Sunday May 19

As I lay in the Spanish hospital bed, the Doctor says "Lo Siento Señor Fawkes, pero necesitamos quitar estos dos dedos de pie."   Anxiously, I turn toward Linda to understand what he said.  "The Dr. said that they will have to amputate your two toes" Linda tells me.   Ugh.  The nurse (who looks suspiciously like Penelope Cruz) offered a comforting smile.  This is not going to be a good day...

I have been having weird dreams on this trip.  The other night, I dreamed that Linda and I were hiking on the Camino in a densely forested area.  All of sudden a bunch of gnome like characters jumped out of the bushes.  Linda joined them, and they started reciting lines from The Lord of the Rings.  I said, "Linda, I didn't know you were a fan of the Hobbit."  Linda just smiled and said, "Mike, there are many things you don't know about me..."

(From Linda: "Hope you find this as funny as Mike does as he writes........He says that this is how John Grisham got his start...........how many more days do I have to spend with this guy?    My dreams are more simple; more Camino-like.     Last night I dreamt that I was having a hard time finding 'The Way' because the yellow arrows marking the path were in such strange shapes and weird shades of yellow.   And where is Mike?  With Penelope Cruz and the Hobbit.")

When we awoke this morning, it was hailing outside.  We decided to forge ahead, and left the hotel shortly before 8 am.  There was a steady rain, so we wore our ponchos.  The first 5 miles or so was through the outskirts of Burgos.  The Spanish inner cities are terrific, with outstanding ancient buildings, churches, squares, etc.  However, the outskirts of Spanish cities are often very ugly, with industrial, commercial,and residential buildings thrown together in a haphazard fashion. So, the walk out of Burgos was not nearly as nice as the walk within the inner city of Burgos.

After 2 hours, we stopped for breakfast in a small village.  At the bar, we encountered Hank and Ria, a retired couple from Holland who we have seen many days at other stops.  They do not have a place to stay tonight, and do not like staying at the albergues.  Linda tries to help them out by making Spanish calls to hotels along the way.  Unfortunately, everything is booked for the next 15 miles.  Linda and I leave, and hope that everything works out for Hank and Ria.

For the next 7 miles, we encounter a mix of sleet, rain and sun.  Just as it clears up, I take my poncho off to enjoy the sun and then, within 10 minutes, it starts pouring again.  This pattern repeats itself several times during the day.  The road becomes increasingly muddy, and once again, our feet weigh 10 pounds each with mud!  At 1:15, we reached the village Hornillas del Camino, where we have reserved a room for the night.

At the Casa Rural de sol a sol, our room may be the smallest that Linda and I have ever stayed in.  However, we do have our own bathroom, with an abundance of hot water, and fortunately, our own room, so I am not complaining.

We then went to the only cafe and bar in town to have lunch.  We ran into many people who we have met during the trip.  Later we walk back to our hostal to have a nap and who should we run into but Hank and Ria from Holland!   Fortunately for them, there was a cancellation at our hostal, and amazingly, they are staying at the same place!  Small world indeed.

Later that evening, we had dinner with the couple from Holland. When the bill came, I suggested that we go "Dutch treat."  I had to explain what that meant, and they got a good laugh.  They said that is just normal practice in Holland, so people didn't call it anything!

Tomorrow, we have a walk of about 13 miles to. Castrojeriz.   I suspect the weather forecast will be for more of the same.  Unfortunately, there is no Internet in this one horse town, and even my Spanish cell phone gets no service here!  So, this will be posted a day late.

Sent from my iPa