Day 13 - Burgos to Hontanas

 20 mile day today so I left the hostel early and picked my way out of Burgos through the old city as dawn was breaking. I wandered along tree lined avenues next to the river and past the cathedral where the sound of matins gave a sort of ancient magic to the cool morning air.

When you leave Burgos on the Camino Frances, you are considered to be on the “Meseta”, a long stretch of high Castilian plateau across central northern Spain. The Meseta takes you along open tracks through vast open fields. Civilisation is rare so water and bananas are essential. It is supposed to be a wonderful period for peaceful mental reflection or can be just be a long monotonous struggle depending on your point of view and the weather. I’m with the former view, it’s lovely open country with fewer people as at this stage as the pilgrims are starting to spread out.

For me this is a time for good thinking and good audio books. Today’s ‘read’ is Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, a polemic on the strength of building a centre-left societal proposition and an argument for how the failings of liberal Governments are letting the populists in. Just right for the Meseta.

Tonight’s Albergue has a foot spa apparently, just off to investigate.