Day 14: Burgos to Hornillos del Camino (Wendy)

 That’s it. We’ve officially been walking for two weeks. We’ve also moved into the Meseta, the most controversial part of the Camino Frances. Many people choose to rent bikes (or even hop on a bus) for this part, as it’s viewed by some as boring. Long days on the high plateau. The other camp vehemently claims that it is the very best part of the Camino experience and should not be missed or rushed. We shall see.

So far, I will say that the scenery, while less breathtaking perhaps, is serene and lovely. We were especially happy that we did not get rain until the last two hours today, so we arrived wet but not drenched. We are also happy to have a private room with a communal bath in a new albergue. And we’ll get our first paella tonight for the shared meal! 

In many regards, the private room in an albergue gives us the best of both worlds: privacy and space to spread out and not worry about others’ schedules, but still a community connection with shared meals and conversation in the common room while enjoying a snack and cerveza in the late afternoon. I really like it.

Today definitely felt like the first day of a new stage of the Camino. Many of the people we’ve been walking with have either ended their walk or are taking a rest day in Burgos. So today we were walking mostly with new potential friends. Met two men from Minneapolis and a young fellow named Sam from Manchester. And finally introduced ourselves to a British man whom we’ve walked with from the beginning but have never formally met. He’s seems a bit reserved but kindhearted. I was walking right behind him on the most treacherous part into Zubiri on the third day out. He gave a woman who was struggling on the slick rocks one of his poles so she could make it down safely. Perhaps he will warm up to conversation over time. 

Or not. That’s one nice thing about the Camino. There’s never a need to force a connection or conversation. Things tend to evolve quite organically and the people you have an affinity with emerge naturally. We had an instant connection with three folks from Ireland yesterday who were staying at our same albergue and eating dinner next to us in the one local restaurant. Lovely people who ended their walk in Burgos. I’ve decided we must go to Ireland at some point as the people seem to be uniformly delightful.