Given that we had splurged on a hotel right near the city center (it is frequented by pilgrims), we took a late start. In honor of Kat’s Italian upbringing, today, we moved to Italian time.
7:45: B makes enough noise to wake Kat and Z
8:55: we are packed, feet are wrapped, and we head downstairs to check out
8:57: we eat the croissants we bought yesterday and check email
9:25: we head out to the brisk and sunny day
9:30: we stop at the Cathedral in time to hear the bells chime. Loudly. Lots of tourists waiting
9:42: Kat sees the cathedral open and wants to check it out. Z follows.
9:50: we depart in anticipation of the Maseta.
According to some pilgrims, the first stage of the Camino is where all the issues and troubles of your life come up as you walk. The second stage, through the flat, hot plains of the Maseta is purification where your mind is clear and blank. The third stage is when new thoughts and ideas for a new life or needed change comes. Seeing as how B’s mind went blank many, many kilometers ago except some Britney Spears song replaying in her head, she’s not sure what to expect on the Maseta.
But let’s get back to Italian time, shall we.
9:53: stop at bar for Kat’s cortado and Z’s bathroom break
10:00: stop at store for a baguette for lunch
10:05: we see the cutest line of schoolchildren in blue scarves, all wishing us a Buen Camino
10:15: stop at pharmacy for some vitamin C to prevent Kat’s cold
10:25: stop for Z’s second bathroom break
10:30: leave Burgos
We strolled through paths, waiting for the part where we climb to the Maseta and see nothing but flat ground. But first, we stopped in Tardajos for some Cokes and our pre-made salami sandwiches. As we strolled through town, several elderly folks stopped to give us directions and wish us a Buen Camino. One woman told us she had grew up across the street from where she now lives, and that she was on her way to wake up her grandchildren. She challenged us to guess her age. 88.
We then strolled through the quaint and well-maintained town of Rabe de las Calzadas that has a museum and a newer albergue with a good reputation.
Then we started the gradual descent. We could see one tree in the distance, but we just kept walking up a slight incline.
After what seemed forever, we reached the top and could see the valley and flat Meseta ahead. We made our way down a steep descent, meeting up with a man from Cape Town who is walking the Camino with his daughter.
We got into the charming town of Hornillos del Camino with one store, one bar, one church, and one albergue. As we were so late, the beds were full at the main building, but thankfully, they put overflow in the nearby government building. We think the building is the health center. Other folks were put in the gymnasium.
We met up with Joe, the retiree from Arizona, who has promised to cook his Italian pasta specialties (third generation from Sicily) with Kat at the next albergue with a big kitchen. A woman from Dusseldorf on her first day, two sisters from Mexico, and an Italian woman from Brazil waited in the kitchen with us in simple, understated albergue at the town center.
We washed our clothes and while we waited for our clothes to dry in the sun, we sat in the peaceful church where a Frenchman living in Holland who also started from St. Jean played achingly beautiful music on his violin to the small audience of appreciative pilgrims.
We had a simple and perfect dinner of tuna, olives, bread, and the freshest, sweetest tomatoes (even though some were shaped funny). We met the family with the baby, learning that they were from Quebec. The couples’s first Camino was when she was pregnant with Michael, last year they did it when he was five months old, and this year, they returned with Michael and her boyfriend’s three older children (who simply adore their baby brother), AND she is five months pregnant with their second baby. If this woman can walk pregnant and with a toddler, there seems little excuse for the rest of us.
In the evening, the town square bustled with pilgrims chatting, soaking the last rays of the sun, and coddling their wines. Relaxed, Italian style.