Camino Day 17

This is our longest break on the Camino, partly because Burgos is very pretty and largely because Jennifer has a meeting from 2-6am tomorrow morning.

So this morning we did the washing and went to the supermarket to get muesli and real milk. Our apartment is in the thriving heart of Burgos which is great for bars but turns out to be weaker on toothpaste.

After a coffee (with real milk!) at home we went up the hill behind Burgos to visit the ruins of Burgos castle. To be honest the ruins are disappointing- there’s not a lot to see and even the view of the old town is hidden by trees; although there was a nice viewpoint on the walk back down. It’s a shame because Burgos Castle has a long history including being pivotal in the Napoleonic wars and the site of a landmark defeat for Wellington.

In the afternoon Jennifer had a siesta in preparation for tonight and I wandered further afield in Burgos. I found a real supermarket, a couple of bars, and several churches. I also managed to embarrass myself.

I went into a lovely austere church. There were about twenty people and a priest all sitting in dead silence – in prayer or contemplation. I stood watching for more than five minutes and was thinking about whether taking a photo would be rude when the silence was shattered by my phone going off. Let me tell you that church has great acoustics and I had a very red face.

An evening walk took us along the river to see the statute of El Cid. I must say it would be more impressive if his pointing sword wasn’t showing people how to exit the roundabout that is at his horse’s feet. The Casa del Cordon has a fabulous door and an interesting historical connection in that it was here that the King and Queen greeted Columbus on his return from his second voyage to the new World.

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