And there's another day of happy walking or hiking. I think it's really walking, as I conside hiking a bit more strenous! At keast for me!!!
Despite having a room to myself, I really didn't sleep well. Why? I've no idea, but I swear no one goes to bed early. There was a playground outside the hostel and this one kid was a shrieker. Every few minutes, a wild shriek. It's hard to fall asleep with that noise!! Then I swear when the kid was quiet, I heard a couple fighting.
And the toilet ran in my room. I put the earplugs in, but I never seemed to have a good sleep. But thatˋs OK - Iˋll manage and hopefully make up the sleep tonight. I also didnˋt set an alarm and perhaps that was keeping me awake -- worrying that I didnˋt oversleep.
No worry of that -- at 6:03 AM I was awake! I got ready and left shortly after 6:30 AM. I still had to walk about 3.5 KM to get to the starting point of the stage, which was in old Burgos. You know --- it never occurred to me that I could take a taxi yesterday to arrive there. That is NOT a word in my vocabulary. It never was. Even when I did the bike trips, I needed to ride every (EFI) inch of the way. Thatˋs just the way my brain is wired!!
It was a nice walk down the street and not many people about, but the street cleaners were out in full force. They use street cleaners on the sidewalks and there are garbage people. I donˋt know how the people in North American (at least in my city) would cope if they had the same garbage system as here. There are large receipicals in the streets - even for recyling and sometimes for organics. Instead of the garbage trucks coming to your house, you must take your garbage to the recepticals. Imagine how much money that would save on garbage pickup? And there is no unsightly garbage blowing around or waiting to be picked up. No excess crap. It's all very civilized.
But the complaints -- can you imagine the indigination people would feel that they had to actually take their garbage somewhere other than the curb?
I stopped otuside the alberque where I was going to stay and had a chocolate pastry. Those things are starting to grow on me. The real ones from the bakery, not the processed ones, are to die for!!!
Then I stopped by the Catherdral de Santa Maria, which is magnifiient. Itˋs so large, that itˋs almost impossible to appreciate itˋs total grandeur. And please don't yell at me, but the difference between the churches (inside and out) is huge from the houses the villagers live in. Just saying......... me? I prefer to see how the people live, not the splendor that the church amassed. The start of the gap between the rich and the poor? You decide!
The markings were not easy to follow at this point, but with the assistance of the map, I got on track and then it was easy to get out of Burgos. It felt good to be among my fellow pilgrims, since I didn't see many the previous day.
The walk to get out of Brurgos was long and I was getting tired of walking on the hard surfaces. At one point, an older couple MARCHED past. They were going so fast, I wondered if they were dong the Camino, but they had backpacks, but that doesn't mean anything. Then a few KMs ahead, they were stopped -- shoes and socks off and I never saw them again. Perhaps they stopped at an albergue along the way.
Then at another rest stop, I noticed a group of young people who were were having something to eat. They were there when I arrived and they were there when I left. Then at this albergue, I saw them arrive in town at least TWO hours after I did. WOW-- I cannot imagine dragging the walk out. Iˋm not walking super fast but in this heat, I canˋt imagine walking so late.
I donˋt want to make a general statement, but it appears the older folk walk to get in somewhat early and the younger ones doddle and make life really challenging. And the complaints from the youngers ones about joints! OK--- whstever. Maybe they were all dancers or football players in high school!
After we left Burgos, we started to walk the Meseta. I wouldn't really call it a desert, but it's very much like Saskatchewan where they grow crops, not many trees and it's wide open and can be hot without shade.
There are still hills, which we have o climb and descend but not like the mountains. At one point, I needed a break and to check my feet as I could feel one spot that wasnˋt happy. Notice -- I am stopping and not letting it go!!! At that moment, there was an oasis - literally. Just a short distance off the track was a small grove of trees with benches.
You know, people joke about the Camino and how it provides what you need when you need it and itˋs so true. So many things have happened that happened at the right time. Itˋs all about believing that things will work out, which has always been my philosophy.
There was a long climb up to where we spotted more wind turbines. I have to say I was disappointed when I arrived at the top. Why? It was flat - I was hoping to see the other side and esepcially hoping to see the village for tonight.
So I trudged across that plain and then POOF -- there was the valley and the village. Yes -- this one is in the valley. The descent was quite steep, but on good road, so not an issue. I think in total, I walked 24 KM as I had to make up some of the distance I didnˋt get to yesterday. So another good day.
When I arrived in the village, the first thing I saw was the groery store, so I got a COLD Coke and guzzled it. Then a shower, did the laundry which I must check soon. In this heat, I would imagine that it's all dry. Lots of sunscreen today, so hopefully I'm good wth no burns. Everythigng feels good.
This is a very modern albergue in the middle of nowhere! It blows my mind!!! There's a pool in the back, so after my shower and removing the dressings on my toes (notice I'm not saying bandaids, because I'm NOT using bandaids), I plunked my feet into the pool. Yikes-- that's was cold!!!!
Then off for lunch - a salad and a beer. Back to the albergue for a nap! It seems I'm with an entirely diffeent group of people today. More people speak English, but are from Netherlands and Germany.
There's a ccouple across the table from me who have been discussing the route since before I sat down to write the blog. I'm not sure why as there's very little to discuss over the next couple of days, unless they are trying to walk more.
But the heat has arrived as we knew it would. We'e been very lucky so far. However, there are several things in our favor. I try to get in befoe it gets too hot. Today, it was 27 when I arrived. There is ZERO humidity here, so when it says 27, it means 27. Itˋll get up to 35 this afternon and I notice that our room faces the sun! Yikes!!! Thatˋs going to be hot.
But the hottest time of the day is aound 3 - 5 PM -- just when those young people were arriving. Thank goodness, Iˋm not walking with them - Iˋd be dead on the side of the road!
Being on the Camino or any other hiking expediture or even camping, is all about effiiency and putting things back where they belong. Iˋll try to explain one thing per day that I brought. I have a small ziploc bag with my electronics. I have ONE USB charger block for Europe. Then I have FOUR things that need to be charged and I have ONE charge cable for each. I brought a 6-foot charge cord for the phone which needs to be charged each day. The 6-foot cord is in case, Iˋm in the top bunk and the plug is not. I have a charger for my FitBit, which I hate because itˋs big, but it is what it is. That needs to be charged about every 6 days. Then I have a charge cable for the keyboard, which I havenˋt had to charge yet, and the final electronic thing is my headlamp, which I haveˋt used and wish I had left at home. Thatˋs it for electronics and thatˋs enough!!!!
The one sentence of the day:
Started to walk on the Meseta which is interesting. Itˋs not really desert, but quite desolate. Wheat, oats and barley, and more sunflowers! Today was a bit on the HOT side compared to the previous days. But I was in before it got above 30 C.
Have a super day!!!
Ciao!!!!!
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