Stage 14: Burgos to Hontanas (24 km--24 degrees)

Burgos was exhilarating, exciting, and unexpected, everything but restful! I feel like we began today sleep-walking; how could we rest in a city that never seems to go to bed? As with Logrono and Pamplona, we took a cab to the edge of the city to begin our walk in a rural rather than urban setting. Storks on top of the Catholic Church welcomed us to the hamlet of Rabe de la Calzadas. They have taken up residence in most churches and seen to be in cahoots with the local parishes, protesting any notions of birth control.

Small towns soon gave way to the meseta, the endless plains of Spain, which, by the way, is not where it rains! This will be our terrain for the next eight or nine days. We walked most of the way without a break, then stopped just outside our destination and had a picnic lunch beside a shrine for Saint Bridget of Sweden. We have been eating like hobbits since starting the camino--breakfast at 5:00, second breakfast at 9:00, "elevensies", and lunch or tea depending on what's open!

The village dog allowed us entry into Hontanas and we checked into a wonderful hostel with three beds and a hot shower--who could want more? Two more pages of stamps fill our credentials. Only 456 km to go!

Burgos Beauties!

Touring the Burgos Cathedral.

Rest Day: Burgos (28 degrees)

Just a small sampling of the beautiful and varied traditional attire being worn by people of Burgos during the Festival of San Pedro and San Pablo

Some other scenes from our wanderings around Burgos on June 29, 2016

Wow!  We went out this morning thinking we'd have a quiet stroll around the Cathedral of Burgos, but to our surprise, instead found ourselves in the midst of the main festivities marking the Fiesta of San Pedro and San Pablo!  First, there was a parade of hundreds of men, women, children, and musicians dressed in amazing traditional attire and carrying fresh flowers, which they delivered to the Cathedral, where the blooms were placed into large trellises displayed outside the church.  Afterward, everyone (including ourselves) wandered about the town squares, narrow streets, and parks just enjoying the festive atmosphere and the show of culture, as well as some refreshments here and there.  Fireworks, as brilliantly seen from the balcony of our apartment, round off the evening on a celebratory note!  We had very fortuitously chosen the best possible rest day to be in Burgos!

More Great Knockers of the Camino!

I know that since this is my second instalment in this theme, that only the hardware nerds are tuning in now.

Stage 13: Atapuerca to Burgos (21 km - 24 degrees)

I truly found my final resting spot in Atapuerca with my beloved poppies. I am sure I have over 100 photos of poppies on my phone!
Today's journey was a kilometre and a half up, marked by a cross at the top, then a short plateau where we could spot our end destination (Burgos) on the distance, some 16 kilometres away. We passed several unique stone structures and marked our 300 km milestone--just 500 left to go!

500 km to go!

We are meeting some real pilgrims of life along the way. Today I met a young girl who has chosen to walk in fairly flimsy sandals and to be mute for two weeks. She would mouth responses to my questions and even managed to ask questions without using verbal language. I have included a photo of some discarded boots which are seen daily, however this weary pilgrim at least chose a spot where poppies beautify them! The last 6 or so km into Burgos was along a river not unlike my Massawippi. It was a well used trail by  locals for walking, jogging, biking, swimming and fishing. You can see that the young artists are active here also.

Arrival in Burgos was breathtaking! I think that this is the most beautiful city in my travelling log. I can't wait to explore more of what it has to offer on our rest day tomorrow.
We have once again arrived in a city in the midst of a fiesta--this one being the fiesta patronales San Pedro y San Pablo. The 'Giants' joined us in the square as we were eating our lunch. Jim and Laurel had previously seen them in Pamplona but for a first timer they are pretty impressive! Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog to really see the beauty of Burgos!

The Ups and Downs of the Camino!

Stage 12: Belorado to Atapuerca (31 km--24 degrees)

 

We had a great supper last night at the neighbouring albergue.  We are starting to get to know many of the other peregrinos traveling at our pace.

Today we walked over 30 kilometres and so our day began early and we were on the trail by 5:30.  As the sun rose, we left both the weather and terrain of the past couple of days behind us.  Clear skies of cobalt blue and forests of pine and oak gave us a different perspective and helped us forget that we had a long way to go.  At various rest stops throughout the day we continued our conversations with the different people we have met and became acquainted with a few more.  We are starting to feel like we are part of a community and it is a nice feeling.  This has taken longer for us as we have not been staying in the large communal albergues and opting instead for smaller ones with triple rooms.  These allow us to get an early start without waking up a dozen or so other pilgrims.  It also means that the snoring is reduced to only three as well--another bonus.

We climbed and descended a couple of ranges of big hills and eventually found ourselves on a high wide open plateau with beautiful expansive view.  A few kilometres later we walked into Atapuerca, our home for tonight and, as we just found out, the site of a prehistoric archeological dig.  More on that later.