Stage 14: Burgos to Hontanas (24 km--24 degrees)

Burgos was exhilarating, exciting, and unexpected, everything but restful! I feel like we began today sleep-walking; how could we rest in a city that never seems to go to bed? As with Logrono and Pamplona, we took a cab to the edge of the city to begin our walk in a rural rather than urban setting. Storks on top of the Catholic Church welcomed us to the hamlet of Rabe de la Calzadas. They have taken up residence in most churches and seen to be in cahoots with the local parishes, protesting any notions of birth control.

Small towns soon gave way to the meseta, the endless plains of Spain, which, by the way, is not where it rains! This will be our terrain for the next eight or nine days. We walked most of the way without a break, then stopped just outside our destination and had a picnic lunch beside a shrine for Saint Bridget of Sweden. We have been eating like hobbits since starting the camino--breakfast at 5:00, second breakfast at 9:00, "elevensies", and lunch or tea depending on what's open!

The village dog allowed us entry into Hontanas and we checked into a wonderful hostel with three beds and a hot shower--who could want more? Two more pages of stamps fill our credentials. Only 456 km to go!

Burgos Beauties!

Touring the Burgos Cathedral.