Day 15 - Burgos to Hontanas

The morning begins for me in front of the cathedral. After breakfast, I arranged to meet Ryan there to walk together today. Adva joins us briefly because she wants to say goodbye. She is taking a day off today and is considering not walking any further, but flying to Peru instead. We start with the first few kilometers in the town through Burgos until we finally reach fields again. It feels like there aren't many pilgrims on the road today, although many pilgrims start in Burgos. In a small town, we go into a church where a choir is rehearsing at that moment. It was lovely to have this background singing while we look at the church. At the exit of the town, there was a small chapel on the left. Immediately after going in, I was approached by a nun who blessed me, gave me a medal and wished me all the best for the rest of my journey and my life. That was an incredibly beautiful experience 🙏 From here, the Camino begins from its beautiful side. Endless expanses. Only fields all around you. From here on, close friendships are formed and deep conversations are had because nothing interrupts you. The disadvantage: no shade and endless walks to the next water source. Ryan and I used the time to talk about many really deep things. He told me about his experiences and the trauma he had from his deployments in Afghanistan, Iraq and many other countries as a Marine. We talked a lot about our pasts and also about the future. At around 2:30 p.m. we reached our intended destination for today, after 24 km. I had already feared that many pilgrims would set off today. But I had not thought that all 6 hostels in Hornillos del Camino would be fully booked so early. A call to another accommodation after about 6 km brought us the harsh realization that we would have to walk for at least another 3 hours. We filled up our water supplies at a well, took emergency supplies out of our backpacks and set off again at 2:45 p.m. The endless expanse of fields stretched out, step by step, meter by meter. After a short while we met Giulio, he started 52 days ago in the monastery on the island of St. Michel in France and then walked a total of almost 2000km to Santiago. We accompanied him for half an hour, during which he told us about his experiences. He has already walked all the Caminos in Europe. He has been walking and walking for years. Because it is simply unbelievable, just google his name: Giuliano Maltempi. Ryan and I walked a little faster than him. Our legs got heavier and heavier and the paths dragged. When there was a hill, we just kept going straight on, further and further. When at some point a village suddenly appeared behind a hill, as if from nowhere, we were simply relieved. That must be Hontanas. We walked into the town. Long story short: we now have a double room and that was the last option there was here, otherwise only a bed in the dorm, which Giuliano took, who arrived just moments after us. After a very hot shower, I talked to Giuliano for ages and was really impressed by his stories and everything he showed me.
In total we had 35km on the clock today. Very hard, but the elevation gain was limited.
Tomorrow we have 20/28/34km on the agenda. We want to ask for a bed in the hostels 20km from the town and as soon as we get one, we will stay there.
Cost of the day:
Accommodation 25€ Breakfast 6€ Food on the way 6€ Dinner 15€