Camino flashback: day 13 in Hornillos

a year ago today we walked from Burgos to Hornillos -- from one of the largest cities we'd encountered to that point on the Camino to the town with the fewest amenities in which we stayed to that point. it was one of our first experiences with the pressure to secure a bed in one of the municipal albergues and a day full of soon-to-be common challenges: leg pains, climbing up an down mesetas, hours of free time at the end of a day's hike, sharing reading material.

the distance was average -- about 21 kilometers -- and our step-count for the day was 30,963. this section of the Camino (between Burgos and Leon) is purportedly the "mentally challenging" section of the pilgrimage. the terrain is relatively flat, with the occasional arduous climb up to and down from the top of a meseta. coming down into Hornillos we descended the aptly-named "Mule-Killer Path;" Andy's already strained shins did not take kindly to the demands of the grade (and the muddy track the day after Hornillos didn't help), but were afforded a good long rest on this particular afternoon. coming down that path also provided us with one of the most evocative and enduring images from the Camino.

our bunks in the municipal albergue were, thankfully, next to one another in a room of 8 sets of bunks (all of which save two were occupied by men). the amenities were spare, but at least we had beds on which to sleep; once the bunks in the main building were filled, peregrinos were offered mattresses on the floor of the adjoining sports complex. though we were traveling in the somewhat less busy shoulder season, competition for beds in albergues occasionally preoccupied me to an unhealthy degree. I fared much better with the knowledge that the physical hardships of the day would not preclude me from a shower or a bed. even if occasionally that bed was uncomfortable and the water pressure weak or water frigid.

Hornillos was the first time we didn't have warm water in which to shower, and the first time we only had one place to get a meal from. if we'd known (and hadn't relied so much on Brierley), we could have taken the risk and continued on to the next town, which had more options for lodging and dining. many of the people we'd been keeping pace with to that point did continue on (after stopping for a beer at the one cafe in Hornillos). in the end, we just went to bed before the sun set. despite the early repose, however, we were still some of the last to pack up and leave the albergue the next morning -- well before the sun had risen. those peregrinos were some of the quietest packers we encountered on the entire Camino.