Day 19 – Calzadillo de la Cueza

The Meseta lived up to its reputation today.  An 18km flat expanse of farm lands and windmills in the distance… and a few pilgrims.  

Some chose another transport option.

 I spoke with several walkers along the way and opinions were split between enjoying and hating this part of the Camino. 

Personally,  I appreciated its raw beauty but was distracted by my feet which were slowly transitioning from hamburger status to beef jerky status. 

Not clear on the intent of this  particular attribution but it may be a secret code left by a group of bicycle pilgrims camping near by.

Bicycle pilgrims are a special sort.  They ride in small groups and shout “Buen Camino!” as they approach from behind.  In traditional pilgrim-speak this means “have a good Camino!”  But in bikers-speak this means “look out from behind!”  

Initially, I would naively try to respond with a similar greeting but now I just step out of the way.   It’s easy to think negative thoughts about these low-friction pilgrims but  lately I’ve realized that I’d rather deal with foot aches than the kinds of pains 50km on a bicycle seat might induce. 

Buen Camino,

-jgp