The Curse of San Juan, Rest Days, and the Meseta

We are coming up on the end of our first long rest break, in the town of Burgos.  It's been an interesting and varied week, and I find myself mentally gearing up for the next stage of our trek: eight flat and possibly hot days to Leon.

We left Logrono relatively late, because our hotels include breakfast in our stay, and it's hard to pass up a breakfast buffet, even if it means delaying your departure and potentially walking in more heat than you would like.

Our first day was a longer one - nearly 18 miles that took us to the town of Najera, which straddles a river.  Najera is an interesting place; the old town, where we stayed is very quaint.  The approach, which takes you through the industrial and modern part of town, is not.  This was the students first exposure to the not-so-picturesque parts of rural Spain and several of them commented on that fact.  I'll admit I heard words like "sketchy" and "shady", which I happened to agree with.  But, true to my role as Director, and General Ambassador of All Things Spanish, I simply replied with the snarky comment that we couldn't all live in uber-attractive parts of the world, whereupon I could see the wheels start to turn.  Evil mission accomplished.

My friend and boss, Paul, left us the next morning to return stateside.  The students and I have missed him, but I have a feeling he will not be sad to miss this next section of the trail.  We stayed that night in the town of Santo Domingo de la Calzada.  The students had a very nice albergue, whereas Ty and I, by virtue of my previous adventures in Spain, stayed in the Parador, which is a 16th century palace, on points I had accumulated.  I will admit, I felt a little guilty about this, at least until I went to bed that night and slept gloriously.

The walk to Santo Domingo takes you through some beautiful fields of wheat, rye, grape, and olive, and, in an odd juxtaposition, a golf course and high-end suburb.  Just outside the golf course as you crest a hill a young-ish man of about 30 had set up a stand where he was handing out fruit and drinks and accepting donations with a sign saying "Unemployment for persons under 30 in Spain is approximately 60%.  I can't get a job, so I am creating my own.  Thanks for your support."  His statistics are accurate, and it's a reminder that even though most of us in the US feel like things are better after the great Recession, Spain, and much of the EU does not enjoy that same sentiment.  I admired his spirit, and desire to not expect someone else to solve his problem, so I overpaid for some very delicious cherries, which are now in season here in Spain.

A further reminder is the suburb, which is all high-end row houses, most of which stand empty, though they are continuing to construct.  This section of the Camino is almost like walking through the set of The Walking Dead.  Eerie.

In Santo Domingo, the students offered to cook dinner for Ty and me, so we joined them in the albergue for a nice meal, which I very much appreciated.  The next day was shorter and took us the very rural bed and breakfast of a couple of friends of ours, Ana, and her daughter Ana.  We met them and stayed with them when I walked the Camino in 2011, and I have returned with each Pepperdine group.  They are very hospitable, and the students seem to enjoy having the whole B&B to ourselves with home-cooked food and a chance to relax.  Ana, the daughter, had just married when I was here two years ago, and I was very surprised to see that she now has an adorable baby boy!

The unfortunate thing about staying with Ana and company is that it makes for a very long day the next day.  The scheduled stop is in a small town called San Juan de Ortega that is in fact a wide spot in the road.  I have historically avoided this town because the only place to stay is a very spartan hostel run by the church/monastery.  It has large dormitories, no connectivity, iffy food, and questionable showers/toilets.  The alternative is to walk another 2.5 miles to the town of Ages, population 80, which has, believe it or not much better services.  The problem is that shooting for Ages makes for a 22 mile day, and even San Juan is 19.5.

So, we decided to make for San Juan, and give it a try, the thought being that though we would have a longer walk into Burgos (15.5 miles instead of 13) it would not be as difficult a day into Burgos because we would not have stretched to 22 miles the day before.

Good theoretical plan.  The walk to San Juan involves crossing a mountain range which was historically the most dangerous part of the Camino, due to bandits, and the last 7 miles is very remote, with no services.  Ty and I walked together, and we were both struggling.  We made it in to San Juan around 3:30, which is pretty late.  But we made it.

And the walk into Burgos was marginally easier, but several of our group started feeling rather poorly, and the approach to Burgos is awful, and you either slog through five miles of industrial park or a never-ending, but at least green and pretty walk along the river.  In transit, you pass the site where the oldest known remains of our human ancestors were found.  Atapuerca, with the remains dating to 1.2 million years ago.  How they know this, I don't know.  This is why I'm an accountant and not a scientist.

Burgos is a town of about 200,000 that straddles the River Arlanzon.  It has the second oldest cathedral in Europe, which is also the second-largest in Spain, being construction beginning in the 1220s.  It also has the ruins of an Arabic castle from the 9th century on top of a hill overlooking the old city.  Burgos was the capital of the old kingdom of Castile until it merged with the kingdom of Leon in the late 1200s.  It a neat town to walk around, eat in outdoor cafes, and generally take a break from walking with a pack.

Unfortunately, about half the group, myself included, have been battling food poisoning while we're here.  Remember what I said about avoiding San Juan?  Well, we're pretty sure that's why.  But at least it has mostly happened while we're in a nice hotel (15th century palace, actually) and have nice beds, and decent meals.  This is in fact part of the Camino too, and while I hate feeling bad, and having students feel bad, I'm rather philosophical about it.

Yesterday was my birthday, and even though I was battling The Curse of San Juan de Ortega, I had a nice day.  In true Spanish tradition, I took people out to lunch, the students were kind enough to get a big card for me that they all signed and a birthday cake at dinner.  It was great.

From here to Leon, the walking gets generally easier physically and harder mentally.  It will be flatter, but not quite the same picturesque landscape we've enjoyed so far.  It will likely be hotter, so we will tend to begin walking earlier in the day whenever possible.  I tell the students this is all part of the preparation for what God will do in our lives spiritually during the last part of the Camino.  For me, though I dread the increased monotony, I look forward to the mental challenge and to what God might have to say that I need to hear.