4/20: Burgos to Hornillos del Camino (walking); Hornillos del Camino to Castrojeriz (via taxi)

Time: 8:38 a.m. to 2:31 p.m.

Distance: 13.6 miles.

Steps: 28,512.

Elevation Gain: 366 feet.

Average Walking Speed: 3.1 mph.

Leaving Burgos on Easter

I left Burgos early Easter morning. Nearly everything was closed and shut tight. It was strange and kind of empty to not be celebrating the BIGGEST EVENT OF ALL TIME with the faithful.

Holy Moly!

Down the trail a bit is the small village of Rabe de las Calzadas. Saturday Morning Gang friend and Camino veteran, Dave Trice (hey Dave!), had recommended that I stop by the small chapel there. So I did. Holy moly!

There’s a Catholic nun there who welcomes and prays an individual blessing for each pilgrim who stops by. She is a simple woman who is the real deal. Total spiritual authenticity and drenched with the Holy Spirit. A holy woman.

She prayed for me in Spanish (she doesn’t do English), including making the sign of the Cross on my forehead. I was touched by her sincerity and care, and by the presence of the Holy Spirit. I thanked her, and she responded in Spanish what essentially sounded like, “No, I thank you. Take this blessing for others as you go.” Yes, ma’am. Will do!

Outside, I ran into Thai pilgrim friend Anthony. We have crossed paths several times and connected. He is a beautiful soul. We caught up briefly and took a photo.

I paused to take it all in. I looked back into the chapel and observed the nun praying individually for two women (Kim from Australia and Candy from South Carolina). The Holy Spirit was clearly moving in His signature unworldly, disarming, revealing, and overwhelming way. I’ve seen that before several times during my Christian pilgrimage — it always undoes me in the ways I need to be undone.

As the nun prayed for Kim (Australia), she was especially touched and moved. I watched her weep as God moved on her and touched her deep places. We were all touched and astonished. Kim kept saying, “Holy moly!”

The three of us walked together for a while, processing and discussing the experience. We had one of those wide-ranging and interesting Camino conversations.

The Numbers Guy Gets It Wrong

I’m kind of a numbers and data geek. The kind of guy who loves spreadsheets and making sense of big data sets for planning purposes. When I planned my pilgrimage, I created a big spreadsheet to make sense of time, distance, accommodations, etc. I have a hard deadline to make to Santiago de Compostela by May 11th and have to squeeze 500 miles in between April 4 (my starting date in France) and May 11.

I discovered that I had made a big calculation error in the mileage needed after Burgos. I missed a day. The miles needed to walk that day didn’t work physically. So, I had to improvise and redirect: I took a 40-minute taxi ride from Hornillos del Camino to Castrojeriz. It was WAY too far to add to my walk out of Burgos.

Castrojeriz: Korean Food on the Meseta!

I was dropped off at the doorstep of Albergue Orion in the very loveky village of Castrojeriz. It is, as I like say, officially awesome.

After some time on the pilgrim trail, you can tell pretty quickly whether an albergue will be merely bearable or really amazing. Orion is an amazing albergue. The owners are pilgrims who very thoughtfully curate a positive experience for other pilgrims. It’s all in the details and the heart.

On my way to my bunk room I spotted Aussie friends Jason and Jenni, who were also staying at my albergue! It was great to see them and to get caught up on our pilgrim exploits and experiences.

Most of the pilgrims opted to eat together for the community dinner,  which was cooked by one of owners, a Korean. Yes, folks, we had bibimbap for dinner out on the Meseta in rural Spain. And, friends, it was authentically excellent.

It was a such a treat to get fresh, exotic, and spicy food! One of the pilgrims staying with us was from Korea. It was clear that she was touched by such a suprising taste of home in faraway rural Spain.

Pilgrim Lesson: Plans are great, until they’re not. The Camino teaches flexibility and rolling with it when plans go bonk.

Pilgrim Wisdom: God is at work, His purposes to perform. Expect to see His hand in surprising ways.