Days 12 and 13 Thoughts

5/26
Start: Burgos
End: Hontanas
Distance: 39.5 km

1. The best night of sleep ever.

It was amazing. I slept so well and was well rested. It was the best night of sleep since I've been in Spain. Good thing too since we walked 39.5km....

2. Favoritism to donativos

I've now stayed in a donativo twice. It runs on volunteers and donations from the peregrinos there. They are typically attached to a church or parish. At both, a mass was before a communal dinner. It was just an overall great experience. There are typically few people who go to these and therefore you actually get to know one another and it's more personal.

3. 39km damn near 40km

That's 24.5 miles for you Americans. The longest I've ever walked in a day and the most I ever want to. It was rough but I got through it. That's all that matters. 

4. Revelations come out of no where, shocking I know.

5. Everyone is on the Camino for different reasons. 

5/27
Start: Hontanas
End: Itergo de Vega
Distance: 25.74 km

1. Rain sucks. We walked all day in the rain. It was not fun. It was a consistent rain and as we climbed a "mountain" it was a downpour. Hopefully the rain will hold. It sucks. Ominous clouds are awful especially when you can't out walk it.... 

2. La Meseta is what we are walking through right now. It's basically relatively flat with wheat fields and that's all you can see. Maybe a few windmills but that's it. So, it's hit or miss on how nice of a walk it is. 

3. The views. 

As I said above, it's hit or miss but today as we came down the mountain, it was great as was looking back at the villages we left. 

4. Monastery with the locos. 

We were struggling this morning in the rain and were gonna stop at a monastery which was built and used in the 1500s. Now it's a volunteer ran donativo albergue. As I was walking up to it, a massive tour bus flew by and let out people. They were going crazy, getting photos, running around, and getting a sello, or stamp saying they were there. They were there for no more than 5 minutes. It was hectic. But the hospitalera, the volunteer, came running over and was inviting to us, shooing away some of the other people, asking where we are from, where we came from today, where we were going and what she could do to help us. It helped take away from the craziness.

As she pored us coffee, some of the buserinos as we called them asked for coffee as well. She told them off saying it was not a bar, but the coffee was for peregrinos and not tourists. Her goal was to keep the peregrinos welcomed, happy, and unperturbed. It was so welcoming. I don't know how many people took my picture, but it had to be a bunch. 

I don't really know why, but I was a little upset, hmm I don't know if that's the right word. Maybe rubbed me the wrong way. I dont know. Eh, it was just ... I don't know how to put it into words. It was disappointing to see, frustrating to deal with, and just I guess wrong? A "tourist" was walking around and saw a shower and toilet and was confused. I guess that's the best way to put it. They didn't realize that to us peregrinos, it was shelter from the storm; it was a place to recoup; it is a place to sleep at night; and most importantly, the volunteers and peregrinos within help push us forward to the next town. Either way, the volunteers were immensely helpful. 

5. El Patio is a bar in Castrojeriz, one of the small towns we walked through. We met the owner in Pamplona and she told us to stop by. So we did.