DAY 13

The rain of the previous day had passed on during the night and we awoke to fairly clear skies and the sun coming up in the east. The red sky at morning didn't hold good on its warning, or perhaps there were just no sailors around to take heed, and we enjoyed a delightfully beautiful day!

It was nearly 8 a.m. before the restaurant opened downstairs and the nice Spanish lady who did the cooking was busy sweeping when we walked in. We planned on just having toast and coffee, but she asked if we didn't want eggs and the thought of a couple sounded good, and I hadn't had any in over 24 hours, so I opted to try two over easy. Sharon went with toast, marmalade, butter and cheese and we weren't disappointed!

It was really today that we got into the true meseta, having left Burgos, urban agglomeration and road construction behind. We had been warned that the meseta could be very hot and dry with few stops along the way, but today was like a beautiful walk on a springtime day.  The hills were larger, more rolling and it was mostly along dirt track. And for most of the time we were heading up towards the high point of the meseta, but it was a gentle incline, not like a mountain climb. Just take a look at some of what we saw:

Somewhere around 11 a.m. we came to a rest stop, which included an old time water pump with cold, cold water and several picnic tables. It was just before the peak of the hill and we were glad to sit down and rest for a while.

We met several folks, including Dutch, French, Australian, Italians, Japanese and quite a few Americans. The movie had prompted quite a few to walk the way! Even a group of Dutch hikers where we are spending the night had seen it. 

All of the languages you hear encourage you to try your best to communicate, and  the French hiker with whom I spoke said, "Merci pour votre francais!" I met a lady who asked where I was from, and when I told her, she acted surprised. "I thought you were Brazilian judging by your accent!" I suppose that was to be expected after filtering my most recent language studies through our time in Portugal!

The beautiful views of the countryside continued until we came to the peak and were rewarded by what I consider to be the prettiest view of the whole Camino so far. Upon reaching the highest point of the meseta, you're looking down on Hornillos del Camino, and you're graced with this gorgeous vista:

Pictures just don't do it justice! You could tell the view was going to be gorgeous because there were well over a dozen pilgrims standing in groups, having their pictures made, climbing up the side of the road to get a better view or generally just soaking it in. But soon they were all off, heading down the steep descent. But at least the road was solid without many loose rocks to make it slippery.

At the entrance to town was a small shop that was attracting lots of pilgrim traffic. They sold about everything you needed, from cold drinks to sandwiches to snacks to souvenirs. We got a couple of drinks and some "trail mix" to give us enough energy to decide what to do next. We had come about 10 kilometers, or 6-7 miles, and the climb had done us in. So we looked about and I soon located a "Casa Rural" with double bed and our own bathroom and we were set for the night.

After a rest, we ventured out to see what the town had to offer. Not really very much! There are about three albergues but not many restaurants. It is, after all, only a village, but it's one of the major stops listed in John Brierly's definitive guide book to the Camino, so there are lots of pilgrims.

There's a church and a plaza in the middle of town, and we paused here for refreshments and to update the blog. Enjoy the views of Hornillos:

So far we haven't discovered any places in town that offer the much desired "wee fee" as they call it in Spanish. But I do plan to save the blog, even if I can't publish it right now.  Lesson learned!