Day 16 Tardajos (Burgos) to Hontanas
Thursday 23rd May 2013
21.5 km - 4.5 hrs
With 500 km to walk from Burgos to Santiago de Compostela I did not want to walk over ground I had already covered. Since I stopped at Tardajos on my first attempt I decided that I should restart there. Besides, the route out of Burgos to Tardajos is pretty boring so I did not want to re-do it. The other advantage was that it gave me the opportunity to reach Hontanas after 21.5 km rather than 31.5 km, which would make for an easier day. Hontanas is a much more appealing place to stop, rather than Hornillos del Camino.
The concierge at the Norte y Londres Hotel called for a taxi for me, and I left just before 8 a.m. The 16.5 euro fare took me to Tardajos by 8-10 a.m. and I was ready for off. The temperature was 8 degrees centigrade, somewhat warmer than the last time I had been in Tardajos. I walked down to the Bar El Camino opposite the albergue in Tardajos, and had breakfast. I did not want to make the same mistake that I made on the previous occasion by not eating well enough! |
My starting point - the cross in Tardajos
Fuente El Peregrino - Tardajos
Heading away from Tardajos in open countryside
Rain clouds brewing overhead
Approaching Rabe De Las Calzadas
The Church in Rabe De Las Calzadas
Attractive fountain in Rabe De Las Calzadas
The Church
A better class of graffiti in Rabe De Las Calzadas!
The path ahead to Hornillos del Camino
Poppies
Hornillos del Camino
Beautiful irises - how the season has changed since my previous trip
The albergue - Hospital de Perigrinos Sancti Spiritus in Hornillos
The Church
A lot more cyclists compared to my previous trip
The flat lands of the Meseta
Dropping down the hill into Hontanas
Albergue El Puntido
| During the course of the walk I only spoke with one other perigrino that was walking at the same pace as me, and that was Joseph from Germany. Joseph and I arrived together at Albergue El Puntido at 1-45 p.m. and were the first to check in. It was quite a warm day, and the El Puntido temperature display was showing 13 degrees centigrade. After getting settled in and having a shower, it was time for an enjoyable pint of beer/limon mix.... most refreshing! Actually it was quite strange sitting in the sun outside El Puntido as I did not know any of the other perigrinos. They had been walking together for some time and were a tight knit group and were in high spirits. But then Katie London came along, walking in sandals due to an infected toe, and introduced herself. Katie is from California and was walking the Camino following recovery from a cancer. It was really nice of her to take the trouble to say Hello, and I was soon introduced to others in the group and explaining why I had just re-started from Burgos. |
As the sun moved round everybody followed suite until the entire road was turned into a coffee shop!
Dinner at El Puntido with (L to R) Gary Lee (IoW, England), Jacques (Grenoble, France),
Joseph (Germany) and myself
Accommodation Notes
| There are several albergues in Hontanas and all look to be quite good. El Puntido, opposite the church, is probably the best and the centre of the action due to the space outside adjacent to the road which acts a road-side coffee shop. |
Albergue El Puntido
Quite small dormitories in El Puntido
My bed for the night.... bottom bunk near the window.... the advantage of arriving early.
Note the lockers to the right, but unfortunately only two had keys.
El Puntido also has some individual rooms available
| lbergue Santa Brigida is just down the street from El Puntido and looks to be a nice placeI first bumped into Jane and Digby Wilkinson from New Zealand in the coffee shop here, although we only spoke briefly. I was to walk with them quite a lot later on. The Municipal Albergue was just across the street from the Santa Brigida. |
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Albergue Santa Brigida
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