Days 16 – 18 A lofty arrival- Montes de Oca to Burgos and Tardajos

I’m not going to beat around the bush here. We decided to take the bus into Burgos. The wind and the rain were just terrible. People who walked told stories of inundation, slipping, sliding, being blown sideways, wetness, and freezing temperatures. Actually it seems some guy named Kirk has had a cyclone named after him. It was then downgraded but all a bit messy and there were warnings out telling pilgrims to avoid walking and be careful until Wednesday afternoon.

There were those who would never be dry again. Many were going home. There were others who taxied. There were some who stayed behind. I didnt want to stay behind. It was more useful to be in Burgos for a day or two off. I haven’t actually had a day off yet so this would be my first. I have a plan to actually get to Santiago despite the fact that this is a reconnaissance mission. We had a coffee and croissant at the bar downstairs and donned our wet weather gear ready to find the bus stop somewhere not too far away.

We had various opinions on when and where the bus would leave from. The best opinion seemed to be from the little man at reception after dinner. He said 5 minutes walk to a little house at 8.30 in the morning. The lady had said 2 minutes walk at 9am in the morning. The internet said 8.52am.

We found the little house at 8.30am. A danish couple were already there. The Wet Albanian arrived next. Then the Snoring Irishman. We entertained ourselves in between gusts of wind and rain with learning about each others journeys. The locals were also gathering under an awning further away.

The Wet Albanian was thrilled to hear we had met some dry Albanians the day before at the very albergue we had just left. He hadn’t even heard of another Albanian on the camino. All his clothes were wet and he had no way to dry them in the albergue so he was heading into find a lavandaria in Burgos.

The snoring Irishman had just completed his second section and was heading home. He could start at the same place again next year so no need to walk in the rain now. He really was a champion snorer. He had the cubicle next to me. My earplugs were no match for him! Thank heavens we’d booked a two bedroom loft apartment and would have our own rooms for two nights!

I compared shoes with the Danish people. Mrs Durham also discussed her journey and was equally happy with her decision. None of this wilderness walking or walking the concrete into Burgos in this weather. The bus eventually arrived about 9.20. It was a long wait.

We arrived early which meant we had an opportunity to try the famous Burgos churros. The Mexican man next to me said they were not as good as the Mexican churros. They were too oily. They needed sugar. But the retired school principal had suggested a degustation of chocolate sauces. That made them special. We enjoyed our churros but felt a little queezy afterwards. So we walked around and had a beer to wash them down at the bar downstairs while we waited for access to our apartment. Don’t judge me. Mrs Durham suggested it. I simply agreed.

We were finally granted access to the apartment. It sure was lofty! 75 very narrow stairs up! Right opposite the cathedral so very well located. But not a quick trip back up if you forgot something. So we sat and relaxed and watched spanish tv for a while. Then we had a siesta. We could actually have a siesta. The sheets were lovely. The pillows were magnificent. The doona was perfect. We washed our clothes in the washing machine and spread them out around the radiators. We didnt need the radiators on but we needed to dry our clothes. We kept bumping our heads on the lofty loft. It was definitely a loft.

We went out walking around and the wind froze my legs. The rain kept coming and going. I’d left my thermal pants at home. Couldn’t imagine needing them in Spain. But I needed them!

Later we caught up with the Retired School Principal and the Lady from Atlanta who also happened to be Mrs Durhams friend. We met at the Vermuteria opposite the cathedral where a bunch of pilgrims caught up last time. I could be wrong but it seemed a bit shady this time. Like the mafia were in town. But Mrs Durham encouraged me to have an Aperol Spritz. I actually liked it. I’d tried one before and it was too bitter. This one was perfect.

We then went with the Lady from Atlanta and the retired school principal in search of a meal. After many failed menus we settled on a little place in the square behind the cathedral for some tapas and were all happy with the decision.

We had so much left over we took a take away container para llavar! We then went to the bar opposite the municipal and gave it to the pilgrims from Grañon. They must’ve been hungry with the Italian Chefs in charge. They were happy with that.

We had a full day after our arrival but Mrs Durham realised she needed to catch the train a day early in order to reach Cruz de Ferro before she had to meet her husband somewhere around Triacastela.

We said good bye at the Taxi stand. It was sad. Mrs Durham was great company. After she left I went back to the apartment and missed my family for a few minutes. Then I rested and went back down the 75 stairs and met the Lady from Atlanta and the retired school principal and a bunch of other Americans for another visit to the vermuteria and dinner at La Mafia. It was a great pizza. I just remembered I took the leftovers home and forgot about them this morning! Oh well.

In the morning I caught a Taxi to the edge of Burgos to Tardajos with the Lady from Atlanta. She continued on past my tree to Hornillas. I will see my tree tomorrow. I hope no one has cut it down.

I sat in the bar below my albergue and met a pilgrim from Sweden who had the best jacket for the rain. I took a photo and tried to buy it online. Nope I’m from Australia! Can’t buy online from Sweden! I will have to find it in a sports store before I go home. She is going to take a photo of my tree this afternoon and send it back to me. I want to see it in the morning but if it looks okay and the wind dies off I might do a secondary reconnaissance mission and duck out this afternoon – would only be about 5kms away. Let’s see.

Nope. Was too windy and too wet. She had to keep her head down and couldn’t see it in the rain.

I went to the local farmacia again. My toe was very sore. I had tried to prepare my feet for the meseta. They were in near perfect condition but I accidentally scraped too much and cut my toe. The farmacia was becoming my friend so I bought a silicone toe cup and hoped I could walk to my tree tomorrow without too much pain.

Had a fun dinner with the Northern Irelanders I’d met in the mafia restaurant in Burgos, the German fix it man I’d met in Tosantos and the Canadian girl id met there. The food was not too bad and the laughter was plenty.