Atapuerca to Burgos (20.1km)

Today, I woke up at 7:00 after a decent night of sleep. I let the sounds of the fire heater turning on and off on the floor above me lull me to sleep, so I didn't put my ear plugs in as usual. Then, the hostel cat woke me and probably everyone else up in the middle of the night with his loud meows. Someone must have let him out eventually, because I fell back asleep and didn't hear him again.

After waking up, I continued my blog post from the night before until 7:30, then posted it and started getting ready for the day. I got dressed, got my pack together, and then ate a simple breakfast of toast and hard boiled eggs with some coffee and milk. Then, around 8:30, it was time to set off.

Sam, Margaret, Dan, and I set off together in silence. We gradually spread out as we approached and climbed a nearby mountain. It was very beautiful terrain. The mountain had clusters of small trees, broken up by large expanses of grassy and rocky mountainside.

I called my twin brother Greg and wished him happy birthday, since it was the final hours of his birthday too. We talked for a while and I told him about my travels and how far I've gone, and how it's been. He told me about how things have been at home and how he's been. It was nice to catch up. After a bit, I then hung up and called Mikayla, and then one of my best friends Isaac. It was a nice first hour of the day! But it got too hard to hear on the call, because as soon as I reached the top of the mountain, there were near constant huge bursts of wind. I love wind though, so I enjoyed it as I descended the mountain, singing into the wind as it blew past me. There was also a huge cross at the top of the hill, which was yet again a great reminder!

Coming down the mountain was great fun, especially due to the beautiful landscape and the path stretched out before me. I'm pretty sure I could see our destination for the day, the big city of Burgos. I prayed as I walked, thinking about my trip so far. I realized that I'm a third of the way in. I started thinking: am I a third of the way to my original goal? Am I making good progress toward growing closer to God, getting my prayer life straight, and being able to see the world with spiritual eyes? I realized that I'm not quite as far along as I hoped I'd be, and so I made the resolution to set aside one hour straight of undistracted prayer every day, whether it's while walking or after arriving. I continued praying as I walked, taking in my surroundings while deep in thought.

I soon reached a set of small towns lined up next to each other. Do I even need to say it at this point? Barely a soul was to be seen, and not a single cafe was open. Not a noise was to be heard, except the howling wind. The wind had proven to be quite persistent today, and seemed like it was there to stay. There's rain coming up soon, so maybe it's the herald of a storm. It still didn't bother me, and I walked through the towns, happily praying and enjoying my time talking with God. I said hello as I passed the Scottish ladies sitting on a bench, and then soon caught up with Dan and Margaret. Sam was behind, as he often does meditation on the side of the path in the mornings.

Despite not seeing many people in the small towns, the people you do see are very kind towards pilgrims. They often say "Buen Camino!" There was one lady a few towns back that came to a full stop as we walked by, gave a great big smile, and gave the most genuine "Buen Camino" I've heard yet. I have to say, I'm very surprised at the fondness toward pilgrims that is consistent along every town we've walked through. It's even common in the big cities! It's definitely a breath of fresh air in today's often antisocial world.

After a while, we exited the ghost towns and came to every pilgrim's kryptonite: the long paved trek following hideous freeways into and out of the big cities. I dread these, but at least I have good company with me. Otherwise, it would be a futile attempt at prayer while walking through loud, ugly, and distracting city outskirts with no one to talk to. Thankfully, there was one town at the beginning of this portion with a cafe open, so we got to refuel and let Sam catch up before continuing on. I got a hamburger and a coke. The Spanish don't do beef a lot of justice, but the classic coke with a sliver of lemon in it is becoming a great staple of my Camino! And, of course, a nice cafe con leche is too.

After our lunch break, the four of us started our 9 kilometer walk into the heart of Burgos. Burgos is very big, and its outskirts stretch far. Unfortunately we had missed the fork in the road for the scenic path that follows the river, but our path wasn't all that terrible. The four of us talked about how we're doing now that we're a third of the way in and have really hit our stride. We talked about where we're at in our goals for the Camino, what our plans are after getting home, and how we want the Camino to have changed us. It was good discussion and took us all the way to the inner city. We stopped for a bathroom and McFlurry break at McDonald's, and continued on.

Finally, we hit the downtown part of Burgos! It was beautiful. It was clean, and the layout was very well done. Burgos has a gigantic cathedral right at the heart of the city, which is awe inspiring to behold. Despite having a gorgeous cathedral, beautiful Catholic Churches are plentiful throughout the rest of the city. You can barely walk 5 minutes without finding another one. And since it's a big city, they're all open!

Side story: Sam and Dan created a character called Pedro Siesta whose sole job is to thwart our food plans at every turn. Siesta has no set hours in Spain, and since we always arrive into towns hungry, Pedro is always making sure siestas are being taken at whatever town or whatever time we want to eat. It doesn't matter if it's well before or after the time you'd expect siesta to be. Pedro will be making sure that town is on siesta when we're there to eat. But if Pedro has one weakness, it would be the big cities. Hallelujah!

The four of us stopped into a few churches on our way to our albergue for the day. They were as beautiful and ornate as every other church we've been to in Spain. We saw some cool art on the side buildings too. Burgos really is a cool city! Then, finally, around 2:30 we checked into our albergue. The hospitalero was a kind Spanish man who showed us around the place. We chose beds and then I took a shower and hand washed my clothes.

Many of our friends had taken a rest day at this albergue and were still there. Ava and Aya were there when we arrived, and at least 5 others that Sam and Dan had been traveling with before they had a stomach bug run through their group that set half of them back by a day. I got to meet them all, which was fun.

After relaxing for a bit, Margaret and I went to the local grocery store to get some food supplies for tomorrow. Apparently no town has any albergues open for the next 40km from Burgos. Half of the group is gearing up for a double day, taking on all 40km at once. That's nearly a marathon! Me, Margaret, Sam, two Koreans we met named Yeondo and Rudy, and possibly Dan are going to attempt it. The others will either get a hotel along the way or bus/taxi part of it. Anyways, Margaret and I got some groceries so we could make lunch and not have to stop and take too much time away from walking in a cafe. It was raining, which I had not prepared for before going out, so I got a quite wet. But it was funny anyways. After getting groceries, I made two sandwiches for my walk tomorrow, sin carne because it's going to be a Friday in Lent.

After making my food, around 6:15, I decided to take the advice of Yeondo, the very nice South Korean I had met earlier in the albergue, and try to check out the cathedral. Unfortunately, it had just closed 15 minutes earlier. I knocked until they opened the door and pleaded to be let in, but the man inside said no. Somewhat crestfallen, I decided to just pray in the chapel right inside the main doors for a time. I prayed silently for around 15 minutes, finding my some peace again, and then prayed a rosary and went to confession. I was debating between going to dinner with my friends at 7:00 or going to Mass in the cathedral's side chapel at 7:30. After a good bit of thought, I decided to go to Mass and try to catch them at the tail end of their dinner.

Between prayer and Mass, from 7:00 to 7:30, I called Mikayla. It was a very nice call, and I told her about my day, the day ahead, how there's a storm rolling in, and about my cathedral experience. I can't wait to get back to her! Then, at 7:30, I headed into the chapel. In prayer, I had been reflecting on how I felt sort of alone in the fact that I don't know any other pilgrim who's doing the Camino for Catholic purposes, or at least religiius ones. I asked God to send me some friends to relate to on that level, if it was His will. Well, God answered that prayer swiftly. Even though it wasn't quite in the way I expected, I think He wanted to show me that He's listening. As I walked into Mass, I saw a man named Juan. Juan doesn't speak much English, but he's been traveling at the same exact pace as us, and stopping at the same cities, for a while now. He's Spanish, and despite the fact that we can't communicate too well, I've had good interactions with him. I saw him walking into Mass, and so I decided to sit with him. Then, I realized Mael was there too! He's the French guy who's interested in the Church. It was great to see them both there, and I realized quickly that I'm not really alone in my spiritual journey. Thank you God!

Mass was beautiful of course, and at the end they gave us a pilgrim's blessing. It was great, especially because they gave us a pamphlet with the blessing in multiple languages. I could finally read along! After Mass, Mael told me all about his last few days and how he's been camping. It was nice to catch up with him and see him again. After talking for a few minutes, I went and found Sam, Margaret, Yeondo, and Rudy at a kebab place. I got some for dinner and sat and talked with them, mostly getting to know the two Koreans. They're very nice guys! One of them, Yeondo, doesn't like walking. I thought that was hilarious, and I'm sure he's been asked this a million times now, but I asked why he decided to do the pilgrimage if he doesn't like walking. He said because he likes a challenge. Fair enough!

After talking for a while, we went out to check out a lookout over the city. It was magnificent. We all took in the sight for a few minutes. The cathedral looked even bigger from a vantage point above it, because it dwarfs everything around it. It was an amazing moment.

After the lookout, we all headed back to the albergue to get some sleep. As always, I lost sleep writing this blog. It's totally worth it though, and I'm looking forward to reading the detailed accounts of my experience in the future! I said some bedtime prayers and finally went to sleep at 11:30. And tomorrow, I walk a marathon. Pray for me!