Day 19 - Atapuerca to Burgos - 21km

I am resting in my 1 star luxury in Burgos after a long hot shower and exploring Burgos Cathedral.

I started off in the morning at 8am. I had planned to leave at that time as I wasn’t in a rush and I had a place booked already. Unfortunately, in the morning I saw the forecast and there was rain scheduled for noon. If I had seen that last night, I may have planned to leave earlier to try and avoid it.

Oh well, off we go, the first part was a climb out of town on a very rocky path. When crossing the top, I saw the labyrinth that we passed the first time. I have pictures but never remembered where it was.

Once down from the hill, it was a pretty easy going path. The next step was to find the riverside way into Burgos instead of the industry area. When it came time make our turn, there were a few of us looking at maps. We made the turn, and reality is that not very many people walked this way today.

When I got into Castañares I had to make a choice to walk by the river or walk where the businesses were. I decided to walk where the businesses were as it was now raining and I would have more opportunity to duck out of the rain if needed. I was partially correct. I forgot that it is Sunday and most businesses are closed, except for restaurants and bars.

It started to come down hard as I was passing a bar, so I went in. There were signs everywhere saying there is a 10 Euro minimum. I wasn’t hungry but I was wet and cold, so it was worth it. I ordered meatballs and rice salad. I did not enjoy either of them but the rain had slowed now so time to move on. I checked Google and I had an hour walk left.

It only rained a little more, and then stopped. I had found my hotel, checked in and flopped down on my bed. It was such an amazing feeling. I had no where I had to be, no one to meet, no one expected in the room, I could just empty my bag and leave everything anywhere I like and wander around naked.

The shower was huge and had a chair in it. I got undressed and had at least a 15 minute shower, then it was time to flop on the bed again. Checked Wifi and it was so fast, I am in heaven!

I did want to see the cathedral while here so I decided I better head out. As I was at the cathedral, I ran into Marie so we toured it together. We could download the app and listen /read the descriptions throughout the cathedral. It didn’t disappoint, but boy am I tired now!

Tomorrow will be a short day again. I want to do a little shopping here in Burgos and the shops don’t open until 10, so it will be a late start with a 12km walk.

Throwback to 2009 from Julie’s journal

The morning was kind of nice in Burgos. We stayed in bed well after 7pm watching everyone else pack up and go. We finally arose and was out the door by 7:45am. But before I go into the day, I have to tell you how nice it was last night sleeping beside him. At one point, he unzipped his sleeping bag and snuggled into me (spooning), it was so wonderful. After about 30 mins, he started to fall between the beds so I had to let him go but it was a wonderful memory.Read more