Burgos

After an extra 5 km upon leaving San Juan in the dark, H. (Alaska) and I got ourselves on the right camino to Burgos.  Passed through Atapuerca (origins of humankind) but nothing open yet.  

At the top of the last significant climb of this part of the Camino ...

And it was straight on to Burgos.  The city is approximately 175,000 and upon reaching the city limits and the 'ugly' part of any city, we learned that we still had 10 km to go.  The weather was cool, but windy.  Relieved that it was not relentless heat, but the thought of that wasted energy at the beginning of the day was disheartening.

Eventually we found the municipal albergue, which was quite new and lovely, but had no provision for kitchens outside of a sink and a microwave.  I don't think past pilgrims had much say in its design.

After some food and a shower, the world looked a bit brighter.  This is where a number of people will get 'off' thecamino while others go on - another reason that it's challenging to be in Burgos.  It's like summer camp is over after a very intense two weeks.  But nevermind, we are all well and there are lots of sights to see.

The 'back' side of the famous Catedral de Burgos.  It is truly unbelievable.  I have interior photos on my other camera so can't put them into the blog at the moment.  Again, if you're curious, I am sure you can find details and photos with Google.

Catedral on the right; Burgos downtown on the left; sort of reminded me of St. John's (well, maybe only a little bit).

Notice the sky.  It settled in to a steady drizzle after I arrived; I am glad I got here when I did.

An early night on Thursday night; will spend tomorrow and Saturday 'resting' a bit and looking around Burgos at the architecture and art.  And, as luck would have it, there is a medieval festival going on this weekend, so lots of stuff in the downtown streets. "Fin de Semana Cidiano" is the name of the festival.