Distance traveled: 24.6 kilometers

Today was a day for pictures.

We began with a brief but steep climb out of Villafranca. Two mornings in a row, we had a sunrise whose beauty defies description.

We spent the next couple of hours walking through a dirt road running through a woods. It had been a while since we’d been in a wooded area, so it was a nice change of pace and prompted some really good conversations.

Once out of the woods, it was back to the open fields to which we’d become more accustomed.

Later in the day, we encountered a pretty big labyrinth. Pilgrims have a curious habit of creating stone formations along the path; more frequently, these take the form of cairns (mounds of stone), often grouped together. Occasionally, though, someone would go to the trouble of creating a labyrinth. I never went so far as to walk through one, but I really enjoyed finding them. I think the point is to force you to slow down and contemplate something else.

Not long after the labyrinth, we found that we had some company on the trail. It was a pretty warm day, and part of a herd of cows had decided to cool off in the shade. Some were napping in the grass on the side of the trail! Cows would become more and more a part of the Camino, and I came to realize that I actually am quite fond of cows. (Perhaps because in all of the forms of astrology that assign an animal to you, I am some form of a cow: I am a Taurus born in the year of the Ox, and my primal zodiac sign is a yak. Apparently, I should be a lot more stubborn than I actually am…)

Further on, we came upon a cross. There actually aren’t as many crosses along the Camino as you might expect given that it’s a Catholic pilgrimage route. I’m not sure who put this one here, but people had left shoes and other mementos as its base.

The main event, however, was our arrival at the summit of a hill overlooking the valley in which, seemingly not so far away, the city of Burgos – and the end of this first and most challenging portion of the Camino – awaited us. Adam and Lou assured us: it’s easy to look down, see Burgos in the distance, and think “I’ll just push through and go all the way there today!”, but that would be a mistake. Thus, we were aiming for one of the hamlets at the bottom of the hill, where we’d spend the night and then have an easy walk into Burgos the next day.

From this vantage point, there’s a large sign that essentially says that when pilgrims arrive at this point after all of the trials of the preceding days, they can’t help but think that they’ve never seen a more beautiful sight. According to Adam, pilgrims of the past often fell to their needs to thank God for having helped them get this far. I did the same.

It took longer to get to the next town than anticipated; it was quite a long way down. (“Hill” is a bit of a misnomer here. It took us about 45 minutes to get down to the valley level.)

In our semi-private room later, it was Adam’s turn to join me and Kim in tending to blisters. He got one today, after all the days before without any problems! He and Kim went further than I had been willing to go: the picture below shows them literally sewing up their blisters with a needle and thread.

I went to bed full of anticipation for the next day. Aside from the meaning of the moment – which I’ll discuss tomorrow – I was unabashedly thrilled about the idea of treating myself to a night alone in a hotel room, hopefully with a bathtub. After a week of bad sleep due to lots of snoring, I was ready to sleep in a room all by myself!