The walking itself isn’t the challenge today. The ups and downs are small and the distance is very manageable. What the day asks of you is patience. The first few kilometres take you through the city and the outskirts of Burgos, and only then does the Meseta begin.
The landscape opens up. Fields, a huge sky, hardly a tree. Wonderful if you love open space, a little wearing when the sun breaks through or the wind picks up. There’s little shelter, but the rhythm comes naturally. At the end you drop down into Hornillos del Camino, a village stretched out along a single street. Rucksack off, boots off, and sit outside with something to drink while the other pilgrims trickle in one by one.