Today was the first day we’ve talked about quitting the Camino. It was a long hard day, following a few long, hard days, and we’re wondering if this Camino with kids idea was simply too much.
We woke up and got a late start, having breakfast and waiting for a taxi to take us to Ages, where we planned to start our walk. We knew we wouldn’t be able to walk the entire leg today, simply based on where we were able to find accommodations. So, we let ourselves have a lazy morning, and we started our day in good spirits.
We walked from Ages to Atapuerca, where the earliest known human remains were discovered. I had hoped to visit the archeological site, but it was booked up. Still though, I enjoyed walking through the area. We stopped for a light lunch and coffee, with the plan of continuing on to Orbaneja.
We first realized we had made a mistake when Sandra went to map our route to our hotel in her phone and the name of our hotel appeared 60 miles away. We quickly realized there are two towns named Orbaneja, and we did not reserve a stay in the correct town. The frustration was compounded by the fact that we had sent our packs ahead, and we didn’t know where they would end up. We spent time calling the bag transfer company and trying to book a new hotel for the night.
With that taken care of, we set back out on the trail, but we only walked about a kilometer before a car drove past us, the driver pointing at our stroller, then the hill we had to climb, and shaking his head. We don’t know much Spanish, but we understood the warning that we likely couldn’t manage the trail with our stroller.
Defeated, I sat down in the grass to regroup and think of what to do. I didn’t want to press on and struggle over more obstacles. We decided to taxi to Orbaneja and walk the 5 kilometers to our hotel in Castañares.
Had we really thought this through, we could have booked a 2nd night in Burgos, and simply walked there, but we figured we would walk the 7 kilometers into Burgos in the morning.
On our walk, we talked over our options. Walking 10 to 15 kilometers a day is about the most we want to do with the girls, but that leaves us with over a month of walking still. We’re tired. We miss good food. We miss friends and family. And we don’t want to constantly be fighting to get our stroller over rocks and up mountains. We’ve currently decided to walk to Leon (a little over the halfway mark) and then look into what options we have for finishing the final 100 kilometers so that we can still reach Santiago.
We checked into our hotel in Castañares and ran down the clock until dinner. As we walked through the hotel, we became increasingly unsettled by the graphic, violent portraits on the walls. By the time we finished dinner, we were convinced that we were going to be murdered if we stayed in the hotel, and so we packed both girls into a taxi at 10:30 p.m. and went to Burgos a night early. We probably would have been fine, but both Sandra and myself had bad gut feelings about the place, and we wouldn’t have been able to sleep had we stayed. We had appeared to be the only guests in the hotel, dinner was microwaved pickled asparagus and microwaved Salisbury steaks, and we couldn’t stop thinking about the framed picture by the elevator… The one with the blood, and the knife, and the children with their eyes blacked out.
We got into Burgos late, but were both beyond relieved to have made it out of that place.
Maybe a rest day in Burgos will be the reset that we need to be able to pick up with more motivation. Leaving Burgos, we head into the meseta, which is the flat desert stretch of the Camino, and so we will get a reprieve from fighting the stroller over terrible terrain. We can decide later what we will do and how we will finish this…
I am very glad you left that hotel…also glad you are allowing yourself time to rest! I have complete faith you’ll find the option that works best for your family.
That photo…yikes. I am glad you left that hotel.The fact that you have walked even part of the Camino with 2 young children, with all of the unexpected struggles you have faced, is an amazing feat all by itself. I admire you for what you have done. You will figure out your next steps. No matter what you decide to do, you are the only ones who know what is best for your little family. We are all proud of you no matter what❤❤
When in doubt Do Nothing but Pat yourselves on your back, look over all the fabulous pictures you have taken and the lovely people you’ve met. Cry if it helps, Take a good breath and give yourselves a day off
Love to all
i know you will decide what is best for you all. It is an amazing journey you are on, no matter where you started and no matter where you end. Just enjoy Burgos and have a relaxing time. You are in Spain, and it is really cold and rainy here, so i am going to pretend that i am in Spain also.
Nope. Nope. Nope to that artwork in that hotel. What were they thinking?? Always trust your gut. Take a day or two to rest and reevaluate.
Sounds like definitely time for a well deserved rest day. You’ve done amazing well and no matter what you do from now on it will be the right choice.
Burgos is beautiful and the ideal place to rest and recover. Hope you find some good food there.
If you are interested in Atapuerca make sure to visit the Museum of Human Evolution in Burgos. It is a brilliant museum and has lots of info about the dig near Atapuerca. Even more than at the dig itself. I think Addie would enjoy the museum too. Its one of my all time favourites.
And that hotel was just damn scary.
Take care and buen camino
I’ve been wondering if we should stop by the museum, and I’ll definitely try to make it happen now! We decided on two full rest days in Burgos, and so I will aim for the museum tomorrow 🙂