Tosantos to Atapuerca. Distance 25.5 km (15.8 mi / 16.2) to go 512.7 km

My day started very early, not necessarily by choice. My albergue, across the courtyard from the "bar", had 10 bunk beds in one room. I believe they were full although I didn't take attendance. What I DO know is that out of a potential population of 19 pilgrims, there were approximately 135 trips to the bathroom last night!

I say this with confidence because my bunk was the bottom bed immediately adjacent to the bathroom door. Every time the door opened, every time it closed, every time the light was turned on, every time the toilet flushed, every time someone farted, I observed it. 

I don't know if the stream of traffic let up in the middle of the night or not, but it was going strong at 5 a.m. So I called it quits, got up, packed and literally opened the front gate at exactly 6 a.m., as the church bell began to ring.

It was not yet light but I was able to see sufficiently well to avoid digging out my headlamp. The town was tiny and had only three exits. Luckily I picked the correct one first, avoiding the use of one of my patented u-turns!

An early morning phenomenon - my shadow has a halo!

I walked for 4.4 miles before breakfast and did not see a single soul. After breakfast (a coffee Americana longo, y banana y pastry) I went right back to work, covering the next 11 km before stopping for a bathroom break and drink in Ages.

The walking was consistently uphill for the first 4km or so. And the climbing started immediately outside of Villafranca where I, very briefly, met two ladies from Iceland. I say briefly because they were just beginning their day and were struggling with the steepness of the hill. By the time I reached the top they had disappeared behind me!

The uphill finally ended at the top of the hill (duh) where there was a monument built to honor the victims (?) of a massacre (Monte de la Padraja) that occurred in 1936, at the outset of the Spanish Civil War. I had thought about placing a rosary there but decided not to because I did not know any of the back story. In reading about the war it seems that Francisco Franco and his forces systematically slaughtered their enemies, in this case lining up 300 people and mowing them down with machine guns. Turns out they were assisted in this by local church officials! Probably would not have been well received if I had left a rosary!

The remainder of my 11 km morning was spent marching along a wide swatch of dirt cut through the trees. It eventually ended in Ages, where I hoped to buy lunch. But faced with yet another jambon & cheese sandwich I opted out! A cold drink and pastry filled the gap between here and dinner. I have found their ham (jambon) to be pretty much tasteless compared to Black Forest or Virginia ham, and I've quickly tired of rock hard bread. I'm sure there are many more ham and cheese sandwiches in my future, but not today.

The pretty little "bar" with plants growing inside!

Somewhere around this time I caught up with Liz from several days ago. Skip, her walking partner for about four days, had travelled to where he could catch a bus, to catch a train, to catch a taxi, to catch a plane home. He had said he was to mull over several job offers and needed to return home to do so. So Liz and I walked and talked through the early afternoon, discussing the demise of Bar Harbor (she is from Maine) and the wonderful history of Lubec, Me. (See my P48 blog).

We walked for another 5 or 6 km, and finally decided enough is enough, settling in Atapuerca. This town is, despite its size, on the map because of an important archeological discovery just to the east; the remains of the earliest known European! There is a historical display nearby but my concentration is on Burgos.

The albergue here will do for tonight. It costs only 9 Euros ($10) for the night. Unfortunately, the WiFi is terrible. It ONLY works outside, the IPad still can't "find it" and it is threatening to rain at any time. Only had a brief video chat with my dear wife before the battery went dead on my phone.

And this blog? Typed in a note pad, to be cut, pasted and posted tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, there are two stretches where alternate "scenic routes" are shown. Because I walked further today I have only about 20 km to walk tomorrow into Burgos where a hotel room will feel soooo good.

TRAIL ART:

Buen Camino and keep your left elbow bent my darling Alicia.