The Stone Site

Today, walking in the sunrise, I saw the clouds and got some flashbacks from previous visits from art museums. If you have visited one you probably know what I’m talking about. The first hour you pay attention but then going through room after room with beautiful Dutch and Flemish paintings it all melts together. Today I remember all the clouds and realised how beautiful they are, but also how insufficiencient(?) a photo is in catching their richness. Well, it’s not so easy to bring your own 17th century painter with you along the Camino, so it has to be “Apple van der Iphone”.

And like the clouds in the sky we, the pilgrims of different kinds, fly scattered along the Camino. A few days ago we again meet the sweet ladies from our first days in Orisson by random and luck, and it was so nice, just to have a short greeting, catching up on good and bad things happening us since last. Yesterday at the hostel and the common dinner, we got the opportunity to share the “war stories of the Camino”. There is surprisingly a lot to talk about and absolutely about other pilgrims seen or met. Like the one with the very small charming dog, the one with the donkey, but also listen to some that had been out for several months (years?) or doing the Camino for fourth or fifth time. And there is only kind and inspiring words, the Camino is no competition and we all share the same physical challenges and curiosity how to manage these challenges in the best way. And like the clouds in the sky we then disappear to appear some other place some other time.

The Camino trail is very well marked, it’s just to follow the yellow arrows, shell or another sign like this one, provided by some kind people on their garage

BUT, sometimes it can be a bit tricky and a bit hard to know; is it left or right turn? Add some heavy vegetation or early morning when it’s completely dark – then it can be hard to find the trail. And you get lost. Then it’s so relaxing to have an app helping you out. We got a very good recommendation from one of our daughters friends, Linnea, about an app called Frances. And it has saved us so much argumentation and discussion, when we hesitate it’s just to look at it.

In Burgos we got a bit off the track, making a bad choice – but no worries, thanks to the app we where back on track! So at least once or twice a day we are so very happy about Linnea and here advice about the app.

Getting out from a big city is an interesting experience, you can see the different areas, from the core of the city, then suburbs and finally the country side. The core is often quite crowded with people not yet finished their party and then away from the core you find universities, parks and statues.

Currently we are really on the country side. The town has a church too see and it’s of course closed, then a bar where we had a lunch and then a few small hostels that’s it. And, it’s so nice and fine just being able to relax and wait for the feet to stop hurting!

Not much to see? Well, it’s perhaps depending of the time of the day. In the afternoon when temperature is a bit better, and you got some nice paella and some glasses of wine – you see the beauty of the town;

Look at these amazing tree beams, they seems to have been there for hundreds of years!! They will never fell down, or? My wife was of course a bit sceptical of standing there, but if cars are left below them, then they must be safe?!

We have been so lucky with the weather and the activities in Burgos. There is some kind of event going on so the whole town is a big party – and it’s only Monday!

Me and my wife are very fond of Spanish food, therefore if we have the opportunity to buy it ourselves, we do it! And so we did from a very friendly shop and shop assistant (?). It also reminds us of the days when we had to live on a very strict budget. But again, today we love to be able to select the food, taste the cheese and pick the one you like.

I like the information about the wine, “designed for every day drinking”. The Swedish authorities should collectively die by anger if that was sold in Sweden. In Sweden you should at most drink once a month and doing so you should really feel ashamed of yourself! So reading this I absolutely had to buy it – and from what we learned in Logroño, it’s not a bad wine at all.

Well, from two until six or seven a clock everything is closed for siesta, and after eating lot of good food and drinking the wine, I’m absolutely in siesta mode too!!

Thanks for all input about the website, I fully admit it’s limitations! So when reaching Burgos and one of the hotels found through booking, I asked the receptionist if I could use the computer outside our room! That’s broken she answered, but they had another one!

So what kind of computer does this hotel in central Burgos offer? A windows 95 computer, with every setting in Spanish and incredible slow! Gosh, that brought back memories!! Even the text in the site got translated into Spanish. But, hopefully I have managed to do a first remake and as soon I find a computer after the millennium I will continue update!

I do hope I don’t sound to negative and it’s absolutely not my intention. Going to Spain without knowing Spanish is of course stupid as well a risky. But it’s also quite interesting, you can newer predict the outcome of an restaurant visit or a discussion. After ordering the wine of the house as drink, some days ago, I made the stupid mistake to ask, “what kind of wine?” (wanted to practice my learnings from the guided wine tour in Logroño). The waiter jus nodded – and I was given Water instead! So lessons learned, if wine is offered, don’t ask to much, just be happy that it’s red!

So what to say about Burgos? What a nice town! Without planning we ended up in a town carnival

So much music and from me costumes. I have also had the chance to say hello to two town celebrities and it looks like I have to do some more eating before I can match them.

And then of course – bull fight! Or at least as close as you an come if you are a genuine coward;

Well, if you have or would like to walk about 800 km – then you have to do a lot of walking! And walking is what we do! And as much as possible! As mention before, the challenge is that the walking is not improving during the day it’s more the opposite. In the morning you feel fine – doing up to 5 km an hour and then later during the day you are happy doing 3 km and then you are counting meter by meter.

Today’s walking has been quite different from previous days, it has been like walking in Sweden, a lot of pine woods! Very peaceful, far away from the traffic.

Of course there has been some nice breaks and time for coffee and seeing something more than roads.