We got up, left our adorable albergue and headed out! It was back to lots of green today which was nice. It was overall, just another day of walking. We had to walk pretty far to get to the first town to be able to stop for breakfast. It was a cute cafe and low and behold, who catches up to us? Silvano. He passed us at breakfast with two friends and we passed them when they stopped. Debbie was laughing at our breakfast choices this morning because I got a banana and coffee and she got yummier treats!

The walk was mostly flat and went directly through these cool ruins. Before the ruins, I was COMPLETELY anxious because the path was narrow through a beautiful countryside and all I could hear were all the BEES. It was stressing me out, being able to hear all of them buzz, that I had to put my headphones in and listen to my audiobook to drown it out! Eventually Silvano’s group caught up to me (Debbie said to head on) and Silvano walked the last couple of kilometers with me coming chatting which was nice. Once we got to the outskirts of Castrojeriz, I found a bench to wait for Debbie.

We decided to go to the municipal albergue at the end of town for a shorter walk the next day. In doing that, we has to walk around a giant castle on a hill. I saw the road to the Castillo and decided I was going to do it later! We made it to the albergue, got settled, rested. My shin or shins (depending on the moment) were still on fire. I put some oil I bought at the farmacia in Burgos, filled up my water from a fountain in the square and headed out to the road I saw led to the castle.

Honestly, it took me about 3/4 of the walk up to finally calm down and stop panicking. I was walking up a hillside trail, alone, past abandoned houses and buildings, in a tiny town, in a foreign country, where I don’t really speak the language. That’s like the beginning of every news headline of women who end up dead abroad. Doing something alone in a foreign place. I’ve also seen that horror movie! I know how it ends. So, that was fun. I worked really hard to not let my own external fears get in the way of me being able to do what I want and be able to enjoy it, by myself. After 3/4 of the way, almost turning back, steering clear of a person walking down, and a group of nice cycalists passing me, I was sure I wasn’t going to die. At least, not be murdered. The heat and incline up to the castle might kill me, but not people!

I made it to the top and what a sight to see! It was absolutely GORGEOUS. I went all the way to the castle, where the bikers were exploring and took tons of photos.

AND! Because technology is sometimes freaking AWESOME I was able to use the camera feature of Google translate (even offline cause I had Spanish downloaded) to hover over and READ all of the signs explaining the history of the castle! It wasnt flawless, but absolutely well enough that I could understand what I was looking at, where I was standing, and what happened. So that was rad! So for example here is the same paragraph in both Spanish and the Google translate.

Castle was mostly empty, except for the bikers who ultimately left. So I had the place to myself! Full of steep narrow staircases and beautiful views of the whole valley. I took a photo of what I think our path for tomorrow is, from the top of the castle, but I’m not sure if it’s right.

When I got back, Debbie said to me that I would never guess who was sleeping next to us and I didn’t know who. IT’S THE PRIEST! Everyone has been talking about the priest on this journey and I have been wanting to see him! He’s in the bed next to us and has this giant statue of Mary he is carrying around. Intense!

We went out to eat, had some paella and sat in the sun. My shins have been terrible lately. Just shooting pain up the front of them, but on the outside muscle. No good. And after the walk to the castle today, I was done. They hurt so bad. Debbie was going to look for the pharmacy, but Silvano’s instructions were vague and her feet hurt too much to wander around. However, two lovely ladies from Quebec offered to go for her and alas, we have made two new friends. Cousins, Marguerite and Cyrille. They were the two young ladies walking with Silvano into town. We talked to them for a while and they are just wonderful!

Day mileage: 11.9
Total mileage: 214.7
Personal mileage: 15.93

The lights turned on in the entire albergue soooo early. I wasn’t ready. But we got up, got ready and as we were leaving, so was Aaron. We had him take a nice photo of us in place of our standard selfie. It was in front of the cathedral which is SO stinking beautiful. They began construction on it in 1221 and based it off of French Gothic design. The architecture is absolutely stunning. You could pay to go tour it. Buuuut… We didn’t.

So because Aaron left with us, he walked with us for quite a while. Debbie ultimately dropped back cause people’s conversations for too long bother her. Aaron walked with me for the first 8 kilometers or so. Talked about his life being in a children’s home, racism in Arkansas, and his goal of opening a school in the D.R. Very interesting. He was a nice guy, just, interesting. He says ‘bless’ ‘bless their heart’ and ‘atta girl’ more than I ever care to hear. So, by the time we got to the first stop I was ready for a break from Aaron. I used waiting for Debbie as my crutch to get him to keep walking. He was going to wait with me. I insisted he didn’t.

We stopped at the cafe, running into Emma, Kirean, Frances, Lisa, and Keith. We sat outside with them until they left. Aaron was inside. As we began to leave, the Aussies came up and sat down. That’s that small time Camino experience. We packed back up and headed out. After a gradual incline, we had lots of flat. But it was absolutely stunning. We were very lucky that everything is green this time of year. We have seen so many Camino pictures of these beautiful fields being yellow, brown, and dried up. We had a pretty steep decline down into Hornillos. I wanted to take a picture at the top with Debbie before we dropped down because it was so dang beautiful. Debbie urged me to push ahead so I did, and I got us two beds at a very adorable albergue in a woman’s house. We washed our clothes in her cute backyard where I left my Fitbit next to the laundry sink and panicked two hours later when I realized it. We went to the first restaurant and ordered from the Pilgrim menu. I finally remembered to not ask for tuna and my salad was perfect! Also, we got to choose water or wine and I decided and clearly ordered water. He definitely brought me wine. Debbie was cracking up saying it must have looked like to him that I needed the wine! Too funny.

Aaron was there, waiting for his friends to decide if they were going to press on or not. While we were there the Aussies passed through, Rupert came through and Valentina! She, Silvano, Rachel, and Rupert had got an air bnb together which was apparently not as glamorous as the rest of us hoped it would be. They were out late so Valentina left, Rachel stayed the day in Burgos and she wasn’t sure what happened to Silvano until he walked in about an hour later as she was leaving. He was staying in Hornillos too. Aaron’s group was and a few other people we met through New York from London and Germany. We went back to the albergue and I laid in bed frantically catching up on my blog, almost falling asleep.

I wanted to go walk around this tiny Town and Debbie was looking for some ice cream- or candy! We checked the town once without much luck and then I did another loop on my own. I went a little farther a different direction and found the supermarket, which had chocolate. I went and told Debbie and then called my Dad for Father’s Day. I talked to my parents and brother for a while which was nice. It was a small town and because of the World Cup, everyone was going to watch the match. It was Mexico vs. Germany and there was a guy from Mexico in the bar with us, jersey and all! Hes been carrying that jersey and wearing it. If you don’t want to know how the game ended, don’t read past this sentence.

Literally no one thought Mexico would win. I didn’t either. So I went to watch the last ten minutes of the game only to be SERIOUSLY surprised along with everyone else that Mexico was up one. Everyone we have met along the way that stayed in Hornillos was in this bar. We watched to the end. Through the excitement of the one guy, tears to his eyes for his team. Everyone applauded for him, it was so incredibly sweet. Silvano was standing with me for a while, talking about soccer and when Italy not being in the World Cup got brought up he immediately threw his hand over his heart and said “we do not speak of this. It is a national tragedy” which was extremely heartfelt and humorous.

Day mileage: 12.9
Total mileage: 202.80
Personal mileage: 14.85

I was definitely the last one up this morning, whoops! I was up way later than I ever intended to be, but hey, we made it out by 7.

The walk to Burgos was pretty uneventful. There was just one hill in the beginning to get up and over and after that, mostly flat. This hill had some serious rocky points.

Even though we had cut time out of the original walk in, making the actual mileage of today shorter, it felt long and Debbie was not feeling well. It started out just fine. We stopped for breakfast, saw Frances, Lisa, and Keith. Chatted, ate, and headed out. But after that, Debbie’s feet were just killing her. Not sure what happened, but she was not well. She doesn’t know why either. Went through some small towns and accidentally took the street route instead of the nature one. Not what we intended, but what happened. It just made most of our walk into Burgos flat, industrial, hot, and full of concrete. Which was NOT helping Debbie.

We got to Burgos with some confusion. Big cities are the worst at posting Camino signs it seems. But once again, the kindness of strangers proved evident when a confused Debbie and Desirée were graciously helped by two different noticing strangers passing by and stopping on their own to offer help. And once again, a kind human walked us the right way. People are inherently good, I know it.

We got to the albergue just as it was opening and waited FOREVER to get checked in. Debbie was not doing well. She went and sat inside while the line dragged on. Eventually, we got registered and sent to the third floor. I immediately jumped in an open shower, by the time I got out, Debbie was passed out asleep. We had seen Emma going up to our bunks and her and I agreed to meet up later. So until then, I decided to wander around the city on my own and look for a farmacy while I was at it. It was such a beautiful city. Filled with fancy shops, cafes and loads of people out and around just, doing what they do. Dressed so beautifully. It was great to see. I loved every minute. I found the farmacy, just as the gates were sliding down FOR FREAKING SIESTA. So, I decided to head back and get a snack.

I walked through a little Bazar shop hoping for some aloe. My arms didn’t looked burned, but they hurt. I woke myself up sleeping cause I turned onto one of them in my sleep. No luck. So I found a cafe and enjoyed myself some patatas bravas 🤤 so I could use their WiFi. Talked to my parents a bit and was able to text Emma to meet up. She was with Mike and we decided to go walk around for a farmacy aaaanndd the H&M. I wanted a tank top and comfy shorts! I’ve been wearing the shorts I hike in all day, showering and putting them back on! I wanted comfy shorts for after hiking. And a tank for this unanticipated heat. Emma wanted new clothes and had been itching to get to H&M, so we did and it was fabulous. We got all we needed and there was an open farmacy next door! I got aloe and some muscle pain oil? I wanted icy hot but quickly realized I don’t know what that would be called in Spain nor do I know what icy hot is made up of to look for that. Soo.. muscle oil was it. I think it works.

We eventually headed back and I wanted to check on Debbie. I had been gone for a couple hours at this point. We walk into the albergue, into the main kitchen area only to find Jens sitting with some other people we have seen along the way. We sort for a minute when I hear someone tell teacher and I look up to see New York waving at me from the washing machines. It was his last night here. Tomorrow he is going to Rome. It was kind of a genuinely sad moment. He admitted he was going to miss me (not in a weird way!) But I was too. It’s in the way of the Camino. You make friends and see the same people all the time that the comradery evolves into something sort of magical. Because while every single persons Camino experience is different, you simultaneously share something so unique with a whole bunch of people you don’t even really know. Its enough to connect you. Because they’ve literally traveled what you’ve traveled the days you’ve done it. They get it. More than just anyone who’s traveled the Camino. They get it because they’ve been on YOUR Camino. And you on theirs. It connects you in this really strange way. It really is something quite special. And because of that, New York leaving is sad.

We talked for a few minutes. He bought some what I’ve come to call real-human clothing from H&M for Rome. Who wants to be in Rome in hiking gear? He pulled out his clothes he purchased, asking for fashion advice (see Mom, it even happens here). He told me he saw Debbie walk outside. I ran out to find her, eventually finding her and told her of my adventures and purchases. She decided to head out on her own and look for Advil and I went back inside for a few moments to the kitchen then ultimately upstairs to pack my bag and maybe nap, or at least rest. Emma invited Debbie and I to meet back down stairs at 6 to go get dinner with some Aussie friends, her Dad, Jens, and Jen (yeah, well, that’s confusing to read).

Debbie returned and we talked for a little when Aaron walked over. Aaron was part of a group behind us in line to get into the albergue.

Aaron from Arkansas.

He sat on the the floor, feet under Debbie’s bed and talked with us for over an hour. He heard me say aloe and came to ask if he could have some because Aaron is from Arkansas. And the sun has been out these last couple days. We talked about the mission work he’s done, which had allowed him to spend some time in Cambodia, right near where Debbie has been living for two years, so that’s a small world. He explained his dream for opening up a home for children with autism in the D.R. He is a really nice guy but I was so tired I just laid down trying to stay awake while the conversation continued. Ultimately it was almost six and we needed to head down to meet Emma.

We go down and eventually we all move to the restaurant to have a drink first. It was a big group. The Aussies are a group of four, Jens, Emma, Kieran, Jen came from her hotel, Debbie, me, and Kat joined us. Kat is from Florida. Her first day on the Camino is tomorrow and she found Jen and Emma by being lost in Burgos looking for the albergue and asking them for help. She’s the baby of our group, rolling in at 23 years of age. Her parents are both retired Navy officers and so she moved around about growing up- but Florida is where she had been the longest. This is her first trip abroad and her first trip abroad without her parents. So all of us and Rupert joined as he walked by for a beer, sat and had drinks before heading out to eat. Debbie was still not feeling well so she grabbed some food and went back in for the night.

Rupert, Emma, and Jen

Jen, Kat, and Yens

We went a little farther into town and say where we could get tapas. I ended not get tapas, rather a Cesar salad that tasted like the dressing had fresh anchovies in it. But we had a blast. Jen bought wine for us to share and we all just sat around this table and chatted and ate. Jens taught me about NFC, which is essentially Android’s version of Airdrop. It was awesome! But it requires you to place your phones in contact back to back, which feels weirdly intimate haha. Emma took this funny photo of Jens and I as he was aidropping the group photos.

After we left, we headed to the Irish bar because last night Kieran and I were talking about Guinness and they happened to have a bar in this big city that serves it! So we all went and had a pint. After that, trying to make our way back to the albergue (curfew was 10:30) we ran into Frances, Keith, and Lisa who insisted upon having a night cap. So into the restaurant across from the albergue we went until it was close to 10:30. We had a blast, it was quite fun with all of us sitting around talking. Walking in, we passed a priest who is walking the Camino. Well, he looks like he might be a preist? He wears the old school stereotypical-halloween-costume type robes. I don’t know much about him, but I’m curious.

Day mileage: 12.4
Total mileage: 189.9
Personal mileage: 17.8

Another day pushing a little farther! With the sun at our backs, we headed out. Today looked like it was going to be a warm one, even before the sun was completely up. You just couldn’t see a single cloud. The chill of spring in the mornings and evenings is still here, but so is that summer sun. Every day it creeps in a little more, today being so exception.

Debbie was so excited that I took my purple jacket off so quickly (cause I wear it all the time, cause, cold.) and rolled my sleeves up she HAD to get photo evidence. She said we need to document it because I’m never like this! We stopped for breakfast after the first four kilometers and continued on our way!

We walked up a pretty steep hill filled with giant rocks and dirt. Across the top and back down the other side… Only to enter what looked like a dark tunnel, to come out the other side and go straight back up a hill again! It was intense. Debbie rested at the top and looked so comfy drinking her water before we headed back down, then back up again.

After that, it was pretty flat. We walked by loggers, where all I could think about was how I was witnessing deforestation in real life and how AWESOME the animatronics were on this crane they were using! The slightest movements were so visible and possible with every move it made to relocate the logs. Anyways…lol

We had a beautiful Forrest walk into San Juan where the book suggested we stop. We rested for a while and decided to push on an extra 4 miles to Atapuerca. Which was, as to be expected, fairly flat. We had to come down into the two cities before arriving, but mostly flat. By the time we got to Agés (the city before Atapuerca) we were on pavement and walked on that the rest of the way into the town.

The albergue we wanted to stay at only had 36 beds so we wanted to get there quick! And we did. We registered, paid, and walked into a room with none other than Emma and Kieran (her dad). In there with us was a new person to us, Jen. Jen is from Canada and found Emma and Kieran out on the trail so it was a good group of people once again! We went down to the restaurant to have a break and a snack. We sat with Emma, Mike (someone we have met before from Connecticut/Florida) and two new people to me, Frances and Lisa (Ireland). Lisa was planning to do the whole Camino and invited Frances, who is her neighbor, to join for a week. We all gave him a hard time about skipping the hardest parts of the Camino, all in good fun. It was a nice chat and break to kill time until the market opened up again.. Because siesta. We went to the market and I got paella and olives. But was still SO hungry. So Debbie and I went back to the restaurant to share a small pizza, which was yummy. Back there we sat with Mike and Kieran. They talked, exchanging hip replacement stories and discussions of their white hair.

I walked back to grab my water from the albergue and check the market for something similar to icy hot. My shin has been on fire the last two days and SO uncomfortable. But, no luck. I went back to the albergue to sit outside and write. While out there, Jens (pronounced like yen-ce) comes out asking if anyone needs Wifi. I didn’t know who he was at the time but come to learn (after connecting to his hotspot) his name and that he’s from Berlin. This guy is seriously the happiest guy you’ll ever meet. I sat outside, talking with Emma, her Dad and a few other people for a while before heading back to the restaurant- I wanted to watch the first Spain vs. Portugal match. I went with Kieran and the place was packed with locals and pilgrims, it was a pretty sweet spot to be, watching the game. I had my first beer here since being in Spain and watched up to the 70th minute. I was falling asleep and THOUGHT I knew how the game was going to end. OF COURSE everything happened after I left during the last 10 freaking minutes. Kieran and Jen came back and Kirean was eager to tell me what happened. Gah! I missed it. But it was a good night!

Day mileage: 16.2
Total mileage: 177.5
Personal mileage: 17.8