Rest Day in Burgos

What a great sleep was had by all of us. We had a tasty breakfast and then went to the cathedral. It was well worth the visit. It is the second largest cathedral in Spain and it took a long time to tour through it. The craftsmanship is remarkable and the time and money spent building the cathedral is inconceivable. 

We explored the town after our visit to the cathedral. Being Sunday, very few shops were open but the Spaniards were all enjoying the tapas bars. We will visit the bars this evening then off to bed for another good sleep so that we will be ready for our walk tomorrow.

Yeah! Burgos and Comfort

We woke up to rain this morning so it was a wet walk today. The weather front that came through also brought cooler temperatures.

We were told that there is not a pleasant walking route into the city of Burgos but we found the best possible option, along the river. The Camino magic must have been with us because the rain stopped just long enough around noon for us to sit on a city bench and have some lunch. As we were about to leave, a Spanish man directed us to the beautiful route by the river, which is where we wanted to be. If he had not stopped we would have missed the turn and then would have had to follow busy and boring city streets.

We are now in the old part of Burgos. The cathedral is absolutely stunning from the outside. We will tour it tomorrow as we are taking a rest day. 

We opted for a hotel for tonight and tomorrow night.  We feel as though we are in the lap of luxury with real beds, fluffy pillows, and towels that thoroughly dry one's whole body. Best of all we have privacy. No sharing bathrooms,showers, and sleeping quarters with other men and women. That means no snoring to keep us awake at night.

We have done some exploring of the city but will do more tomorrow when we have more time.

Atapuerca

It was a lovely walk through wooded areas today. Despite a couple of steep uphills, we did well with the cooler temperature and gusting wind.

Our days are quite predictable. We usually begin walking between 7 and 8 am. If no breakfast is provided we find the closest place that is open and provides some nourishment. Breakfast usually consists of toast and a beverage. If we have found a  shop open the night before, we buy provisions to eat on our way to the next albergue. Shops tend to close between noon and 4:30 or 5:00 pm. We usually arrive at our next albergue any time between 12:30 and 2:30 pm. 

Once we get to the albergue, our first order of business is to shower. We rate the showers as to how much space we have and whether there is place  to put our clothes so they don't get wet. Cleanliness and water temperature are very important factors. Once showered,we tend to our laundry. We usually take a stroll to check out our surroundings and find food for the next day. After that it is time to blog and relax with free time until dinner.

Tomorrow we are off to Burgos. When we arrive we will have completed 300 km.

From Granon to Villambistia

We had a fantastic evening yesterday. There was a communal supper so everyone pitched in to help prepare the meal. We sliced and diced and set up the tables for the 60+ people who were there. Then we had to sing and dance our way up the street to the bakery to get our bread and baked pears. After dinner we did a quick wash up before going into the back balcony of the church. There were candles burning between each seat. The hospitaleros sent a large candle around the circle of people and we were invited to talk about what the Camino meant to us. 

We left fairly early this morning in the cool of the morning. It was another glorious sun rise. We went through several small villages and of course, there was a church in every one.

The sun became quite warm in the last hour but luckily we arrived at our next albergue by 1:00 pm. 

Onward to Granon

It was a magical  as we left Azofra in the dawn of the morning. The hills were misty and the light of the sun was diffused by the clouds as it rose. The fields painted quite a picture with the reddish brown of ploughed fields, golden hues of wheat stubble and the green of the grape vines and hedge rows. There were also small poppies sprouting along the road side.

We ran across two enterprising young men who were offering goods to the peregrinos as we crested a steep hill. They had written a sign that said they were out of work due to the economy in Spain. They also offered homemade bread and jam. There was no charge but they were grateful for donations. Not long after that we reached a town that was virtually a ghost town. There were blocks of apartment complexes that have been abandoned and we saw one car and one elderly man as we passed through at 9:00 am.

We are now in Granon and staying at a monastery. It is the first time that we have to sleep on mats on the floor. Each mat sits snugly against the next one so it will be a cosy night.

A Hot Day in Azofra

We were kind to ourselves today and walked a mere seventeen km. Luckily it was cool and misty as we started out at 7:30 am. The hills looked magical in the mist.

We finally sent our extra duffle bags on to Santiago when we were in Najera. We will use them again for our return flights but we were happy to be rid of them now and lessen our load.  

Azofra is a lovely small town but with few amenities. We are currently sitting in the courtyard of our albergue watching everyone's laundry dry.

It is interesting to watch the terrain change. There were no big hills today and the soil is now red. We are still in wine country.

We will enjoy the rest of our lazy afternoon so that we are energized and ready for our walk tomorrow.

Logrono to Ventosa

Can you believe it? We are almost a quarter of the way through our route having completed just under 200km. 

Logrono was very festive with everyone enjoying the wine festival. Apparently there were fireworks at night but I didn't hear a thing. When we left this morning, the streets were covered in litter but the clean-up crew was busy making everything presentable again for today's festivities. Yesterday we watched a man drop and break a bottle. Instead of cleaning it up he kicked it to the middle of the street. Perhaps he thought that it was the a job for this morning's crew to clean up his mess.

Today we are in a lovely albergue in Ventosa. It is very clean and has a lovely court yard to sit in. The village is small and charming. 

The weather has turned very hot and it looks like we have a few days ahead of us with temperatures reaching 30 degrees by mid afternoon.

There is something about this journey that soothes the soul despite aches, pains and blisters.