So I left Burgos on Saturday morning just as the El Cid festival got going.  The walk out of the city was quite pretty.   Made it to the town of Rabe de Las Calzadas.  There was only one albergue open in town.  Ultimately, I roomed with 6 men.  Boy, did that place smell rank by the morning!

The next day my walking started out pretty strong.  Then I reached the “meseta”, a plateau that is mostly wheat fields.  Miles and miles and miles of nothing but wheat in the blazing sun.     Continuing on grew more challenging, as a coughing fit took over.  Not to mention the sun was blazing.

I think it was a mistake to stop at the next albergue,  between towns.  The positive:  it’s situated in a grove of trees with a very cold river running through.  It’s just beautiful.  The down: the albergue itself is extremely basic, with only one WC for all 12 beds.  And – there are no ladders for the upper bunks!  Not that I care, as I snagged a bottom.

Laid down after a rather cold shower and washing some clothes, and could not stop coughing.  I felt like I was choking.   I heard people talk about me as they came in. A little while ago, a younger guy gave me a nighttime Theraflu.  I know he did it for everyone.

So the big thing:  I bought a beer and was drinking it on the patio.  As I took a drink I felt a sudden pain.  Stung by a bee inside my lower lip.  Just short of panic, I tried telling the hospitalero, but she speaks limited English.  One officious little guy thought my pantomime was asking for wifi.  Dumb ass –  as if I don’t know how to say wifi!  Fortunately, I think the bee was already a bit drunk and couldn’t remember how to sting well.  It hurts and is swollen,  but I’ll live to see another day.

The waters of the river are said to be healing.  Maybe.  There was not even a refrigerator at this place, so no ice.  All I could do was to keep pouring this cold water over my lip.  Whatever the reason, the swelling was much less than I expected it to be.

We had a wonderful communal dinner here of salad and chicken paella.  Monday morning I had a difficult time wanting to walk, as my lower face was now quite swollen and painful.

Walked to the town of Hornillos where I ran into two Danish women I met one of the early days.  They were going home, as one had a bad ankle that was getting worse.  They were waiting for a taxi to take them to a town in which they could get a bus to Leòn.  I  decided this was an opportunity and went with them.  We ended up back in Burgos at the bus station.  There was a long line, so I  decided to use the automated ticket machine.  Score!  Got the last ticket on the bus to Leòn leaving in 10 minutes.

I don’t feel at all badly jumping ahead.  The truth of the matter is that I was overly confident in thinking I could walk more than about 12 miles each day and was getting quite behind due to my speed and my physical issues.  Now that I’m a bit ahead of schedule, I hope to be able to walk the rest of the way to Santiago.  We’ll see.