Greetings from Castrojeriz, a little village that exists solely due to pilgrims passing through and seems to be in a constant siesta. My type of village. I walked just 10 km today as I wanted to take it easy after a pretty grueling 32 km day yesterday. Yesterday was the first day starting across the Meseta and so far I’ve loved it. It is quiet and solitary and at one point I couldn´t see another person in any direction I looked in. That doesn´t happen to often no matter where you are. The clouds were constantly moving so you’d be in the sun for a few minutes and then you’d see the shadows rolling in up ahead. And the reason it is so quiet is that so many people completely skip it and decide to take a bus or train from Burgos to Leon because they’ve heard it is so boring. Better for me. Actually there is a part in the middle that is supposedly hard to walk in, man made hard gravel road or some sort of surface like that. Maybe I’ll bring out the rollerblades for that. That’s about the only thing it feels like I didn’t pack on this trip.
Speaking of which, I took a big load off my shoulders in Burgos. My backpack I had brought was just too big and heavy and I had had enough of lugging it and the extra weight around. So i shipped it and the sleeping bag and some clothes off to Santiago. That is now the third time I’ve gone to the Correos (post office) to shed some weight. And instead I bought a small backpack and I decided to go with no sleeping bag. That may be a questionable move as just last night the albergue I stayed in not only didn’t offer blankets, and not only did they not have heating in the rooms, but it was the coldest night of the trip so far. I put on all my clothes and, get this, slipped on an industrial garbage bag around my legs to keep the warmth in. Every time I would move in bed you would hear this rustling sound and people were literally cracking up. I am now ‘that guy’ that people look at to feel better about themselves 🙂
Ok it is now bed time. The sun is setting, the church bell is ringing 9 o’clock and I need to bring my clothes in from the clothesline outside.
Bonas noces.
a meal with basil 
Hey Emile Keep on the good walk 🙂 and don’t lose you mind out there.
Keep on the good walk man, I keep updating this blog it is becoming a ritual for me to read it 🙂
Bueno Cinco de Mayo….don’t know if its more Mexican than a Spanish holiday…I just know it means “Margarita day” here in the States. Although I probably won’t get any Margaritas tonight as it is Kickboxing night with your Sister……We took in the opening night of Iron Man at the movies (very good by the way) on Friday and then Lena and bunch of us went out dancing on Saturday night and I was thinking about what you were doing on the otherside of the globe. Did you make it across the Meseta? How was the gravel road part? Hope you are doing ok without the sleeping bag…I was surprised you gave that up. I guess that is part of the sacrifice you must make to reach your goal….Looking forward to your next post. Take care and stay warm!
Sincerely,
Kristen
What the hell? You have a blog? The world has ended. It is over. I am building my shelter.