5/4 Big, Big Burgos

Francine had paid to have her backpack transported today so that she wouldn't have to deal with all 10 kilos of it when we walked through Burgos.  Burgos is a huge city and the cathedral there is beautiful.  We wanted to spend some time at the cathedral, enjoy our walk through the city, and stay in Tardajos which is about 10 or 12 kilometers beyond the city.  But Francine worried about her backpack all night, getting very little sleep, and in the end, cancelled the transport service and strapped that baby on.

Sometimes the Camino gives you an alternative route.  Maybe there are ruins or churches or things of interest that take you off route and eventually bring you back to the main route.  We took such an alternate this morning.  The traditional route takes you through heavily industrialized areas into Burgos...our alternative route took us along parks and a river into Burgos.  It was a no brainer.

We were all hungry, not having eaten since yesterday's lunch at Comosapiens, so we literally stopped at the first place we saw that had coffee cups on the tables and a display case of pastries.  It was really an East Indian fast food place, a sort of döner kebab sort of place.  The woman managed cafe con leches and fresh squeezed orange juice and chocolate croissants, so we were happy.

We made our way to the cathedral and it is impressive.  I sat in a pew and prayed for people I know and love and then for two people that I knew I needed to forgive.  They had hurt someone I love very much, and awhile back, when I considered what they had done, I didn't think they deserved forgiveness.  And God...in His gentle and wise voice whispered to me, "Neither do you."  Truth that.  So...it was work that needed to be done.

We are in Tardajos after walking about 29 kilometers.  My feet are never very happy at the end of the day and I find myself playing silly games like looking off into the distance at a building or tree or landmark and trying to estimate the number of steps it will take to get there...1, 2, 3, 4,...2, 2, 3, 4,...

I do love the comraderie of Polly and Francine at the end of our walk.  We take off our shoes, grab a beer or glass of wine and talk about deep things...like how to tell the people we love what we need...and the not so deep things...like whether the chocolate doughnuts are better than the chocolate croissants.