Day 17, June 24th, 2023
My alarm goes off at five when I am in the middle of a dream in which I am trying in vain to pump up my bicycle tires. Strange dream.
It feels like my rucksack is almost as heavy as it was at the very beginning. The new sandals definitely weigh more than my old ones, and I am also carrying a sleeping bag again instead of a cotton sack. Plus, I have got an extra half litre of water and a nectarine.
I want to reach Honduras today which is thirty kilometres from here. That means I would finally reach the Meseta, a high plateau dreaded by many pilgrims, stretching for hundreds of miles. Due to the sparse population and limited infrastructure, some pilgrims feel isolated and lonely, and therefore consider the Meseta the worst part of the Camino de Santiago. My guidebook says the following:
In meiner Camino App steht folgender Text:
Here begins the best part
"The endless distances between the individual places ensure close friendships between pilgrims, opportunities for romance (if one is open to it), the chance to examine and reconsider one's life, and with a bit of luck, to find oneself and God (again, this applies to pilgrims who come with this intention).
From Rabé de las Calzadas onwards, there is almost no shade. Be careful during the midday hours in summer. There are hardly any drinking fountains between here and Hontanas, so be sure to fill your water bottle.
Some pilgrims avoid these stages by taking the bus. We strongly advise against this. Buen Camino!"
Bus? Never! Not even if I have to crawl to Santiago de Compostela on my nipples!
Only after ten kilometres I reach the next village and see another pilgrim. And only here I finally get my long-awaited coffee in a bar where all the locals are sitting and drinking cognac. Why not, given it is already eight in the morning. As I expected, there is nothing to eat here except a stale croissant under a cheese dome and a few olives. Luckily I still have my nectarine, some biscuits and cheese.
As I continue walking, I see church sleeper Vadim, and right after him goes Angela who also wants to stop at the bar for a coffee. I don't stay for company though, I have been here long enough and set off. Vadim also prefers walking alone as he says. He wants to sleep outside again tonight since the weather forecast is for dry weather. I would like that too.
Erst zehn Kilometern hinter Burgos erreiche ich das nächste Dorf und sehe auch den ersten Pilger. Und erst hier bekomme ich meinen lang ersehnten Milchkaffee in einer Bar, in der sämtliche Einheimische sitzen und Cognac trinken. Kann man ja machen um acht Uhr morgens. Zum Essen gibt es hier nichts außer ein trockenes Croissant unter einer Käseglocke auf der Theke und ein paar Oliven. Zum Glück habe ich noch einen Pfirsich, ein paar Kekse und etwas Käse.
At first, the path leads over motorway bridges and through tunnels, but then the landscape becomes beautiful. I am surrounded by cornfields, and yes, there is actually very little shade. From a scenic point of view, this is one of the most beautiful stages for me. I really like this vastness. I wouldn't mind if it continued like this. Looking at my Camino mosaic now, it contains many more colourful pieces than the predominantly grey ones at the beginning. I am right in the middle of it now and am beginning to see the Camino de Santiago with different eyes and to appreciate it.
I reach Hornillos del Camino at eleven a.m.. My plan is to stay here for a few hours to avoid the midday heat and then hike another ten kilometres in the late afternoon. And somewhere along the way, I want to find a nice spot to sleep.
In the village square, next to a fountain, there are a few tables and chairs belonging to a bar. Most of the shady spots are taken, so I squat down on my folded sleeping mat, leaning against a wall in the shade. I buy a coffee and a slice of cake at the bar next door and give a begging Frenchman two euros so he can buy himself a coffee as well. My good deed for today.
church sleeper Vadim lingers by the village church. Then he approaches me and holds out something. It is a gold-coloured scallop shell pendant he wants to give me. I am completely taken aback and incredibly happy, especially because it is from Vadim. Sometimes I think he is a saint sent by God. Or an angel, or something. I still have a piece of leather cord in my bits and bops plastic container, which I use to make myself a necklace. From now on, Vadims shell pendant adorns my neck.
I found the village square on Google Street View. Please click here .
I sit around in the market square for quite a while when Flo and Julia come around the corner for some sightseeing. They are staying in a hostel at the entrance to the village and ask if I want to join them to the hostel garden for some food and drinks. Since it is still early I go along.
So we sit down together at a table in the hostel garden, eating, drinking and chatting. Birgit and Andreas, two Germans my age who are not travelling together, join us. Birgit immediately tells me her whole story of woe, about the fallout with her sister, a difficult relationship with her mother, and so on. And Andreas also seems to be having some serious issues with his father, at least he is very upset when he mentions him and says that he has already cried a lot on the Camino. Yesterday he even wanted to give up and has already booked his flight home. He thinks he can't endure the Camino any longer and was already on his way to the airport when he decided not to give up and asked the taxi driver to turn back.
Andreas is also one of those people who sleep in private rooms in hostels and hotels, just like Paddy and Hannah. He eventually offers me a place to stay in case I can't find a spot to camp later. I should just come back and throw pebbles at the window, and he will let me in. Nice, but no thanks.
I sit there for a few hours, it is a nice group of people to spend time with. Flo gets pretty drunk by the afternoon and is flirting with Birgit like crazy. But she stays on top of the situation and calmly sends Flo to bed. Alone, mind you. And as much as I would have liked to stay to find out what happens next with Flo and whether he wakes up again today, I walk on further into the Meseta.
How stupid I am. In the late afternoon heat, which is of course even hotter than the midday heat, something I know perfectly well, I am walking through the meseta! It is 32 degrees Celsius in the shade, of which there isn't any here. In addition I am walking straight towards the sun - it is utter madness. Never ever will I find a shady spot to camp in this desolate landscape of cornfields, because as I said, there isn't any! Every now and then a smell tree stands by the path, and I pause briefly in its tiny shade to catch my breath. Once, I come to a cornfield, but the corn only comes up to my knees. I consider lying down on the ground among the little plants for a moment, but then what? Am I supposed to stay there until this evening? Oh, why on earth did I leave Hornillos del Camino? I could be sitting there right now in good company, drinking a cold beer and then sleeping in a soft bed.
It is another ten kilometres to Honduras, the next village. After a long while I find a beautiful flat area right next to the path. I decide to stay here as three small trees cast three tiny shadows across the meadow. I am completely exhausted by the heat, so I sit down on one of these little patches of shade and move with it and the setting sun until it is low enough for me to set up my tent. I decide to leave the flysheet off, it will be cooler that way, and I can gaze at the stars as I drift off to sleep. When the sun finally sets, the temperature drops and I crawl into my tent, totally drained. How beautiful the sunset is! And not a soul in sight.
Yes, of course it would have been much more relaxing to stay in Hornillos del Camino and have a proper bed, but if you dare to sleep in your tent like I am doing right now, it is a great experience and a gift to experience it that way.
Distance: 30,1 km / Steps: 45350
