Belorado/Atapuerca/Burgos

We watched the sun come up on the way out of Santo Domingo, and saw 3 high poles with stork nests, one with a baby. Stork nests are gigantic. And they will be more common as we make our way west.

Our destination for the day is Belorado. Started out cool, but we were hot, dusty and out of water by the time we reached our albergue. The only good thing about the place was a pool! None of us had swimsuits, but that didn't stop us from jumping in. We may have raised some eyebrows but we did not care. We later suffered through a hot night in a room filled with bunkbeds and about 30 pilgrims. The showers and bathrooms were co-ed. 😐

Another early start the next morning, to try and get to our albergue in Atapuerca before the hottest part of the day. It was mostly uphill with hardly any shade. We were on the final stretch when we came upon a woman who'd taken a fall. She'd broken her wrist  badly, and I had a visceral reaction when I saw it, bringing back memories. With the help of another pilgrim who was already there and on the phone to the ambulance service, the five of us and three other pilgrims (3 women who happened to be a general practitioner, an ER doctor and a Medical examiner!), she got pain meds, a makeshift splint and a ride off the trail by the Civil Guardia. Still thinking about her.

We were 'rewarded' with an amazing rental for the night. A house in the tiny town of Atapuerca - each with our own bedroom! After the night of stifling heat in the room of bunkbeds, it was heaven.

There was only one tiny restaurant in the town and we ended up having pizza but we were happy with that. Because we had comfy beds and a peaceful sleep to look forward to.

Today is the beginning of week three! We arrived in Burgos this afternoon and are taking a rest day tomorrow. We plan to sleep in, sightsee and do a little shopping.Read more