Tag: taxi

Even the mighty fall

Not that I claim to be mighty! I certainly haven’t felt anything close to half decent today.

Well, that caught me out. A rapid onset of sunstroke and dodgy belly meant that walking 29km was not an option. In fact it was pretty hard work walking to the nearest bar for a coffee this morning.

So my first stumbling block of the Camino – not in any fit state to walk today, I had two options. Stay another night with the kind nuns at Carrion de los Condes, they said I could recuperate there. Or I could travel on to next location and rest up there.

I decided on the latter as it meant not having to adjust my schedule or make up the distance in the upcoming days. So I took a taxi to Moratinos and spent most of the day sleeping and drinking water at San Bruno. Moratinos is the smallest village I have stayed in on Camino so far. No shop, nothing much just a couple of albergues, a bar, some ancient farm equipment and, of course, a outsized Iglesia. The Italian-run albergue was just what was needed. What could I have expected when Bruno himself bore an uncanny resemblance to an ageing Jedi! A big bowl of pasta and egg salad. Hopefully I can get better night’s sleep and resume the hike tomorrow.

The Meseta – the great unloved

Right now I am halfway across the Meseta. This is a huge swathe of high plain that runs from Burgos in the east to past Leon in the west. Approximately 900 meters above sea level for the most part, it is perhaps the least loved stretch of the Camino. Having walked across this expanse of wheat, sunflowers and windfarms, big fields, big skies and dry dusty trails, it is easy to see why some peregrinos decide to either take a bus or train directly from Burgos to Leon, or take a local bus or taxi for part of one of their days.

Those who chose to skip this remarkable 4-5 days walking really to miss out on some incredible vistas. The sunrises are amazing. The very rustic, if isolated, villages and towns really only exist today due to passing trade of the Camino. It is like stepping back in time to, I would presume, the life my grandparents would have lived – if they were Spanish. Some of the machinery I have seem is vintage indeed.

As it is August, most of the cereal crops have been harvested and, when made into flour, contribute to my morning tostada. Only sunflowers and a few asparagus fields split the wheat. No real livestock to speak of. Just lots of raptors and storks. And loads of mice or shrews early in the morning.

Yes it tough on the mind, as well as the feet. But I am pleased to say I’m showing the Meseta some love, a bit of reciprocation would be mighty pleasing.

I did however have all my laundry, two days worth, plus swim shorts and towel. It went away scrunched up in drybag and returned, a few hours later, perfectly folded on a chair outside my room. Silently delivered by a nun who must not be seen. €6 well spent

Today I am in Palencia, having left Burgos yesterday afternoon. Leon next.