Hornillos
The hike today starts at Burgos and reaches the Village of Hornillos. Burgos is the start of the meseta. This is the wheat farming belt of Spain. The meseta is a high altitude terrain that stretches from Burgos all the way to Astorga. For simplicity’s sake, the meseta ends in Leon / Hospital de Orbigo, however when you hike the Camino past Leon, the terrain is similar and Astorga would be the start of a new terrain – El Bierzo. The meseta is different from the terrain the extends from St Jean Pied de Port to Burgos. This terrain is very green and has plenty of tree cover. However, the meseta is brown, dry and with limited tree coverage.
Lacking the colors and greenery that are pleasant to the eye, the meseta forces the eye towards introspection. You no longer look for the colorful, you must now look inward, towards your inner self. It is a slow walk of deep introspection. There is less color for the eye to enjoy, so you must now change focus. The focus turns on yourself. One of the greatest fears of a person is to suddenly be alone, with their own self. Being alone by yourself can be scary. The meseta is a spiritual hike of your inner self. There is less greenery, there are few trees and there are few rivers seen daily. You have the vast expanse of the wheat fields, the blue skies and a much needed rest and meal when you arrive at your next village. Enjoy the spectacular sunsets at the meseta.
I have hiked the Camino 24x. The meseta never caught my attention during the first trips. I thought it would be extremely boring to walk through this type of open terrain. It was not until close to the 6 th trip that I finally gave the meseta a try & discover. To my surprise, after hiking this meseta, I discovered it was a spiritual hike. I was forced to look inward to my inner self. The greatest fear of a human being is to be alone by themselves and only have the company of their own self.
Hornillos is a village of about 60 people. Story goes that the priest of the school recruited all the young children to serve as nuns and priests. The priest emptied the town. Hornillos is famous for the village with the most priests and nuns in Spain.
Getting back to this hike. The exit out of Burgos is a little confusing so I included an exit map in Burgos. The terrain is mostly flat the entire hike. After you leave the village of Tardajos there is another small village of Rabe. When you exit Rabe you will start the meseta. There is a sudden change of terrain. Slight hilltops with rock formations, wheat fields and endless Camino trails. The predominant colors are brown, & the golden wheat colors if you hike during the summer, and the lack of tree cover. The change is smashing … unexpected. You are caught off guard. Take a pause when you encounter the meseta after leaving the Village of Rabe and raise both arms & look at the deep blue sky overhead and say to yourself .. ” I can walk the Meseta “..
Burgos to Hornillos ~ distance 24 kms. Mostly flat terrain. Difficulty 6 /10.
Elevation
