolate meseta, I was afraid to eat or drink anything with my stomach. After a long stretch, I did make it to Castrojirez. I was completely wiped out upon arrival. Dehydration and just plain fatigue. I found the farmacia, and got the Spanish version of Immodium

After recouping from the day I went and had a well deserved dinner: Traditional Castilian garlic soup, chicken, and for the first time this entire trip….flan!

To bed, and to sleep early.

Pictures from the day:

The Way

The ruins at San Antón

The picture I do not have:
Just outside Castrojirez we hear this voice from down in the field next to the road. It is saying “Hey Camino! Hey Camino!” We finally see through the bushes that it is an older man. He keeps saying “Camino!” We think that he is telling us that we have taken a wrong turn and have missed the Camino. But we assure him that we are on the right path. He continues motioning to us. Finally he throws some thing at us. It is a large cucumber from his garden. He threw one to Diane and then he threw one to me. We thanked him and continued on our way.

You can’t make this stuff up.

FitBit Stats:

Kilometers walked: 26.24
Steps taken: 35,752
Floors climbed: 70

This was an intentional rest day. I slept in, had a quick breakfast and went to see the Miró exhibit. I had lunch with Jo and Mariette. I spent my siesta time trying to figure Siesta, out when I was going to get to Sarria. Still working on that.

I also found out that there are no rooms in the hotel for tomorrow, so I am not looking forward to Monday.

After siesta, I toured the cathedral–obscene amounts of gold. I went for a quick drink with Jo, and then off to pilgrim’s mass.

Day and night:

FitBit Stats:

Kilometers walked: 7.97
Steps taken: 10,856
Floors climbed: 21

Even the guide book warns that this is the most boring part of the walk. Some guidebooks (not the one that I have) even suggest taking a bus from Burgos to Leon.
I know some people who have done/are doing just that. But I am re-learning a lesson from a a couple of weeks ago. It’s not the trail, it is the people that make the Camino.

Today, after getting lost leaving Burgos (yes, I stupidly followed some more Spaniards) I met up with Diane from San Clemente. I had met he briefly in Villamayor de Monjardin, but had not seen her since. We walked at the same pace, so we walked about 15 km together. We had a lot in common, and at the end of the day on a random subject, I found out that she had worked in the same hospital as my dad.

In the afternoon I went down to the tendia to sit in the sun. This is where I met Karin from Holland. She had started walking from her house. She said that she had already walked over 1700 km. She also said that two years ago, she was so sick that she could not even walk one kilometer. Now she intends to walk to Finisterre and then begin to walk back to her house. I asked her what she had been so sick with, and she said uterine cancer. They had taken everything out and even parts of her colon. She went through chemo and radiation. And she said she was walking the Camino because she could walk.
We didn’t talk too much more because two old Spanish ladies came and sat between us on the bench. They were complaining (I think) about their arthritis, but said they felt much better when they sat in the sun.

Had a pilgrim’s dinner with the other guests at the albergue, and a rough night’s sleep, because I was not feeling well.

There are not many pictures from today. But there were people that I was meant to meet.

Instead of pictures, here’s a song that I’ve been thinking about.

FitBit Stats:

Kilometers walked: 24.86
Steps taken: 33,874
Floors climbed: 37

The weather has changed quite drastically in the past few days. This morning it was in the low 40’s when I got up. Since my knee was not improving and most pilgrims recommend missing the 15km of industrial suburbs of Burgos I opted to take the bus to town. Joining me were Jo and Marnie.

I had a huge breakfast at the hotel including hot chocolate

Is it hot chocolate or is it pudding? Yes.

We got down to the bus stop and met a young American, Amos, from Minnesota. He was also taking the bus to Burgos. He had blisters on his feet and had spent two days in the municipal albergue in Villafranca. He was very homesick and just wanted to go home. Between the three of us, Marnie, Jo and myself, we tried to cheer him up.

We took him around Burgos and got him situated in an albergue. He joined us we wandered around town and even on my oh-so exciting quest for new socks (the Thorlo cool max socks are taking three days to dry, and are a bit too big to fit in my boots any more.) We met up for lunch and then broke for siesta.

On my way the my hotel, I ran into the three Canadian guys. I invited them to meet up for dinner.

During siesta I caught up on my blog entries. I am staying at the El Cid, and my room is right across from the Cathederal de Santa Maria. I know I am not staying in the albergues with all the faithful pilgrims, but my hotels are always next to the biggest churches. Maybe with my hotel choices, I am getting a little closer to God.

Burgos is a much busier town than Logroño was. It is a bit of sensory overload coming from days of solitary walking and nights in towns with an average population of 100.

Local candy for sale at the medieval faire

There were 14 of us for dinner, just a busier time. (Everything is busier here.) After dinner I went to have a drink, and was treated to a medieval parade and a long conversation on South African politics. (Corruption, corruption, corruption)

It was a restful day. It was first time that this felt like a vacation. Taking another day off tomorrow.

FitBit Stats:

Kilometers walked: 7.4
Steps taken: 13,026
Floors climbed: 21

Not wanting a repeat of yesterday’s pre-dawn escapades, I opted to leave later today. The walk today would not be too long. In the Brierly guide it suggested staying in San Juan de Ortega, but this is a very small town (population 20) and only has 70 beds for Pilgrims. Since I am a slow walker, I didn’t think that I would make it to town to claim one of the 70 beds. I opted to stay in Villafranca.

The walk was quick. I actually tried to slow down, so as not to get to the albergue too early. I stopped in each of the three towns between Belorado and Villafranca: Tsantos, Villambistia and Espinosa del Camino. They were all pretty small towns. I did manage to meet a farmer in Tsantos who was transporting a load of live chickens in a wheel barrow. I did not get a picture of this. I was a little dumbstruck by it all.

The path was smooth and relatively easy with a gentle ascent of only 125 meters.

Between Espinosa del Camino and Villafranca there was a field of sunflowers which were wilted on the stalk. Other pilgrims had left messages for those after them. It certainly added a bit of variety to the walk today.

In Villafranca I stayed at the San Anton Abad. This was a hotel with an albergue in the back. The owner of the hotel has walked the Camino and converted part of the hotel to albergue as a means of giving back.

The church in Villafranca, right across from the hotel/albergue.

I had dinner with Jo from Warwick England and Jeremy from Oxford. After dinner the wireless finally began to work and I made plans for the next day in Burgos.

All in all a quiet day, peaceful and restful.

FitBit Stats:

Kilometers walked: 17.01
Steps taken: 23,181
Floors climbed: 63