Villafranca to ?

What a day...
We had planned a simple 26k walk to Cardenula Riopico. However, when we woke at 5am, Emily had been up most of the night very unwell,.. what to do ?We agreed to walk to the first town slowly (12 km) and see how she felt. We made it 1km, then Lucy started to feel unwell. So Michelle and the girls turned around to head back to accommodation (seemed sensible at the time) to rest and then take a taxi to the town we were planning on staying. To cut a long story short, they ended up taking two taxis and going 15km past our destination to a major city, which was a much better plan (so much more to this adventure which we will share when we return)
So I then walked solo from Villafranca to Burgos a total of what I thought would be about 40km.

Cockoos were out and about in the bush.

There are very much up and down and tiny towns.. When I got to Riopico, i was pretty excited we were not staying there!

Atapuerca, which was one of the towns I passed, is famous for caves on the outskirts holding the remains of early humans, some as old as 800,000 years.

I arrived in Burgos early in the afternoon, and the girls were still unwell but a little better, so while they slept, Michelle and I checked out the city. We had a fabulous night out at a local restaurant.

The urban Spanards dress beautifully; great winter coats, blazers, boots, all the women are made up (they favor blue eyeliner), hair is styled, and they look wonderful. We Camino travellirs looked very shabby in comparison.

It was lovely to see the city squares and plazas full with families all ages getting together and sharing time. In the middle of the main town Square there was a beautiful carousel for the children.

Burgos has a tremendous amount of churches, museums, a cathedral (which we spent most of our time in), a few monasteries, and plenty of bars and restaurants to keep us entertained.

We are impressed with the staffing in restaurants and cafes, where there would he four staff in NZ, one taking order, one making coffee, one delivering and clearing and one standing in the corner on their phone...the Spanish have one and they are fast and attentive.

We only have a short walk of 15kms tomorrow due to a change in plans today. I'm not sure if girls will be well enough to walk tomorrow, but we have a plan if not.Læs mere