Camino de Santiago LITE: Day 16 (Camino II): Burgos to Hornillos del Camino

It is drizzling and we can see from our hotel room window a number of pilgrims already walking in the dark. The forecast is rain, so I am getting mentally ready. It is time to put my investment into action - a fancy poncho which breathes well, accommodates a backpack easily, and has a front zipper and a huge side pocket. Rain pants, check. A pair of long underpants anticipating the rain pants to be soaked, check. An extra pair of socks and a handkerchief, check. All of this of course with the help of our resident master planner. She is actually taking a taxi all the way, not just because of the weather, but because I am nervous about our accommodation today (more on it later.) As I leave, the rain stops (again), and a group of Italian tourists (non-peregrinos) want to take a picture of me - perhaps they have never seen an Asian before. I volunteer to pose wildly in front of the Cathedral which makes them laugh.

Burgos suburb: while passing a pilgrim statue, I notice the Magdeburg couple (small figures on left), who tells me they are staying at the same place tonight (more on this later)!

My pace is quick and I am passing quite a few people. I like the poncho but it is hardly drizzling. I almost feel like being challenged by a heavy rain since I feel so ready with my camera safely tucked underneath the poncho and my Brierley guidebook in the side pocket.
A local lady is directing the pilgrims toward the classic route away from Villalbilla, like a traffic cop. I like this route but it is pretty muddy. I experiment walking on wet mud vs somewhat watery mud. Each has its disadvantages. I think this body of work is publishable if there is a Journal of Doing the Camino Easy Way.

Before Tardajos: Pilgrims are gathered without moving at the beginning of the bridge over the highway. Like wildebeest before a river crossing. What spooked them? Where is the crocodile equivalent? Turns out there was a misleading sign.

Colorado on Camino? Finally some fall colors near Rabe de las Calzados

I pass right through Tardajos and have a quick break at Rabe. Sitting down on a bench, I consume a chocolate croissant I stole from the hotel restaurant at breakfast. I am in a superfast mode and stopping at a bar would take too long.

Leaving Rabe, now I am entering MESETA! It is a large swath of plains with few towns in between. Some people skip this section entirely or take a bus or a bicycle from Burgos to Leon. We will see. The scenery is actually pretty familiar with undulating hills. But it is quiet and wide open. Very few pilgrims and definitely no towns or roads as far as eyes can see. It is the same feeling that you get traveling through open areas in Alaska. It drizzles off and on, but it does not bother me. I can see that in the summer it can be hot with no shades, but right now there is no sun and instead I feel in my face a refreshing but not overwhelming wind. Desolate and interesting, or desolately interesting or interestingly desolate? Anyway it's a bit surreal and I like it!

Looking back at Rabe, the last town before the MESETA, which depending on who you read, is boring or magnificent.

Meseta: somewhat familiar scenery. A bit of blue sky ahead now

Meseta

Meseta: a sign post points to an old fountain

The little town of Hornillos appears on the bottom of the final steep hill. Oh, this is the place that gave me so much trouble in terms of accommodation. To book hotels on this trip took just a few clicks on booking.com. There were a handful of places not available on commercial booking sites. For most of those places, though, I was able to e-mail the hotels directly and they quickly responded. For this stage, initially I reserved a hotel 2km away on booking.com who offers a pick-up service from Hornillos, but then I realized there is a small hostal right in town here, De Sol A Sol (what a name).
E-mail communication was slow at best, however, and when I tried to confirm several days ago from Logrono, I was told that they are already sold out, but they will offer another place 7km away. Normally this would be annoying but I knew exactly what this other accommodation was. That is El Molino, a casa rural that has a huge connection to "The Way." I had planned to try to visit El Molino somehow just to look around anyway. So this obviously was a welcome solution. It actually took another phone call directly to El Molino to confirm, which the Dutch owner of our Belorado pension helped with.

Arriving at Hornillos, after covering 21km in just over 4 hours, by far my record speed, I find that all is well! Chisoon has arrived safely, and so has the luggage which has already been transferred from De Sol A Sol to El Molino. After a quite non-welcoming attitude from the only bar open in Hornillos, we pick up bocadillos at a more friendly place instead and get picked up to head for El Molino.

Hornillos coming into view, as I descend steeply down "Mule-killing Slope." The man from Seattle in front of me had seen us back at Akerreta Hotel.

Hornillos

Hornillos: Hen Fountain

De Sol A Sol: the connection to "The Way" - a signed poster for Samuel, the innkeeper, from Sheen and Estevez, his in-laws

El Molino. This is what they mean by a casa rural! A modest but well-kept house with animals, surrounded by farmland in a peaceful setting. And the quietly welcoming nature of the owner Milagros and her staff is immediately obvious. We meet other guests and, ahem, educate them about the history behind making of the movie, i.e., it was a chance encounter between Martin Sheen's grandson and Milagros' daughter in this very house that led to their marriage and the subsequent genesis of the movie.
The dinner is raucous partly because of Tono, a Spaniard from Majorca, who is entertaining as well as helpful as a translator. Food is excellent and 12 guests from Spain, Germany, France, New Zealand, and U.S. feel like we made new friends.