Enter the Meseta
When I entered our hotel today, my first thought was, Welcome to Barbie's dream house. I don't think I've seen quite so much purple in one place since an episode of Barney & Friends. They also managed to come up with a way to keep the shower curtain from ever attracting any mildew. There just isn't a shower curtain.
The room was not the only surprise today. The Camino takes you down the valley into a town called Hornillos. The "town" appeared to have two small groceries and two hostels. By the time I arrived at 1:00 p.m. both hostels were full. That was never an issue because we had reservations elsewhere. The issue was that “elsewhere” was back up in the direction I had come from, and then a turn up a deserted road, for approximately two and a half miles.
On the way out of Burgos, the Camino passes through a lush park. We are now officially beginning the second third of the trip as we enter the Meseta, a long expanse of flat plains with little scenery, subject of several discussions of tedium. So far the views are still memorable.
This is the section of the Camino that people say tests you mentally, whereas the first third tests you physically. We saw one last church in this stretch before cresting the hill and entering the Meseta, with its promised week of unending flatlands.
The more people I encountered along the trail, the more I found out others took a taxi ride yesterday as well. It's amazing how quickly the weather can change. One intrepid traveler actually began the walk and stopped when she discovered frost was building up on her exposed skin. I was happy to avoid that discovery as I rode in the Prius yesterday.
We found a wall of money and good wishes posted to the wall of a coffee shop along the trail. Breakfast this morning was excellent. Plenty of variety and substance.
Lunch was a sandwich we made in the hotel room before leaving this morning. Dinner will be at the hotel – there is nowhere else to be. Hopefully it will be a pleasant surprise. We are glad to be nearing the halfway point of our journey.
