Keep On, Keepin' On

After leaving the beautiful, old city of Burgos, we continued west a few more days toward
our next big city- León. This year, Pope Benedict is planning to visit Santiago on October 6th.

From what we have heard, many people are planning to join the Camino for only the last 100 kilometers and then arrive, basically fresh and clean after only 10 days of walking, to grace the
pope with their presence. . . Not us.

After being in the countryside and often alone, walking into a crowded,
noisy city like Burgos is a shock to the system. We could not be more happy to
depart early the next morning and get back to the open air.
Hellooooooooo swaying grasses and puff clouds.

We arrived in Hontanas after a long day. According to our sheet of paper with the list of towns, the only guide we have, there would be a "grocery store" open . . . but the sign on the old,
wooden door told us it was closed until the spring. Shoulda known.

One chilly morning, the full moon was setting in front of us just as the sun was rising behind.

This abandoned convent was impressive, the cold,
empty stone looming over us as we passed on the road below.

The sun hasn't yet cleared away the morning mist,
but the road stretching long before us is just visible through the haze.

The next part of the journey was flat, flat, flat.
Many of our fellow hikers got bored, complaining that it was the same EVERY DAY, but we found the beauty in each step, watching the changing colors of the soil, the changing vegetation.

For once, it feels like a real Midwestern fall with yellow leaves tumbling
down from the trees and covering the ground. Later, we jumped in a leaf pile raked
together with a stray branch. Thank you Christopher!

Many of the houses in these small villages were built with sun-dried bricks made of mud, straw and horse hair. It is shocking to walk (in one day) from a huge city like Burgos, that is very industrial and busy, to a village like this of maybe one dozen mud houses.

The lovely Santa Maria cathedral de León Cathedral.
It is nicknamed the "House of Light" for the 125 stained glass windows
that line the sides of the cathedral, bringing in light of all colors.

Tune in for part #3 of the Camino de Santiago . . .