Walked today: 7.1 mi Camino 2023: 129 mi
The 15 minute taxi ride through the not-so-Camino like residential areas of Burgos and crossing several major highway interchanges, took us to an Albergue at the entrance of Tardajos, where we have stayed before. We were expecting a nice breakfast to begin our walk. However, it was closed at 6:30 with no signs if opening any time soon, so we continued on.
The walk through the village of Tardajos is always amazing, because it is literally a maze. If you are not careful looking for insidiously placed Camino arrows, you may never find your way through the town. We did it once, in the dark, and almost never made it to the end!
This morning we made it without any deviations … Linda, leading the way, could possibly have been a factor. It was also broad daylight, not dark, at 6:30 a.m.
At breakfast we chatted briefly with a couple from Hong Kong. They had walked several different Caminos before and had done the Camino Frances before in 29 days. They were doing it for the second time but in 41 days instead. They weren’t walking especially fast, as they didn’t pass us all the way to Hornillos and we saw them pass through the village some 30 minutes after us. They apparently didn’t walk faster, just longer, each day.
Once on the meseta, we saw several hundred wind powered turbines while walking the initial 3 miles, taking advantage of the terrain to generate power for the area.
Meeting Point Albergue was not open when we arrived at around 10 a.m. so we got fresh squeezed orange juice at the only open bar in the village and killed a couple of hours chatting with passing by pilgrims and partaking of the restroom facilities, while we waited.
Finally at 11:45, the door opened at the albergue and we were the first to check in. Once in our room, we grabbed our basque shopping bag and headed for the small, but fruitful market a few steps from Meeting Point and shopped, with the help of the friendly proprietor of the market, for our lunch. (this albergue and most albergues serve only dinner and breakfast, if that).
After a delicious, satisfying lunch, we performed our afternoon chores, then blogged and read and napped the rest of the afternoon until the 7:00 pilgrims dinner.
Fourteen pilgrims attended the dinner tonight, featuring the albergue’s traditional menu of paella, green salad, local wine and a lemon yogurt for dessert. Most of our conversation was with nearby pilgrims: a couple from California doing their first Camino after postponing it due to the pandemic, a young lady from Germany who originally planned to walk the Camino to contemplate her future after graduating from college, but received a job offer in June and accepted it contingent on her being able to walk the Camino first (her new employer agreed), and a gentleman of 80 years from Leon, France who is on his first Camino, which he began in La Puy en Velay, France, making his Camino nearly 1000 miles when he gets to Santiago.
As with all our Caminos, we meet interesting people from all over the planet and share stories and experiences and motivations for being here. Pilgrim dinners are an excellent forum to do this and tonight was no exception.
Jimandi 