Atapuerca to Burgos, 16.36 Miles

I started this morning at 7:00 with the coldest conditions yet — about 42 degrees and blanketed in fog. The path was immediately rocky, rockier than any of the other trails by far, and uphill. I warmed up quickly.

My intention today was to walk solo and just enjoy the peacefulness and contemplate life. I'm sure you can all guess by now that that is not what happened. After a couple of miles I met up with Enrico from Milan and we ended up walking together the rest of the way. The nice thing about Enrico is that he likes his Google maps and we took some of the lesser known trails today and therefore saw things we would not have seen on the traditional trail. We came upon a pond filled with baby geese, walked through a beautiful park for several miles, and, of course, talked. I would not be brave enough to veer off the designated path on my own.

When we entered Burgos we said goodbye and went our separate ways.

I very easily found my hotel and took care of my usual routine — did my wash in the shower, showered, ate, took care of some business — and then headed out to explore.

Burgos is a very large city comparatively speaking, approximately 180,000 population, founded in 884. It is known for the Cathedral of St. Mary, a beautiful cathedral where El Cid is buried, which I can see from my hotel room, and the Castle of Burgos. I explored both. It is just so hard to believe that so much of what I'm seeing on the Camino is hundreds of years old.

I met Elín for dinner tonight. Our last dinner together as she is spending an extra night in Burgos and I am headed out in the morning which means I will now always be a day ahead of her. I will miss her company. But that is how it goes on the Camino sadly.

I have a long day tomorrow — twenty miles — so will be heading out early.

Buen Camino!