I had heard that the central stretch of the Camino was less interesting than other parts. Apparently, those who are short of time, often skip this bit and take a bus from Burgos to Leon, saving themselves a week. I can see why. After the beauty of the Pyranees and the rich landscape of LA Rioja, the last few days have been pretty dull. Long stretches of flat countryside. Some very long treks without a village, house or break area.

Also, the weather has gotten chillier and the breeze is right on the nose. It’s at times like this, that the will can weaken. By the time we got to El Burgo Ranero yesterday, we were ready to stop for the day. We had done 24 kms and there was not another place to stop for 13 more. Also, the sky was getting dark and thunder and rain was on the way.

In most towns, there are yellow arrows painted along the streets to help you find your way. In El Burgo Ranero, they are painted in every direction. As a result, we followed what we thought was the route, only to find ourselves at an exit from town. Turn back and try some side streets. Then we spotted an Albergue. And they had room. Plenty of room in fact. We checked in and went looking for our beds. To make a long story short, this place was the nearest thing to the Bates Motel that I’ve come across. And to make matters worse, we had missed a lovely Albergue a street down, where some friends had booked in. At least we joined them for dinner and had a very pleasant evening. But we kept our door locked last night!

I hope that today was the last of the long days in wide open flat country. We have stopped just short of Leon. We’ll be in there early tomorrow and have a half day and evening to explore. I’m looking forward to that.