Day 17: Rabé de las Calzadas to Hontanas, 18.6km
Today, my feet felt pretty good. The terrain was fairly level and I made good time to Hornillos del Camino, about 7.8km from Rabé de las Calzadas. I stopped at a small market at the entrance of town to use the facilities and get some snacks. Ana & Madeleine showed up shortly after I arrived. The shopkeeper asked Ana if she had lost a camera in Burgos. She replied with an incredulous, "Yes!" and he showed her a camera and asked if she recognized it. She took it and started looking through the pictures and it was hers! ¡Qué suerte! Ana was so excited. She had thought it was lost forever.
I continued walking through town to a bar for a cafe con leche and morning snack. I met two women from Austria and was able to hang out with Ana & Madeleine one more time before saying goodbye. They were staying there for the night and my plan was to go to either San Bol or Hontanas.
The walk was mostly flat with a small uphill out of Hornillos del Camino, flat for a bit, then a downhill to San Bol before going uphill for a bit with a steep downslope into Hontanas. I made good time to San Bol, but it was about 11:30a and according to their sign they did not open until 2p. It was only 5km more to Hontanas so I decided to continue.
I walked a little bit more, hoping my bladder could wait until Hontanas, but there is nothing worse than walking with a full bladder and a hip belt from your pack pressing into it. I started looking for a spot to turn off and found a good spot behind some rocks. I am getting quite good at peeing outside. :) The trick is to make sure there isn't a lot of wind. I've also started grabbing napkins at bars for later use as toilet paper, tossing them into a plastic bag and disposing of bag later when I see a garbage can.
I was getting back onto the trail and saw another peregrino. As the person got closer I realized it was Agatha! I was so excited. It had been a few days since we last saw each other. We walked the rest of the way to Hontanas, catching up on where we had been and how our Caminos were going. As we made the final approach to Hontanas, we met a Canadian man, Langley. Agatha was planning to walk further, but she stayed for a bit and had a drink with us at the Albergue/Bar.
While we were sitting at the bar, Petra and Henrik, my Swedish friends walked in! I was so very excited to see them again. We chatted for a bit. We decided to eat together, so all four of us made our dinner reservation for 7p in the Bar. I went to take a shower, then went to the little grocery store down the street for a cafe con leche and to see what kind of food they had. It was a tiny place but the owner was very nice and Langley and I hung out there for a bit before heading back into the cold weather.
Dinner was nice. I had a mixed salad and a beef stew with lots of vino, bread and water. Dessert was icecream. We had a great time talking about Canada, the U.S. and Sweden.
I am not used to drinking so much wine with my meals, so usually after dinner I am toast. I went to bed and slept relatively well since there were not a lot of snorers in our room.
I continued walking through town to a bar for a cafe con leche and morning snack. I met two women from Austria and was able to hang out with Ana & Madeleine one more time before saying goodbye. They were staying there for the night and my plan was to go to either San Bol or Hontanas.
The walk was mostly flat with a small uphill out of Hornillos del Camino, flat for a bit, then a downhill to San Bol before going uphill for a bit with a steep downslope into Hontanas. I made good time to San Bol, but it was about 11:30a and according to their sign they did not open until 2p. It was only 5km more to Hontanas so I decided to continue.
I walked a little bit more, hoping my bladder could wait until Hontanas, but there is nothing worse than walking with a full bladder and a hip belt from your pack pressing into it. I started looking for a spot to turn off and found a good spot behind some rocks. I am getting quite good at peeing outside. :) The trick is to make sure there isn't a lot of wind. I've also started grabbing napkins at bars for later use as toilet paper, tossing them into a plastic bag and disposing of bag later when I see a garbage can.
I was getting back onto the trail and saw another peregrino. As the person got closer I realized it was Agatha! I was so excited. It had been a few days since we last saw each other. We walked the rest of the way to Hontanas, catching up on where we had been and how our Caminos were going. As we made the final approach to Hontanas, we met a Canadian man, Langley. Agatha was planning to walk further, but she stayed for a bit and had a drink with us at the Albergue/Bar.
While we were sitting at the bar, Petra and Henrik, my Swedish friends walked in! I was so very excited to see them again. We chatted for a bit. We decided to eat together, so all four of us made our dinner reservation for 7p in the Bar. I went to take a shower, then went to the little grocery store down the street for a cafe con leche and to see what kind of food they had. It was a tiny place but the owner was very nice and Langley and I hung out there for a bit before heading back into the cold weather.
Dinner was nice. I had a mixed salad and a beef stew with lots of vino, bread and water. Dessert was icecream. We had a great time talking about Canada, the U.S. and Sweden.
I am not used to drinking so much wine with my meals, so usually after dinner I am toast. I went to bed and slept relatively well since there were not a lot of snorers in our room.