Covarrubias to Modujar de San Cibrian

Here’s an unusual combination— a long day and a late start. About 34K today and 700 m, so normally I would be leaving by 7 AM. But just 9 km from here is a 7C Visigothic church that doesn’t open until 10:30. So there’s no point in leaving before 8-ish. It felt really weird to be sitting in my room with nowhere to go till such a late hour!

On my way to the church, as I was thinking about how it was possible that I was going to see a church that is 1500 years old, I came across some dinosaur footprints from 144 MILLION years ago. My head can’t even compute that.

The church is but a small portion of what used to be there. The decorative panels outside must be typically visigothic, because I have seen many similar carvings in other places. I love the carved panels inside and was able to be in there all alone.

Clare and I started out at different times, but we met up somewhere after Revilla de Campos. I had been walking for hours with the sun shining on my back and ominous black clouds in front. Soon after we met up, the rain started, but it was just for a few minutes. And for the next couple of hours, though there were black clouds and thunder all around, we just had a few short bursts. Lucky again.

We’re only about 19 kms from Burgos. The town we’re in, Mondubar de San Cibrian,, has a couple of interesting things—an old traditional chimney, and a fountain made with medieval or Roman sarcophagi, but not much going on. The mayor has taken the church keys away from the owner of the little casa rural where we’re staying, so the list of things to do has now been exhausted.Read more