We loved our stay at the parochial inn. Of course I turned up a bit buzzed and late for dinner, but no one hassled me about it.

Dinner was a simple meal of lentils and bread. With wine, of course.

Over dinner, I met my Camino guru, Adolfo. I had heard about him the day before from Andre, a German pilgrim who passed on some of Adolfo’s tips to me, which helped me a lot on my walk that day.

It’s Adolfo’s fifth time on the Camino de Santiago, and he gives courses on hiking, etc.

Before we set off from Grañon, he helped Raffy and me adjust our backpacks, and he taught me how to put on my shoes correctly.

Then, of course, he took off and we never caught up with him again.

Yesterday, we all walked separately. Alan went ahead. Raffy was in front of me, while Stephen’s injuries made him lag behind.

At a bend in the road, I misunderstood Raffy’s gesture for me to join him at a cafe so I, unknowingly, overtook him. I found out later that Stephen joined him at the cafe and that they walked together for a while.

When I got into Belorado, a Palm Sunday Mass was in session. I peeked inside and found Bernie. I was overjoyed to see him again and was stoked to finally meet his granddaughter, Maddy. She said that they were going to join the procession and that they would probably stop at the next town.

So I carried on and had a pintxo stop. I still thought that Raffy was ahead of me and I was no longer sure if Stephen was still behind me or if he had passed me by while I was in the bathroom. I waited for as long as I could and then went on my way.

I was starting to feel a little bit lonely on my own when Vincent, 32, Frenchie “in finance”, came along and we ended up walking together.

I bumped into him, or rather he bumped into me while I was at the bathroom at a rest stop in Navarette. He said he needed to fill his water bottle and I pointed out that that was what the water fountains in the plazas were for.

When he found me, I was making a wrong turn at a petrol station. He pointed me in the right direction and then just kept on walking with me. He was going to stop at one of the small towns before Villafranca Montes de Oca but they were never quite right so he ended up escorting me to Montes de Oca and staying at the same albergue as me.

At the albergue, we were reunited with Bernie and Maddy, and Mary (who will feature heavily in my soon-to-come Tale of the Glove) and Barry (whose name is really Juan and isn’t Irish; he’s Mexican and horrifically confused). It’s always a happy occasion when you meet up with people you had been walking with before. I joined them for the albergue’s pilgrim’s dinner.

Today, Alan and I had a rest day and took the bus to Burgos. Emma, a British pilgrim with a migraine, was left in our care so we weren’t totally useless today. I also did Raffy and Stephen’s laundry when we got into town.

Raffy, Stephen, and Austrian, Dieter, walked all 37 km. to Burgos.

We’re now with Rosan so the gang’s complete.

She’s starting off straight at La Meseta tomorrow, which is supposed to be one of the toughest parts of the Camino, so it will be a baptism of fire for her.

Accommodations:

San Anton Abad, Villafranca Montes De Oca

The albergue is attached to a swanky hotel and restaurant so it looks pretty impressive for only 7 euros per bunk bed. (For the dorm with single beds, it’s 10 euros per bed.)

A sleeping bag is required as no blanket is provided. My bed was also pretty lumpy so I didn’t sleep very well.

There are lockers beside the beds but there are no keys so you cannot lock them. The bathroom has one of the smallest showers in the world.

If you’re watching your budget, there’s a supermarket down the hill where most everyone went for provisions.

The albergue’s pilgrim’s meal (12 euros) was surprisingly good with generous portions.

Urban Burgos, Burgos

I can’t remember why Stephen booked us a hotel in Burgos. Maybe the albergues were full? Anyway, this is just a basic room with a basic bathroom. You pay, they give you a code and a check-in time and there are no receptionists or anyone to interact with. It’s a bit bizarre. I would recommend this for couples staying only for a few days. Great location though near the bus station and laundromat. And it feels great to have a real bed again, sith pillows (- plural!) and sheets!

Except thag they still didn’t give us towels and they have those damned motion sensor lights in the bathrooms, which wouldn’t be so bad if the room weren’t so small. Surely one could go for a piss without having to illuminate the entire room.