Today was a zero day on the Camino as we decided to stay in Burgos one more day to rest and see some of the sights.

Yesterday, and especially yesterday night, was a typical Saturday in a Spanish town when the old downtown comes alive with people from all over the area. There were hundreds, if not thousands of people walking the narrow cobble streets and numerous plazas in the old section of Burgos. It’s not just limited to the young but people of all ages, even late into the night.    

I find it interesting that at home American developers are getting away from building the malls and now are developing open style shopping and restaurant centers that are still the way of life here. That’s probably one of the reasons people seem slimmer here because they walk. I find it interesting too that in America so many restaurants have the early bird diners for the older crowd, yet here you see the older crowd out late at night along with the younger crowd. 

Surprisingly, I found the street almost vacant in the late morning and then start to see the crowds by afternoon. Even though the crowds are heavy, many of the stores are closed on the traditional Sunday day of rest. 

I had a chance to take a self guided tour of the Burgos Cathedral today. Wow, was I impressed. The cost is 7 euros for the general public and 3.5 euros for the pilgrims if they show their Camino de Santiago passport. 

The Camino passport, if I haven’t mentioned it before, is a paper passport issued at the various Camino de Santiago passport offices to pilgrims making the journey to Santiago. It is issued in your name as it appears on your real passport and many hotels and hostels actually will accept it as identification. It’s really not an official document. As you travel down the Camino you can have it stamped at hotels, hotels, restaurants, stores, churches, etc. when you finish at Santiago your trek is verify by the stamps and you are issued a certificate of completion for your pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago. 

The cathedral was originally build by the Romans around 800 AD. Around 1200 a church was built around it, and the old Roman structure was demolished as the cathedral expanded because Burgos became one of the major commerce centers of Spain. Additional construction continued into the 1400, 1500, and 1600s, and some smaller additions into modern times. The cathedral is massive and actually has sixteen chapels within the walls. 

You are issued a self touring mobile phone type device in the langue of your choice. Most chaples, rooms, and other features are numbered and you can just push that number on the device and the narrator gives you the detailed history about the chaple, feature, etc. The tour last as long as you want. There is so much history and information given to you that it made my head spin. I really enjoyed it, but with so much information I have received, and will continue to receive, on the Camino, my hard drive brain is almost overloaded.

Monica was resting her feet while I walked the streets and toured the cathedral. I had taken three lightweight nylon shirts because they wick moisture, which keeps you cool and dry quickly, and they can be washed in the sink. I have been wearing the same beige and green shirts, and I have one plaid one that I didn’t think looked like a tekking shirt but took it so I could look a little different when I went out on the town or just dinner. I hadn’t worn it the whole time on the Camino, so today I thought I’d impress the people and tourists in Burgos with my stylish, one of a kind, plaid shirt. Monica had joined me for lunch and we had just run into three other pilgrims we had had diner with and were standing there talking. I was feeling a little stylish standing there with those Camino pilgrims in their plain nondescript clothes when an old German guy walked by with the same shirt I had on. What the heck, the first day in fourteen that I wear my stylish shirt, and here comes a tourist walking by in the same shirt. And, he was a German no less! I just hope he is not a pilgrim because I’d hate to see him on the Camino with that shirt on a day I might be wearing mine! Now I know how those movie stars feel at the academy awards when someone else wears the same dress!

Jennifer went home today and is going to come back to complete the Camino another time like many people do. We did not see her the last few days because everyone generally treks at a different pace and ends up walking with other pilgrims. In turn they make different friends and at times stay at different places depending where they end the day. There is a saying on the Camino, “it’s your Camino and do it your Way.”

I am enjoying my zero day in the hotel, especially since the rate went down because it’s a Sunday. I took a tub bath and it was great to soak in hot water. I wish I could do that every night. I’ll enjoy it while I can because we will start back up early in the morning. 

Best wishes to all,

Ted

Burgos early in the morning

Evening in Burgos 

Burgos Cathedral 

Cathedral 

Cathedral interior courtyard

Cathedral 

Cathedral 

Cathedral 

Cathedral 

Cathedral 

Cathedral 

Cathedral 

Cathedral 

Monica’s heels.

Trick to draining blisters. Needle and thread dipped in antiseptic. Puncture blisters in several places allowing fluid to drain out. Then push needle and thread through leaving thread hanging out both sides, cut and leave a few inches hanging out. This keeps the holes open and allows any fluid to wick out and allows the blister to dry out. Without string many times the holes closeup and the fluid builds up pressure and pain again. The should be done at night before going to sleep.