Mental breakdown on the road to Hornillos and full of cold in Castrojeriz

So I have two days to catch you all up on as yesterday I stayed in a place that had internet, I doubt they even had a phone line. So after my last post me and Nadia went to tourist information in Burgos to find out where there was a chinese restaurant. We found one quite near which was good but the food was terrible. I don´t think they have much business as we seemed to be intruding, they were all trying to have a family dinner. The food was not bought together but as soon as it was cooked, sometimes 10 minutes apart. I ordered beef fried rice and got beef fried noodles and ´fried chicken´which turned out to be a big chicken leg cooked like KFC with chips. I expected the usual fried chicken from the chinese, what was worse was that it was freezing cold inside so I just left it as I didn´t want to get ill. Nadia had a lot more success but it has been giving her a dodgy stomach. She keeps laughing at me and saying a german saying something about me having ´poo´on my hands, think it basically means all my choices so far have turned out bad.

So after Burgos it was 13miles to Hornillos and I felt up with a bit of a cold and in such a negative mood. I always try to be positive but this was terrible. I walked alone and I was just fed up of the camino, I wanted to go home. I really thought it would be my unfit body that would throw in the towel, not my mind which I deem to be quite strong when it has to be but here it was failing me. If an airport had been nearby I think I may have just gone home, I really had decided that this was it despite what people would say about me quiting. I tried to rally myself by saying I am not a quiter etc but I just couldn´t get my head out of this bad place. I just decided that I was not enjoying it anymore, physically there was no challenge and it was as if I was just plodding along at work doing a job I do not enjoy because I have to. So I was in a pretty stinking mood. I stopped 7.7km from Hornillos and had a croissant and a coke, feeding half to a lovely little dog who then left me once I had finished. Again I felt so used. I had bought two small packets of cat food in Burgos for all the wild cats I keep stopping and stroking, Nadia thought I was crazy/stupid I think. I have seen no cats since, only dogs. Typical. There was nothing to do in Hornillos, we shared a washing machine after 2 weeks of handwashing clothes which was nice though they smelt the same afterwards. There was really nothing to do but luckily Nadia had bought some playing cards. So after dinner I went to bed at 8pm, yup that early as I just wanted the day to be over.

So today I wake up absolutely full of cold. About a week ago me and Nadia noticed that a lot of people were coughing and sneezing, we both feared getting a cold. Time passed and we seemed to have escaped it but the universe seems to have conspired against me, figuring I was finding the walking too easy and has given me one hell of a cold. Sore head, crackling ears when I swallow, runny nose, sore throat, coughing etc. HOW DO YOU GET A COLD IN A COUNTRY THAT IS 30 DEGREES NEARLY EVERYDAY!? crazy. I have gone a year without a cold and it hits me here where it is so hot, somebody has a sense of humour. I guess it is the lowered immune system due to exposure to so many people and the bacteria etc they carry. So I left about 6:45am expecting another bad day, one to reflect how I felt. It was really dark when I left and the sky was so clear, the stars were the clearest I had ever seen as we were out in the sticks. I stopped for about ten minutes in the silence, eating a bag of frosties cereal and just looking at the sky. It really was amazing. I could see stars that I have never seen before, including the Pleidaes (sp) which I have only ever seen once before, then just as I was about to continue on my way I saw a shooting star. It was such a magical start to the day, I couldn´t help but feel happy. You can also see mars each morning when you set out as it is at it´s closest to the earth right now. I love looking at the stars so this was a real treat. The funny thing is that yesterday I kept singing "Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, never let it fade away." no idea why this song was in my head as I had only ever heard it on tv programme Lost, but it made me laugh when I realised. I continued with a spring in my step.

So I had an easy 12.6mile walk to Castrojeriz stopping for a sandwich, cake and coffee which really gave me a boost and I virtually ran the last 9.4km to arrive in a sleepy little town. We are staying at a camp site which has a big room for pilgrims, I think we will be the only two staying here as most seem to have gone further into town. I am looking more and more like a tramp each day, beard and hair are both coming along, I have a big grease patch on the thigh of my trousers still, my white t-shirt is an even dirtier shade of grey and for some reason my clothes have started growing patches of black spots of mould. I shall walk into Santiago looking like a right hobo, I hope they let me in. Tomorrow I walk 15.7miles to Fromista, I hope my cold eases up a little as it just makes me tired. Missing you all.

@ Ksam - Thank you so much for your posts, they are lovely to read. I am glad you are enjoying my blog, it means a lot that someone I don´t even know is enjoying keeping up with my adventure. Hopefully it will give you the urge to get back on the way soon.

@ Dad - I really did think that you guys had lost interest, two weeks had passed since I had gone and I thought you had forgotten about me haha no worries, I understand technology can be a pain. It is nice to leave it behind actually, though I keep thinking about all the video games that are out whilst I am away. Coast to coast seems like a good one then if you haven´t done it. Not sure how long it takes but depending on us both working we should do it. Anyway, hope you are all well. Missing you all very much.