The Meseta

I did not stay the extra day in Burgos as anticipated. To try to secure housing and transportation to hear the monks was more a complicated process than I was willing to engage. Also, I saw much of what I wanted to see in Burgos while there yesterday afternoon. I will take my rest day in a smaller quieter village in a couple of days.We made the 30k trek across the Meseta today and it was gruelling. The day started off very cold, but then it warmed up and stayed hot. The last 10k had quite a bit of climbing and was exhausting. We are now in Hotanas and once I finish this post, will settle down for a relaxing rest on my bed. This is very nice albergue and a huge improvment over last night. We were in a cabin like facility with about 70 other people, and many folks kept talking even after lights out, in most albergues the lights automatically go out between 10 and 10:15. To top it off the guy in the bunk above me snored VERY loudly as well as the woman in the bunk next to me. I left my earplugs at home because I did not thinnk I would need them. And, it was very cold all night. Needless to say, I did not get very much sleep and was quite tired trying to cross the Meseta. Tomorrow I will opt for a shorter trek and spend the afternoon resting. Cr5ossing the Meseta can be very difficult for some people. One of my travelling partners said that if she had to cross it alone she would be in tears. It can be a very lonely and discouraging walk becuse there are no signs of civilization and not trees for seeking shelter from the sun. The terrain stretches out in all directions as one walks across a very hot abnd stony road. Needless to say ther are no homes, no animals, no cars,a nd not even the sound of traffic in the distance. One can feel completely alone and abandoned, especially when there are no other pilgrims in sight. Or, one can enter into a meditative mode of walking and just keep taking one step after aother, listening to the sound of your footsteps, listening to the sound of the waling poles as they click against the rocks, listenting for the occasional bird in the tall wheat fields. The mind can wander without restraint or focus on a particular thought or image. When one then lookos at the time, 1 or 2 hours has passed. But there is a great feeling of joy and releif when one finally sees a sign that the village is nearby. Usually one looks for a church tower. Today that first thing that appeared was a cell phone tower. That made a number of us laugh when we were talking about it at the albergue. Another image that was a common topic of conversation for a numebr of us a few weeks ago, waas the fact that we felt very much like the fellowship of companions in LOTR. We talked how we started out as one fellwoship and then were separarted into different smaller goups, all still heading towards the same goal. And as in LOTR, some opf us found ourselve reunited whem we did not expect to see each toher again. When four of us arrived in Burgos yesterday, it like a family reunion as we saw a number of pilgrims that we had not seen for quite a while. many were taking their rest day in Burgos and it was nice to have an opportunity to catch up. Isnt wonderful that the same thuing often happens in our lifr journey as well. God brings people back into our lives at a moment when we least expect it and often for a reason we were not anticipating. While I have used up my euro. Until next time.