Day 11
We walked from Santo Domingo de Calzada to Belorado. “We” is Sue, Mark and Jeff. Kim and Malcolm took the bus since Malcolm was still not up to walking with his abscess and infection in his belly button. It took about 20 minutes on the bus to go the distance that the walkers covered in about 6 + hours!
As Malcolm and I waited 2 hours for the bus, we saw Michelle from St. Pete again at the bus depot. Crazy to run into someone from home, again. We took a short walk around the town only to realize that we left our walking poles at the albergue that we had stayed at the night before. They close and lock the albergues usually at 8 am to clean for the group arriving in the afternoon. We went back and knocked and knocked on the door. Finally someone came who had been mopping the floors and he let us in and let us get our poles. Whew!
The albergue that we stayed in at Belorado had a swimming pool. A great relief after all the walking.
Day 12
We walked from Belorado to Villafranca Montes de Oca. Malcolm was still not up to walking so he and Jeff took the bus. We walked through one small, sad town, only to come to another, that was worse, and the third that was really bad. Many villages seem virtually deserted. One Irish girl that we talked to who is walking the Camino suggested that you would have to be born into that small village environment to be able to adapt to it. If you came from anywhere else, you would not be able to adapt to the remote, isolated lifestyle. Malcolm has suggested that you would have to have a LOT of hobbies!
We stayed at an albergue owned by a man who has walked the Camino, and actually also walked to Rome, and Jerusalem, and over 60,000 kilometers as a pilgrim. He was busy working on his hotel and albergue and he gave us a notebook of newspaper articles in a host of languages about his many kilometers of pilgrimage. Amazing!
Day 13
We walked from Villefranca (these Villafranca towns are places where French people who walked the Camino decided to settle on their way back) to Atapuerca. At this albergue, we all stayed in one small room.
Atapuerca is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because in caves nearby, the oldest human remains in Europe have been found. They date back over 900,000 years. There is an active archeological site, and a visitors center, as well as tours of the site.
We booked a tour for the next morning.
Day 14
We got up and prepared to leave the albergue with plans to head to the archeological visitors center for the tour of the actual archeological site where the oldest human remains in Europe have been found. We planned to take the bus to Burgos following the tour, but there is only one bus a day at 8:30 a.m. Then we met Fernando, who was also staying at the same albergue, going on the archeological tour, and heading to Burgos. He told us that we could take a bus from the archeological center into Burgos. When we got to the center, sure enough, we were told that after the tour to the site, we could stay on the bus and it would take us to Burgos. The archeological bus goes to the Museum of Human Evolution in Burgos that is associated with the site in Atapuerca. So, with the help of Fernando, an art teacher in Avilla, Spain, we were able to see the archeological site and proceed to Burgos.
The site was great. The tour was led by an archeology professor. Unfortunately for us, it was all in Spanish. There was an audio visual presentation, and we saw the archeologists digging through the dirt, and there were interpretive exhibits about the life style of the early humans, as well as information about the find and the exploration process. It was very interesting.
Then, the bus took us to Burgos, less than half an hour away, a major city in the region. When we got off the bus, we made our way to a small albergue, then headed to the cathedral, a must see in Burgos. We spent about 2 hours there and were grateful for the audioguides in English. It is an amazing church. One unbelievable chapel after another. Varying styles of art and architecture. My favorite part of the cathedral was the amazing clear glass star in the ceiling in the middle of the nave. Spectacular!
While I was saturated with Atapuerca and the cathedral, Jeff had the energy to go to the Museum of Human Evolution. He said it was amazing, tracing biological evolution as well as immigration and more.
Day 15
We all walked today. Malcolm finally back up to speed. His abscess has drained and is healing, the pain gone, and his strength returning. He had been hoping that the infection would lead to his being sent home, but no such luck. (He misses his friends, the beach, his friends, St. Pete, his friends, his home, his friends, and all things American. . .) We walked from Burgos to Hornillos del Camino, about 21 kilometers. We went through several towns and wheat fields, wheat fields, wheat fields! The walking was exposed with no shade. When we got to Hornillos, we headed to the albergue and got signed in. Jeff and I arrived later than Sue and Mark and Malcolm, and they worked on first come, first served, so Jeff and I were assigned to a different room. No problem. We went out to eat, and then back to the albergue to play spades, which Malcolm is teaching us.
The albergue faced a small town square, where there were benches. About 6 older people from the town sat on the benches and watched the pilgrims. These crazy people from all over the world who are walking hundreds of miles to Santiago, right through their village of some 70 residents, if that! The world comes to them, and they are taking it in!
Day 16
Today we walked about 20 k again, from Hornillos to Castrojewiz. Wheat fields and wind farms all day. It is a beautiful testimony to the harmony of humanity and nature. It was sunny and windy, so the temperature was pleasant. In fact, it was so windy our laundry blew off the line and we had to go chasing it on the terrace and the sidewalk below! Our guide books tells us that we are 460k from Santiago, or 285 miles. We might actually make it!
Lakewood United Church of Christ 