2012-09-21 Friday
Burgos / Hornillos del Camino
Camino day 14. I got up at 0530 for Nancy and I to go to the Physical Therapy Center, a 5 minutes walk from the hostal, for our appointment at 0600. Only the owner if the clinic was there waiting for us, so she had to shuffle back and forth between Nancy and I to do the treatments, so it took her 1.5 hrs to finish both of us, instead of the promised 1 hr. My problem was that I had injured my left ankle on the climb of the rocky mountain in Atapuerca, resulting in tender tendons and leg muscles and a bit of swelling and fluid in the ankle. She did massage, ultrasound, electric stimulation and acupuncture, and she finished by applying KT tape on my leg and putting a brace on my ankle. I left there at 0740, 85 Euros lighter, but feeling much better.
We returned to the hostal where Paulo and Terry were waiting for us, we had breakfast at the corner bar and caught a taxi to the outskirts of the town, as recommend by many people. It was 0830 when we started walking.
Nancy and I sent our packs forward to the next stop. The way this work is very simple. There's a company that distributes envelopes most of the hostals and hotels, you fill in your name, the name of the place where you want your bags delivered to, put 7 Euros in the envelope, attach the envelope to your backpack, call the number in the envelope telling them there are X backs to be picked up and just leave your backpack behind. That's all, when you arrive at your destination your pack is there. Very efficient, very simple, a back (and knees) saver.
Today 's destination is "just" 21 Km away, and we walked at a slower pace, Nancy and I wanting to make it easier on our sore knees and expedite the healing.
We are entering another region, called the mesetas, it's a high region, flat, desolate, very hot during the day, cold in the night, with no trees to provide shade from the relentless sun.
During our walk today we met with two 22 year old twins from Germany, they were starting the pilgrimage in Burgos and were not well prepared for the Camino, no appropriate shoes, no guides and with heavy packs. Nancy went in full motherly, mode providing advice to them about the Camino. Later, we also met another German, Peter, a medical doctor and researcher at Heidelberg University, he is doing the Camino in 10-day stints, this is his third one, he is also starting today from Burgos. Peter walked most of the way with us while the twins gradually fell behind.
 |
| Erico drinking water from a fountain |
 |
| Erico and the meseta |
 |
| Erico and Nancy, Hornillos ahead |
We arrived in Hornillos at 1330, Linda and Kathy were already there at the villages bar. We are all staying in a rural B&B, Casa Rural El Molino, about 6 Km from town, the bar owner called the inn, and they sent a car to pick us up, but it was a small car, so Nancy, Linda and Kathy went with the driver and Paulo, Terry and I stayed at the bar drinking beers while we waited for our turn. Peter did not have reservations for Hornillos and the place was full, he will have to walk 11 more Km until the next village with accommodations. We tried to find a place at our B&B, but it was also full.
 |
| Pauo and Erico at Hornillo's entrance |
 |
| Hornillos: Pilgrimage with a horse |
After we had settled, showered and sent our dirty clothes to be washed, Terry asked the innkeeper if Peter could come and stay at their room, he was willing to sleep with Nancy in one of the single beds and give the other to Peter. After a lot of back and forth, the innkeeper sad he could put a mattress someplace else, but Peter would have to use the bathroom in Nancy and Terry's room. Terry got the B&B innkeeper to go out with him and Nancy to find Peter. Paulo and I argued that they should not bother, Peter is a veteran of the Camino, knows the drill, he did not make advance reservations by choice - he speaks Spanish quite reasonably, is probably prepared to sleep on a hard floor, if needed. But Nancy and Terry went with the innkeeper to look for him anyway, feeling sorry that he will have to walk much further in this heat to find a place to sleep.
Almost two hours later they came back empty handed, the innkeeper drove all the way to the next village, but they did not see Peter. The innkeeper ended up rescuing an exhausted pilgrim,sitting by the side of the road under the scorching sun, and drove her to the next village. Later, Terry told me that they had seen the twins, they did not find a place in an albergue, but the village will be opening the gym, pilgrims would be sheltered there, sleeping on the hard floor. Paulo and I asked why they did not bring the twins in Terry and Nancy said it was because there was no place, we replied that if they were not willing to accommodate the twins, as they were willing to do for the doctor, we would certainly accommodate them in our room! Paulo and I kept pulling Terry and Nancy's leg, saying that in their hurry to find the doctor they drove past and overlooked two young German identical twins, with no bed to rest on their first day on the trail. Nancy retorted that they would have a roof over their head, and jokingly, said that she thought they would be safer on the road than with Paulo and I.
Paulo and I had fun repeating this story over and over, each time adding embellishing details. By the time we arrived in Santiago, Terry and Nancy drove by the young German identical twins as the night felt, the twins huddled together by the side of the road, shivering from the cold strong wind blowing across the plains, feet full of blisters, thirsty, hungry, with dove eyes staring at the horizon, with no place to say and rest after a long day on the Camino, their very first! And that while Terry and Nancy were doing their good deed in searching for the doctor, they overlooked an opportunity do to an even better deed by rescuing the twins. It became one of our favorite Camino story to tell at the end of the day while enjoying our after dinner drinks. Terry and Nancy went along with the storytelling, adding their own details to explain their actions, usually along the lines that they were, in fact, trying to protect the twins from us.
We found out that this is the B&B that Emilio Estevez and son stayed during their drive through Spain, when he had the idea of making the movie The Way. Emilio's son fell in love with the innkeeper's daughter and ended up marrying her. This was one of the places that Martin Sheen and Emilio stayed when filming the movie "The Way." The innkeeper has a cameo appearance in the movie.
 |
| El Molino Seco: Paulo and Kathy resting and checking emails |
 |
| El Molino Seco |
 |
| El Molino Seco |
 |
| El Molino Seco |
 |
| El Molino Seco: Linda enjoying her beer |
 |
| El Molino Seco |
 |
| El Molino Seco |
 |
| El Molino Seco |
We had a fantastic dinner. Tomato salad, spanish tortillas, ham croquettes, serrano ham, roasted green, yellow and red peppers. That was followed by a delicious squash soup and then a lamb stew. Desert was a platter of fruit, that grapes were the sweetest I ever had. House wine flowed freely. We had a grand time at the El Molino Seco, I highly recommend it.
 |
| Dinner at El Molino Seco |
 |
| Dinner at El Molino Seco |
 |
| Dinner at El Molino Seco |
 |
| Dinner at El Molino Seco |
 |
| Dinner at El Molino Seco |
 |
| Dinner at El Molino Seco |
 |
| Dinner at El Molino Seco |
 |
| Dinner at El Molino Seco |
 |
| Dinner at El Molino Seco |
No comments:
Post a Comment