Day 13 - Stage 1, done

San Juan de Ortega to Burgos
27.2km
Accumulated distance 316.3km
Today was always going to be notable, I was finishing stage 1 in Burgos, and I needed to get a wriggle on to collect my new shoes from a depot closing at 1.30pm.
That meant on the road at 6.30am without breakfast. First opportunity was an hour later at Ages, a pretty little town with ramshackle half-timber homes. Croissant, fresh orange juice and coffee knocked back and I was off again.
Had a nice chat to Garret from Ireland for a while till we parted ways, I was heading south of the airport and he was going straight on.
Apart from breakfast, no stops all the way to Burgos.
To keep amused I named my blisters after high school teachers. Inner right foot near my toe, Arnott, irritating, incessant, a huge distraction.
Outer right foot, Combrink, looked scary but actually no problem.
Right heel double blisters, Brown, big, mean, violent, enjoys causing pain.
Left heel, Faber, not as bad as Brown, memorably painful.
Once again entering town in a massive downpour for the last 2 hrs, more thunder and hail.
I made it in time, just, and collected my new walking sandals to an to my hotel for a rest.
My feet were trashed, spent the afternoon popping blisters, had a good shower, then some badly needed laundry.
No sightseeing today, tomorrow is a zero walk day so I’ll explore tomorrow.
I ticked over 300km today, go me.
Burgos also represents the end of stage 1, which they refer to as the Body stage, and the difficulty reduces, or maybe we’re accustomed to the walking? The moment of the day, despite the wet weather, was walking into Burgos knowing that I had achieved my next big milestone! It felt really good.Read more