After finding our accommodation and checking in, Jeff and I relaxed and had a quiet night. Being out of town probably worked well for us as apparently in Burgos it was absolutely crowded. My dinner was scallops, steak and chips,and the most gorgeous cheese cake for dessert. Did I also mention how nice the vino was? This morning the wind was cold as we set off. Clouds above and almost dark as we wanted to leave the pavement and city behind asap. Leaving big cities is never easy, as the high rise buildings tamper with the little sense of direction you may have. After a kilometre, we hadn’t seen any markers for a while, so somehow we had lost the way. As Jeff was trying google maps I asked a local who pointed us in the right direction. Turned out, we were one block off our mark and headed in the right direction. Once we saw the cathederal, I felt more confident. As we approached the cathederal, four Irish girls came out of an albergue and walked towards us and said we were going in the wrong direction. I think we saved them from getting lost. I walked with them for a while, and the chatter took us all away from the drudgery of leaving this large city. We’re now on earth tracks reasonably flat for a while, cold wind blowing, resulting in favourable walking conditions for now. We are  entering the Meseta. It means a vast high altitude  plateau. Hot in summer, cold in winter. Finally after twelve kilometres, a cafe finally appears. As it is the first one, the place is very crowded. Helen and Mark are there, also their friends that have joined them for a week. Whilst under cover, the heavens open and the rain is torrential. I make the decision that I will abandon my summer shoes and go back to  my mud runners. Only yesterday I swapped as the weather improved. My poncho is ready to go, but by the time we leave the cafe, the rain has eased. Some ks on, I am beckoned to go into a small church. Arvay Maria is playing. I see an old nun inside. I approach her to get a stamp for my crededential. Something amazing happens. I can’t understand what she is asking me in Spanish, but I mention I am from Australia and my name is Hank. She blesses me and then places her hand on my forehead and says a prayer. As she is doing this, my reflections go to my family and I think how lucky a pilgrim I am. This tiny woman now places a St Christopher’s medal around my neck.The moment is very special and brings tears to my eyes. On leaving we now begin to ascend over a number of kilometres at an acceptable gradient. As we rise,there are wind farms to the left and right. By the time we reach the top, the wind is now thirty plus km per hour and getting colder. Now it is getting dark and the sky is black. It starts to thunder, very loud claps of thunder. All the pilgrims are clambering for their rain jackets I unholster my poncho and it almost flies away as I try to get it on. By now Jeff is badly leaning to one side, but he has no choice but to soldier on. I march on as quick as I can to make it to the next village to hopefully secure a bed for us for the night. I eventually reach Hornillus and after four enquiries, I realise all the albergues are full. I wait for Jeff to arrive and we go into the bar to get out of the weather as we are now cold drowned wet rats. Helen, Mark and their friends have now checked into their booked accommodation and come and try to help us sort out our situation. Luckily we worked it out and were able to book accommodation at the next village. Jeff was not able to continue walking under the conditions with his back so we caught a cab. I am grateful I joined him in the cab as the rest of the day was storm after storm. Even hail at one stage. When the cab dropped us off at the albergue, we found Bren and Angelo enjoying themselves in the bar. Also before the weather went crazy, I don’t hear cuckoos any more but stork nests start to appear.