Day 34 - Agés to Burgos - August 18, 2013

Day 34 - Agés to Burgos - August 18, 2013

I woke up about 6:30 and started doing the stretches I do on bed and organizing my stuff. I couldn't do much else because the room was small and Bri (short for Briana) a young German woman who had the bunk above me was putting her stuff in her pack right next to my bed. When she was done she started talking to me about how hard the Camino is, she said you've done it before was it hard the whole way. She was crying at this point. This is the third or fourth time I've heard pilgrims talk about the Camino being hard. I told Bri I thought is was supposed to be hard. She laughed. If what you want is a comfortable easy trip, maybe going to the beach or some controlled environment, like Disneyland would be a better choice. So we talked about the Camino changing us and if it just slides by easily, it probably won't effect much of a change. I shared about my expectations last year and how different, and actually better the result was than what I expected or wanted. We talked about trying to control the outcome of the moment, the day or the whole Camino. For me this year I am much more into whatever happens is what is supposed to happen, I will sleep wherever I am supposed to sleep, etc. we hugged, she left, packed up and went down for breakfast. Michael was just finishing up, so we left together and walked to the first village together. We didn't get started until 8:30am. Gasp! 

As I was leaving Maria came up to me and gave me a big hug and besas. She told me she really liked me, had enjoyed our conversations, and thought I was interesting. Well it takes one to know one. She's pretty interesting herself. 

As I was walking after Michael and I parted ways I was pondering this thought about how I am being trained to be a hospitalera as I walk the Camino. Then I thought that may I didn't have to be in an albergue to be a hospitalera, that I could be hospitable to pilgrims wherever I happened to be. What a happy thought.  

We had another climb today up a rocky road (not like the ice cream) and at the top was a prayer circle that spiraled in as you walked into it. And from this point you could see the whole valley below, including Burgos. 

Then we got to the walk into Burgos, which would be an ok walk if you hadn't already hiked for five hours with a back back. lol last year I took the historic route which in this day and age involves walking on a highway (I mean literally on the highway) then on a sidewalk along the busy highway through miles of industrial area with big rigs spewing diesel exhaust. As if that isn't enough, then you reach the city and you have another couple of miles of busy city streets with traffic and pedestrians. After walking for days through open country and villages with a population of less than one hundred people, this is all rather nerve wracking and exhausting. 

This year I opted for the river route which, though just as long, takes you along the fence of the airport, then runs along the river in open country, then improved walkways, by a beach on the river until you cross a bridge and are in front of the cathedral. Definitely a better way to go. 

I checked into my hotel only to discover they had given me a room with an incredible view of the cathedral. I posted a picture of it in my Burgos album taken at night from my room. Spectacular. It reminds me of the room Leea and I had in Istanbul overlooking the Blue Mosque. Come to think of it, that one involved a long hike too through the city streets at midnight when our taxi driver couldn't be bothered to actually find our hotel, but that's another story. 

So I took a lovely shower with lots of hot water and dried off with a real towel. Oh what luxury, a towel with fluffy little nubs. lol  Then I went out to explore and to find Pancho's which people have been telling me is a must eatery in Burgos. Well Pauncho's was between lunch and dinner, so no food for me. But, joy of joys, in my search for Pauncho's I discovered a Smooy frozen yogurt place. Oh, yummy. 

I went to the Pilgrim's mass at 7:30 where a pilgrim passed out. He was revived so all is well. After mass I ran into Michael as we were leaving and got to meet his wife Kathy. We all went and had a wonderful dinner at Pauncho's. his wife is delightful, which doesn't surprise me because he is really a nice guy. And she runs a charity that raises money to help educate, even building a school, in Bali. She even seemed to understand the bears. Though she walked from SJPP to Pamplona last year with Michael and did express concern over the extra weight the bears would have in my pack. I explained how helpful they were and how many things I would leave behind before I would leave the bears. She understood. 

They left to take a walk along the river and I went back to my room to finish this blog. But I fell asleep before it was done. The jury is still out on whether this rest day was a good idea. I had no idea how tired I was until I stopped walking. :)

Well it is a cool cloudy day in Burgos. Perfect for picture taking.