Allison Cowie

Azofra to Redecilla del Camino / 16.65 miles

I continued with the 22-minute challenge on Day 10, actually averaging closer to a 24-minute pace plus occasional short breaks for photos, water, etc. The steady pace felt sustainable, and while I still had occasional knee tendinitis on steeper downhills, it felt like something I could live with. The morning brought another gorgeous sunrise, and I walked through golden hills that felt like waves rolling in the sea — absolutely beautiful in their endless movement and glow. At times, I was the only person I could see in any direction, even though pilgrims were within a 10-minute walk ahead and behind me. This sense of solitude was what I’d been hoping to find on the Camino, and I’m looking forward to the Meseta coming up in a few days where I may find many more moments like this.

I stopped for coffee, tortilla and a pintxo in Santo Domingo de la Calzada, a good-sized town with a cathedral and lots of places to stop. The rest was much needed, and my midmorning tortilla habit once again powered me through the second half of my day’s journey. After Santo Domingo, the trail took me through farmland and empty fields, and led me through Grañón, a small town with lots of albergues and food stops for pilgrims. I carried on, though, a couple more miles and into the province of Castilla y León​​ to reach Redecilla del Camino, where I had a private room waiting for me in an inn with a bar downstairs. It was so, so nice to have a quiet and warm place to stay after many nights in albergues, especially with the weather cooling down. It was especially fortuitous timing, too, for a private room, because as soon as I got in bed for an afternoon nap, I started to feel feverish. The chills got pretty intense, pretty quickly.

I’m writing this blog two days after Day 10. Good news — the fever was gone by the next morning, and I tested negative for Covid yesterday. I have a head cold, but it appears to be mild and I’ll get back on the trail tomorrow. I’m spending two days resting in an Airbnb in Burgos, which felt like the right move — I didn’t want to walk through my illness in case it got worse, and I didn’t want to spend the night in common housing and share germs with anyone. (I think that’s how I got sick in the first place… there have been many coughing people in the bunks around me.)

While I’m disappointed to be taking time off the trail, I will start walking tomorrow from my current location in Burgos rather than return to Redecilla del Camino. This way, I can stay on schedule and not need to rush somewhere between here and Santiago to finish my Camino on time.