Ruta de la Lana - The toil in the Sun

I finally reached Burgos. Despite my pleas for no fuss the cathedral was full. I carried my broken body towards the alter, crutch in one hand and harness dragging my rucksack. It was a pitiful sight. Some sobbing was heard towards the back.  A beautiful young woman tried to help me but her mother pulled  her back. “This is his journey, he must finish it on his own”. Then the Archbishop of Burgos started to speak, saying that he was humbled by my humbleness and inspired by my inspiration and other such statements. I rose slowly to my feet. This is what I said:  “Hello Seoul” speaking in Korean. Then, in both Latin and Spanish, I said (channeling my 1978 child) “Young people of Spain, I love youse”. Well, the crowd erupted. After the applause had died down, I repeated the learnings from the ‘Suffering in Silence’ and ‘Sins of Others’ Caminos and then I said, quoting the great Roberto Duran, “No Mas”.  And then I left the church, accompanied by the beautiful young woman...

The last 12.5 kms to Burgos are along an old railway track called the Camino Verde. A bit of a slog to be honest although some of the legacy signage aimed at the train drivers of old was quite interesting.Those of you of an older vintage might recall similar signs in Ireland. 

Reading about Charlton Heston ( who starred in the original movie in 1961 with Sophia Loren) turns out he was an early advocate for the Gun Control Act of 1968 in the US. And was in fact a registered Democrat before doing a complete u-turn and ending up as a five term NRA president. He hated political correctness as well. Here’s a picture of him with Sophie Loren in El Cid. 

6 days to go. How time flies when you are toiling in the sun. Accommodation options getting quite scarce now but haven’t had to sleep rough yet. A few near misses mind.  Crossed into Castillo Y León today at 1340 Metres. What a view. Now I’m waiting for 9pm to eat so kinda starving - one bacon and cheese sandwich plus a tin of sardines was my fare today. Not even one beer, there is nothing here. I know, gripping stuff. It will all be over soon. I hear they are preparing the Cathedral in Burgos for my arrival. If I make it. I intend to speak in tongues. 

Tonight (17/4) I’m in the medieval town of Siguenza which happens to have a Parador (these exclusive government owned hotels). So I thought I might stay, then I checked the prices. €180 for the night. My next option was a room in the local monastery for €15. I’m sure you can guess which way I went. (Btw in medieval towns one is allowed call women ‘wench’ or ‘wenches’ and not be beaten up. I’m loving the freedom.) 

Rather than have a blank wall the locals will often paint a house scene, not bad…Two different villages 300 kms apart. C

Non alcohol Mahou Tostada 0.0 plus the inevitable roll for the walk next day. That beer is really nice must say, especially on tap. I’d say half the punters are drinking zero alcohol beers over here, it’s very common. 

In Ireland we have these man caves out back. Just for men. In Spain, the men actually use real caves, well they do in Villaconejos de Trabaque. These lads below spotted me in a bar and hours later we were in the man cave eating and drinking. They are ‘friends of the Camino’ and watch out for hikers. Fair play. 

Last night - sleepy hamlet Tonight, beside nuclear power plant 

As you can see, I’m half way today.  It should be joyful but I’m sorry to report from Villar de Domingo Garcia that the trolling has become too much.  My revenue streams from Asia (largely South Korea, Japan and China) are way down as a result and my image right valuations from South American markets have dropped by 25%. This is very disappointing. Since the commercial success of the ‘Sins of Others’ walk followed by the surprising hit of the ‘Suffering in Silence’ Camino I’ve relied heavily on these sources of income and to be trolled like this…Well, it’s harsh.  I’ve also had to engage a mental wellness coach in order to keep my emotional yin balanced with my physical yang. Plus I suspect that this coach may also be trolling me but I can’t prove it. Anyway, the ‘Toil in the Sun’ continues regardless because the fans (fan) demand it. 

It makes all the difference; you can have nice smooth sand/clay a la below  Or you could get this, every step quite painful…

Lot of work goes into keeping the vines trim. Met this old timer out in the fields whose sole job is to keep them trimmed. Picture at bottom is what they look like before he goes to work. Picture on top is after he trims. The tool for cutting looks pretty vicious. He showed it to me and I quickly made my excuses. They hate the English in these parts. 

Less salubrious quarters tonight, Holy Week is messing things up so I’m staying in the local library surrounded by dolls. What did I do to deserve this? 

Thanks for all the support folks. I’ve had messages from all over the World. Given one of my previous blogs got a prize from the Icelandic Tourist Board ( 3rd place, hiking blog category), this was not surprising.  Disappointingly, the trolls are out in force again. Phrases such as tosser, complete tosser, don’t come back, who gives a flying rasher are all very unkind and disrespectful to the thousands of my followers who take this blog (rightfully) very seriously. It’s disappoint ing.  As I said at the town hall meeting the other night in Alpera in front of an admittedly small crowd (circa 200 locals) ‘Kindness is just a subset of goodness. And goodness is a subset of God”. Then, by clever use of venn diagrams, I was able to show equivalency between kindness and the Holy Ghost and this was all very impressive. I walked off the stage humbled.  Anyway, Week 1 down; I suppose I’m alright, except for the trolls. 

Thought I was ordering the fish….. Grilled ear, from which animal I’m unsure. Another screw up. 

This hike is called Ruta de la Lana, the Way of the Wool, but up to now, no sign. A big relief. 

To be fair to me I only ate one of the pork chops and skipped desert and coffee, also included. Total cost €10. Very important to keep the body fuelled when hiking. Another pearl from Frank I hear the crowd mutter. 

Don’t look before food, ah, too late 

Quick teleport back to Sligo

That’s me on top of the building.