Took a bus back from Sarria to Burgos, to walk the Meseta section of the Camino Frances, on my own. The Meseta is relatively flat and featureless geographically, and some people ride it with bikes or skip it altogether. 

I stay in the Burgos municipal albergue, which is large, multistoried, and modern. Since I made this unusual move backwards to here from Sarria, I don’t know anyone here and will start to recognize a different group of people. 

In the albergue at breakfast time I met an 80-something Asian lady from San Francisco walking this alone, sending her backpack ahead, and I. from Bielefeld, who helped me find where I was supposed to be when I got briefly lost in the labyrinth of the dormitory.

The way out of Burgos is much less extensive in terms of suburbs to get through. Soon I found myself in a broad, green landscape of wheat.  A cool, fresh breeze is blowing.

I stopped at a café and met a group of five middle-aged American guys from Virginia. All very friendly and it was nice to walk for a while afterwards and chat with them. I did not see much of them later as they planned to walk further that day.

The way continued on and there was no sight of the expected destination town (Hornillos de Camino). At last though, the town appears down in a sort of circular valley. Standing there taking in the view, I meet a Canadian who starts talking to me non-stop, seemingly a bit unstable. 

After stopping at a small shop for food, I find the town’s albergue. The hospitalero is a friendly, rangy Italian man with long hair, partially dyed blue.

 The albergue is next to the local church. As I sit outside the albergue to rest and eat, surrounded by hungry cats, someone appears on a bike, takes out a guitar and starts playing some beautiful flamenco chords in an alcove of the church. 

Sitting outside there I also meet people who I will come across later on the way – L. from Milan (a talented artist and photographer who has done 10 Camino walks) , E. and M. from Germany, I. from Bielefeld, E. from France, and O. from Barcelona.

 The Asian lady from San Francisco appears, late in the day, exhausted. She is told that the albergue is full and that she needs to keep walking to find someplace else, even though she had sent her backpack here (and now has to actually carry it.)