Day 15 - walking from Burgos to Hontañas (29km)

Leaving Burgos the trail matched up again with the N-120 highway in the direction of Leon. There have been a number of times the path crosses over the highway or goes alongside it in the narrow shoulder. This is another of the modern day hazards.

Late morning I passed through a town called Rabe de la Calzada. While I was looking around a woman in the street asked if I had gotten a stamp yet and I said no. She brought me to house next to church and an older woman appeared with a rubber stamp and ink pad. As I got out my Credencial ( a passport of sorts for the pilgrimmage) she asked me where I was from. When I replied Canada she said Canada or Quebec. Everyone asks that question and it is starting to get to me a little. It seems there are quite a few Quebecois who do the camino and one Spanish person suggested it was because a famous actor from Quebec has been promoting it. It was interesting stamp because it read ´Ayuntamiento´which is town hall. Usually stamps are given out in albergues, churches or tourism offices.

Leaving Rabe the sky was grey and a strong wind was blowing. While I walked uphill I felt like I was walking in slow motion and then when I started downhill the opposing pulls of gravity and the wind made me have the sensation I was floating. Not long after I started my path was blocked by a herd of sheep. They stood and stared at me as I walked through them. There was also a donkey and a couple goats in the group. I think a farmer was cleaning out his barn. None followed me and my walking stick thank goodness. I had started reading a book before I left about a man who was preparing to do the pilgrimmage with a donkey and occasionally when I am in the middle of the city or a muddy field I think how awkward it would be to be leading a large animal.

I walked through a couple of other towns that were like ghost towns mostly because it was the middle of the afternoon which is lunch or siesta time. I climbed up another hill and at last I had reached the Meseta, the flat area of central Spain. Meseta is basically Spanish for Saskatchewan but with a few more hills. I was planning on stopping at San Bol, but the refuge was closed. I put my feet in the icy spring water which is said to cure all ails. The water felt really refreshing, but I looked at my watch and realized I had very little time before sunset and another 6 km. I found out I can walk 6km an hour if I need to. It kept getting darker and darker and I saw nothing on the horizon. Walking was starting to feel like work, so I started singing all the songs I could think of to distract myself and finally the town church appeared in a bit of a valley and I made it to the albergue. I can walk longer distances, but I need to start earlier in the day because I usually average about 4km an hour with my big back pack. It was feeling much lighter at that point because most of the water was gone.