Day 11, September 11, Burgos to Hornillos del Camino – late post

We planned to leave the municipal while it was still dark outside because we start walking part of the Meseta today. And because the heat in the Meseta at this time of year is notorious among pilgrims, we wanted to be done by mid-day at the latest.  Everyone seems to have had the same idea because as we quietly descended the stairs to the reception area, we found to our surprise that every bench and table had either pilgrims or their things, making ready for the day ahead. It was comforting, being a part of this strange community of people. 

There’s definitely a beauty to the meseta. And the fact that you can see for miles knowing that there are no inhabitants nor nearby towns save for the next stop for the day is more than a little bit daunting.

 About 10 kilometes from  today’s stop, it started raining steadily so I had to get my poncho out. One pilgrim saw me struggling with the raincoat and helped arrange it over my pack, which I was very thankful for. Unfortunately or fortunately, it stopped raining just a few minutes after that. Huh! 



Hornillos is a small town not unlike any of the small towns we already passed. It's charm is that it sits in the middle of the meseta as a welcome stop for the weary. The albergue we landed in was pretty well-equipped so we went to the store and bought pasta, olives, and a tin of Spanish sardines on olive oil and cooked dinner. In the kitchen-dining area, we met a big family from Poland who were also preparing dinner. They were walking the camino with a priest and they invited us to join the mass later in the evening, in Polish, of course. Conveniently, the chapel was just behind the albergue. This is where I first saw Nilva and Herculano, inside that chapel, attending the same mass. At that point, we were just on his and hellos, but apparently, we were going to be traveling the camino together in the next few days. 

Outside the chapel and prior to the mass, the interesting hospitaliers put up an impromptu acoustic performance for the pilgrims and kept us entertained  'til lights out.