Distance: 21.9km, Steps: 29,314, Time total: 5.5hrs

I was feeling tired first thing this morning from the late night & the sparkling wine I had consumed with dinner. We did our usual pack up & breakfast at the hotel before we set off on the Camino again. Mr D said his throat was feeling better, but he is having an issue with his right heel & is experiencing some pain when walking.

We left around 7.30am, the morning certainly was not as cold & I felt too warm in my jacket & snow gloves. We walked out of Burgos which was tricky, it was poorly sign posted. Mr D almost had us lost but thanks to the E-tex he could see we had gone off the path, everyone coming up behind us were just following us assuming we knew the way. We all backtracked & followed Mr D’s GPS out of the city until the Camino signs were easy to follow again.

We had a good fast pace going on & soon went through the only two villages we go through. We stopped at the second village before we step out on the Meseta. Mr D had a cafe solo which was far better than the two weak & lukewarm coffees he had at the hotel for breakfast.

So it was 10kms on the Meseta before reaching our stop. There were so many Pilgrims , I didn’t know where they all came from but it was making me feel anxious that they would take all the beds in town & we would have to walk on more. I was feeling annoyed at the vast number of Pilgrims & a lot carried a small pack or nothing at all! They must of started at Burgos & have their gear transported.

Mr D said the Camino was testing him today – with voices – belonging to 4 Italian women with tiny daypacks chatting constantly loudly in Italian following close behind us. I soon fell behind tired & my shoulders were hurting under the strain of my backpack. So I quietly laughed watching the women yakking away right behind Mr D. But he started walking faster till he heard 3 voices, then faster still till he heard 2 voices. Finally they couldn’t keep up & Mr D shot way ahead – I could only pick him by his black umbrella.

It had become quite hot & the Meseta is dusty, brown & barren with the odd trees to look at. Because my rash on my leg is taking a while to resolve, I have to wear my long pants as the sun will only aggravate it. It is too warm & uncomfortable wearing long pants & I was feeling frustrated about it. I struggled slowly along as one woman passed me, went to the side of the road, pulled her shorts down for a toilet stop in full view. When you gotta go, you gotta go. Most people go discreetly behind a tree or bushes, but there’s not much options on the Meseta!

There was another man walking his dog, he let the dog crap right in the middle of the track & left it there. Lucky I spotted it before I stepped in it! Just outside the small town of Hornillos Mr D stopped for me to catch up. The town has a population of 60 so there’s not much to it.

The Camino provides as they say & I had nothing to worry about – most Pilgrims were passing through to the next town – another 10kms away in the heat. I was done with walking today! We booked into a small Albergue called Meeting Point. Back into the dormitory rooms we are so familiar with. It has a nice grassed garden area to relax in too.

So we went over to the cafe / bar for lunch & Mr D saw the Israel woman from last night sitting outside the other Albergue. He asked her how she found the dinner last night & she replied “It was ok, not the best I’ve had”. We thought it had been bloody marvellous after eating hamburgers, sandwiches, patatas bravas, croquettes & the likes for the past weeks! And it cost a pretty dime too. Well we didn’t linger with the woman. The cafe was busy & people were shoving in front of me to order,  Mr D was getting pretty annoyed. Then we sat at our table & waited, waited, waited which is what you do a lot of in Spain – patience is a virtue. Mr D went in to check on our order & they had forgotten! Lucky we weren’t walking further & in a hurry. We finally got our meals & enjoyed our refreshing beers to go with it. Some poor soul left his trekking poles behind at our table. He had gone a kilometre down the road then had to walk back & get them once he had realised.

Then we enjoyed a leisurely stroll through town when one van came through, blaring the horn loudly as he drove through, turned around & drove back still on the horn. It’s the towns supermarket on wheels as the residents rushed over to buy their fruit, veg & meats supply. One cafe right up the end of the street actually lets people play an instrument of their choice if they want. But Mr D preferred a quiet red instead in our little garden. One young lady was playing the guitar, singing with a beautiful voice, sitting on the steps by the street.

The showers at the Albergue are pretty average – the water dribbles out lukewarm on a timer so I have to keep pressing in the button before the water cuts out. We enjoyed a Pilgrims communal meal to end the day. I think most people were tired & conversation was low key. We were seating next to 3 men, an American, Englishman & German. There also was one cyclist Pilgrim at our table that had covered 70km today on bike. We had a delicious serve of chicken paella, salad & yogurt for dessert ( Mr D’s favourite haha! ). Being so tired, it was an early night for the both of us, & it was only 8pm!