Camino de Santiago (part 8)
September 11, 2024 marked day 9 on the Camino. The day started in Burgos, Spain. It was nice to get back on my bike again after taking the previous two days to travel from Cahors, France to Burgos. The weather was sunny, the temperature was mild, and the terrain was flat. It was looking to be a good day.
The morning went well. There were no bicycle issues and no getting lost. No news is good news. I had a nice lunch in the small town of Hontanas.
The afternoon got hot. The terrain was flat and rather boring, to be honest with you. This part of the Camino is called theMeseta and is known for being flat and dry. However, I was still happy to be making good miles.
At about 3:00 in the afternoon, I was riding along on a straight road with little traffic. It was hot and I may have been pushing myself too hard. Suddenly, with no cause other than a quick turn of my head, a severe bout of vertigo came on.
This is a problem I have had for years now. About once every month or two I am suddenly hit with an extreme dizzy spell. Usually, a trigger is when I’ve been sitting or standing in the same position for a long time and suddenly move my head. Once a spell hits, there is nothing I can do about it. I just have tolay down for about an hour until it passes.
When this spell hit, I stumbled off my bike and tried to walk it for a while. However, things got worse and I collapsed. Fortunately, I was passing by somebody’s house who had a tree, offering some shade. I hoped no one who lived there would notice me as they probably would have been more concerned than they needed to be.
After about 15 minutes, I felt at least good enough to get up and walk my bike. After about half an hour of that I was able to get back on and ride, barely. Fortunately, the next town of Revenga de Campos was only a few miles away.
A sign led me to a house that served as a small hotel. I still don’t know a good term in English for such places, but it was the same business model as the house I stayed at Beduer, France on day 6. This house had a nice backyard and a pool where I lay down for a while until I composed myself to be able to walk around the town a little.
At dinner I met an older couple from Denmark traveling around Europe by RV. They were very curious about my journey on the Camino and my thoughts about it being the anniversary of 9/11. I had to confess I hadn’t even thought about it until they brought it up.
After dinner, I was hoping to play chess or any game with the gentleman from Denmark, but they went to sleep early. So, I took another walk around the small town as there was nothing else to do. I found an Albergue on my walk, where I should have stayed to socialize with fellow pilgrims. However, I didn’t know about it when I arrived in town and was not thinking clearly due to the vertigo attack and suffering from a mild case of heat stroke.
In my next installment I will tell the story of my continued journey through the Meseta to the town of El Burgo Ranero.
November 21, 2024 Question
How can you arrange ten marbles such that they form five lines of four marbles each?
November 21, 2024 Answer
Form a pentagram and then put a marble at each point and each corner of the inside pentagon.
December 5, 2024 Question
An anonymous buyer has agreed to buy a diamond from you. It is agreed you would put it in a chest in a public place. Items in the chest are subject to get robbed if it's not locked. Both parties using their own locks and keys, how can the two of you work out a plan to safely get the buyer the diamond?