The desert (to Castrojeriz)
Trip Start
Aug 25, 2008
1
15
24
Trip End
Oct 02, 2008
Castrojeriz,
Spain
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Yes, I know that there was already an entry called low morale. However, this day beats it by far. I won't bore you with the details of what exactly hurts. Whatever it is, it is too much. I hate my guide! The damn thing just got the kilometres wrong. When it says 36 it is actually more like 42. Those cursed authors should have done this on their own instead of doing uneducated guesses of the distance! Oh what I just would tell them now if they were anywhere near me...
As of today, I have entered the meseta. The meseta is like a wheatfield desert. Miles and miles of harvested wheat fields stretch out over the horizon. No trees, no shade whatsoever, no people, just me and the road and endless wheat fields. Now I know why many people avoid the part of the Camino between Burgos and León
Is that an elevator?
. I've already thrown my stick twice and shouted the Austrian battle cry of uttermost frustration at the horizon - to no avail. There is no alternative to walking, because not walking is not an option. It's absolutely frustrating looking at the map and figuring that there should be a village nearby, just to realise that the landscape is plain fields as far as the eye reaches. Actually, you don't see this tiny village Hontanas until you actually stand above it, because it is located in a damn basin. Really, I have no idea how I made it to Castrojeriz. In the end I am quite proud that I did those 32 kilometres though (should have been 26 according to the guide). Beside the maps, the guide is utterly useless, because it is either incomplete or just plain wrong. Especially I hate the way it lies about the distances, because being able to assess more or less accurately how far you still have to go and when you are due to arrive is what keeps you walking - it's the hope that this trial will end in a discernible future. If it is wrong, I take it as a lie, and if they lie to me, it gets personal. Now here goes the warning: If you stumble upon an orange Hikeline German guide, don't buy it. They lie. There's at least two better guides out there, although, I might say, anyone might be better.However, the frustration already ebbs away, because I am at quite a distinguished albergue called "Bei Resti" with two cool rules: 1. No mobile phones and 2. No rising before 7 am. The hospitalero Moncho is one of a kind, and just his personality makes staying at the place worthwhile. He also knows about the French woman and sympathises with me.
Now, what else to tell?
I ruined both my right ankle and my right boot, the latter being the cause for the former. Now I have an open mega blister the size of a walnut and not yet an idea what I am going to do about it tomorrow. Well, may that be the sorrow of another day. All that counts is that I'm in Castrojeriz, I've got a nice bed and a full stomach. Oh, yes, and not that it has to do with anything, but just as an odd side-note, there's Flo in the bunk bed below me.
Comments
hello
Never ever give up ......