Depart Time: 7:30 Temp: 58F RH: 90% plus 25mph wind & rain
Walked: 7.0 mi. Camino 2024: 114 mi.
Shortly after we left Hornillos and began walking back up toward the Meseta we were met with thunder, lightning and continuous showers.
Some 60 minutes and two miles later we finally reached the Meseta as the rain stopped but the wind continued.
Other than a brief period when we walked down to an off-Camino path toward San Bol, a primitive albergue, and then returned back to the Mesata plateau, we spent the morning continuing on some 4 more miles to Hontanas.
A group of three pilgrims caught up to us and we began walking and talking together for a mile or so. One lady, age 71, was from Charleston, S.C. and was accompanied by her son and her 69 year old sister from North Carolina. The distraction of our interesting conversations made the time go by faster as the wind continued and the dark clouded skies threatened.
The group of three were faster walkers than we, and they finally wished us “buen Camino” and left us in their wake.
After 6 plus miles from our start, we sighted the steeple of Iglesia de la Inmaculada Concepción…
and as we got closer the path began to head down off the Meseta again into Hontonas, which reminds us of one of the towns of the old west seen in classical American cowboy movies.
We stopped at the bar/albergue on the edge of the village and had breakfast and chatted again briefly with our earlier pilgrim friends, before they continued on past Hontanas a few more kms to experience the Hospital de Peregrinos de San Antón, a primative albergue in the ruins of the San Anton Convent (12c).
After breakfast we walked to the El Pundito bar/albergue where we checked in and received the key for our room at La Fontana, a Casa Rural property just a few steps further down the “main street”.
After a brief rest and performing some chores, we walked across the street to have an early-dinner/late-lunch at 2:30.
The rest of the day was dedicated to reading, blogging and chillin’.
Jimandi 