Thursday and it is Burgos

Hi Friends
Thanks for the comments. Unfortunately I am unable to upload pictures as yet because my camera uses a sdhc card and most of the places I´ve been to are unable to read the card. There was no update yesterday as there was no internet access in Atapuerta. Please also excuse all the errors and mispellings etc - I have not yet worked out how to find an English spellcheck. The spanish one tells me that every word is wrong.

Back to the story.

Two days ago I arrived in Villafranca...... It is a tiny little village and as it was raining off and on, I did not do any exploring. The alberge was comforatable and clean and so I just rested and chatted. At least 10 people were familiar from walking along the Way. Little communities like this are formed all the time. Debs and Rod and myself decided to have the pilgrims meal in the hotel (the alberge is cheap and for pilgrims only, the hotel is expensive and for everyone - all in the same building.) So we dined in style that night.

The next morning we set off late as the walk was not long - only about 18-20km I think. However the guide books all listed 3 steep peaks (or inclines) in the elevation maps so we were all dreading it. There was a difficult climb out of town and then it was plain sailing the rest of the way. Either I am getting a lot stronger or the guide books are not that accurate! I reached Atapuerta early afternoon and found a comfortable alberge. It was small, had a garden and was just comfortable in this tiny village of about 30 houses. I chose to stop there because it would mean an easy 20km walk into the city of Burgos the next day.

A bunch of us, including Nigel the Brit living in Germany, Julie the American from Maryland, the Kiwis and myself had the usual meal together. Now I am beginning to get worried about this blog. It seems to be a catalogue of eating - must watch what I say.

In any case, we were discussing experiences so far. Julie has walked from Pamploma and will end her camino in Burgos and return to the USA. She said that was coming back, and that next time she was going to do the whole camino. She felt doing it in bits was inadequate - as you get into a rhythm and a spirituality, you give it up to go home. Only now can I walk comfortably and now I am beginning to experience different aspects. I can think about other things now besides  feet and aching legs. It takes a while just to be able to 'be`.

Left Atapuerta this morning and it was bitterly cold with an icy wind that just cut right through me - this is sunny Spain in June nogal. It was a tough slog today in the cold, but all my gear held up. I wore raingear because it kept threatening to rain, but never did. It warmed up only by the time I reached the outskirts of Burgos, the city of El Cid. The albergue here is an excellent one, recently refurbished. This afternoon I took the tourist bus for a 45 min tour of the old city, and then explored a stunning gothic cathedral. After the pilgrims mass tonight, it will definitely be bed time for me.
Adios.