Slipped Away

CAMINO FRANCÉS – Day 13: Monday 21 April 2025 – BURGOS to HORNILLOS del CAMINO (21 [+5] kilometres)

Many of those walking on the Camino Francés elect to keep their phones off or on silent during the day, partly to avoid disturbing others, and mainly to avoid the distractions of the wider world whilst treading the long path towards Santiago de Compostela. So it was odd, in a way, when walking alongside another pilgrim today at this holiest time of the year, to hear of Pope Francis’ passing in a WhatsApp message from Rachel at home; it seems as though the news ran all around the world before it reached our little Camino bubble. I guess that is one of the reasons that those, like myself, choose the walk, in order to connect with the land and with the past. And today certainly did its share of moving moments for those on this pilgrimage, as will become clear from my photos below – although these were not directly connected with the news from the Vatican.

The Camino Francés path runs right though the medieval centre of Burgos, and past the Cathedral, in the area that I was exploring yesterday; and so the start of today’s journey was as familiar as it was historically interesting. The way then continues out of the city, on a wide flat path, before crossing the Rio Arlanzón again and passing through the villages of Tardajos and Rabé de Les Calzadas. Then, away from the flatlands of the river valley, the trail climbs steadily, up onto the Meseta Central proper – an open upland plateau that will be our landscape for many days ahead. The walking in prospect is largely on this flat terrain, and looking ahead at my prospective overnight stops for the next week these are all between 800 and 900 metres above sea level. This region is remote and sparsely populated, but the walking and the company is very easy now, and I am beginning to settle into the relaxed Camino vibe.

So I have ahead of me some reasonably easy walking days on the Meseta plateau and through some uninhabited open countryside, before reaching the city of León in about a week’s time. The region is known to be drier than those of Navarre and La Rioja that I have passed through and, aside from the possibility of some rain tomorrow, the forecast for the rest of the seven days ahead looks fine and dry. We shall see. But for now I am resting up after a night out in the small village of Hornillos, in a modest but comfortable hostel that is busy with pilgrims taking in the updates from Rome. Some only heard of the Pope’s passing this evening, and I suspect that this turn of events will make the Camino walk a little more poignant for some, as we continue our westward journey to Santiago de Compostela.

I have chosen the Blog heading ‘Slipped Away’ today in acknowledgment of Pope Francis. The title is taken from a song by Canadian pop-punk artist Avril Lavigne, co-written with her fellow singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk. The composition deals with the loss of a loved one, and was released on Lavigne’s 2004 album ‘Under My Skin’.