Burgos 18 May

Still as cold as Christmas!. When I left the hotel at 9.15 it was 7 degrees and when I returned at 1.30 p.m. it had only risen to 10 degrees! I decided to pay another visit to Real Monasterio de Huelgas, a Cistercian convent, which had impressed me 2 years ago. As I walked there along the river bank an amazing thing happened. I met American Mary on her way to the bus station, complete with backpack! It had finally arrived at Ortega at 2.30 p.m. on the day I left her at about 1.30. She was able to return my pyjama top which I had never expected to see again! She was going to Leon by bus to meet her husband and they were going to walk to Santiago together.

Huelgas was just as fascinating as before, especially the exhibition of early medieval costumes. Inside the church, I was able to sneak a couple of illicit photos while lagging behind a big Spanish group. (We were not allowed to go round the place on our own, and twice I had not been lucky enough to encounter an English speaking group). After the tour I was this time able to purchase a guide book in English. Atapuerca should take note! I took lots of notes of my own and also a few sketches of the costumes, the like of which I had never seen anywhere in the world. They are in such good condition and are being preserved in dim light.

The convent itself was founded by Alfonso VIII (1156-1214) and his wife Eleanor of England. It was to become the burial place of the monarchs. There is one section of the church containing 16 elaborately carved stone tombs. All except one of these were opened and robbed by Napoleon's troops.

Alfonso also founded the nearby King's Hospital to provide care and accommodation for all the pilgrims going to Santiago. The buildings are now part of the University of Burgos. This was my next stop before walking back to Burgos through the park.

I had a long siesta back at the hotel. Then I watched the BBC World Service in bed for a couple of hours. Suddenly I noticed outside the window a storm had blown up, with huge hailstones falling on the balcony, followed by heavy rain. Later that night the local TV News showed pilgrims out in the blizzard up at Ortega contrasted with tourists sunning themselves on the beach at Alicante. This was my last day on the Camino, till I come back next year to do some more...

Monasterio de las Huelgas

Painting of the Battle of Navas de Tolosa (1212) on the screen separating the nave from the choir

Hospital del Rey

Carved door into the hospital church, depicting the Pilgrims' Gate

Stamps on my Credencial: there is space for more next year

Shells point the way on the pavement out of Burgos

 

Burgos 17 May

After breakfast I rested for an hour before crossing the bridge over the fast flowing river to the Museum of Human Evolution, a magnificent new building. I spent two hours having a thorough look at everything, getting a better understanding of what I had seen at Atapuerca. In the bookshop, I was astonished to find not a single publication in English. Outside the museum is a larger than life bronze statue of a Homo Antecessor Man and his child, based on the theory that this extinct human species was indeed bigger than we are. The discovery of this new species and its implications is described in Reassessing the age of Atapuerca-TD6 (Spain): new paleomagnetic results. Journal of Archaeological Science, Vol 40, issue 12, Dec 2013, pp 4586-4595.

My hotel was in the same street as a new big public library, with free Internet access and a large periodicals room, so I was able to occupy myself for an hour or so, out of the cold. I also walked all round the outside of the magnificent Burgos Cathedral, where I had witnessed a posh wedding, complete with firecrackers, on my last visit. Later, I poked my nose into the large and popular municipal albergue, where late in the afternoon they were turning people away.

That evening, I wanted to try local delicacies at the 100 year old Restaurant Ojeda, which was in walking distance of the hotel. Menu: Asparagus a la Plancha; Cordero lecho asado; Vino de Casa Tempranillo 2007. The fresh asparagus was beautiful, but the roast suckling lamb was tough and stringy. It must have been warmed up a second time in the microwave. This needs a write-up on Trip Advisor. It is obviously a tourist trap, charging big $$$. My meal was 50 Euros, more than I’ve paid anywhere in Spain. I will eat in the hotel tomorrow. Suckling lamb is supposed to be so tender, you can cut it with the side of a plate.

Burgos Cathedral from the Museum of Human Evolution

Homo Antecessor

Atapuerca to Burgos (20 Kms). 16 May

An absolutely freezing day! You would not know you were in Spain! I was determined to walk to Burgos, as this was the only way to keep warm. Firstly it was up and up, on a nice moorland track as far as a cross, where two Spanish ladies who had been at the albergue asked me to take their photos and then did the same for me. This was the Alto de Atapuerca (1070 m.), affording our first view of Burgos in the distance, some 12 or 13 kms away. I fancied the cathedral was just visible in the middle of multiple urban developments. In medieval times, the huge cathedral would have stood out plainly and given encouragement to weary travellers.

All pilgrims were stopping a bit later for refreshment at a busy café in Cardanuela Rio Pico, where I just fancied (even that early) a vino tinto and a slice of Spanish omelette. Delicious!

It was quite a long drag into Burgos, especially on such a freezing cold day where I had to stop every 5 minutes to blow my nose! We had to skirt around Burgos airport on a deserted bit of landscape, before entering Castanares, where I met an American girl looking for a bus to take her into Burgos, bypassing all the industrial suburbs. I was determined to find the so-called “alternative route” along the river, which I remembered from my previous visit to Burgos. This proved quite hard, because of all the motorway flyover, with too many choices listed in the guide book and yellow arrows going in different directions; eventually I succeeded and walked the last 4 kms into Burgos, feet protesting against the hard ground! The river route was surely much more pleasant, but maybe the shopkeepers of Burgos wanted to keep the other route open to encourage business.

Entering town, I saw across the river the Hotel Silken Gran Teatro, my destination for 2 days’ rest in a luxurious hotel! I was given a room on the 4th floor and later had dinner in the hotel, with an interesting starter of mushrooms and a poached egg sitting in a savoury cream, served up by a nice Rumanian waiter.

Flock of sheep near the Alto

Cruceiro

The two Spanish ladies: note their small backpacks!

Villafranca to Atapuerca (18 kms). 15 May

Next morning the receptionist tried but failed to rouse on the telephone the hotel in San Juan de Ortega where I really wanted to spend the next night, so I set off on the track regardless.

An eventful day! Snow! I left the hotel after 9.00 a.m. and immediately heard from several people that it was snowing on top.. I met a young couple coming down the steep track wearing capes and shorts that were already wet with sleet. They said they were going to catch the bus into Burgos! I had on all my waterproof gear, including pants, so I pressed on higher and higher to the first landmark: “Fountain for wetting bread” and a small covered rest area.

Monument to the Fallen

I got out my camera for some wintry shots. The snow on the pine trees looked amazing. It was like walking through a winter wonderland. I hadn’t seen any snow for years! I passed a monument to the Fallen of 1936, then on and on through the pine woods, snow falling steadily for 2 hours, then gradually stopping.

On reaching San Juan de Ortega at around 12.30 p.m., I discovered that the Hotel (with only 10 rooms) full – booked out by a party of Irish. I met Mary, the American whose luggage from Sto Domingo had still not arrived after 2 days. She was despairing of seeing it again, having agreed with a smaller lesser known company to deliver it. I had already given her my pyjama top the day before and didn’t want to part with anything else as it was really cold! Her mini day pack was not waterproof and she was trying to dry her gear around a puny little fire in the bar. I gave her one of my sleeping pills so that she could get a good night’s rest and told her to wait till the bar was quiet and get the barman to help with phone calls. I had observed a queue of pilgrims waiting for the albergue to open at 1. 00 p.m., and didn’t fancy staying there, so I pressed on to the next village (downhill, now).

Heather in the snow

Jonquil?

The albergue at Ages had no more private rooms available, so after a beer I went on to Atapuerca. This proved to be an extremely good move. I found the new Albergue El Peregrino with dorms on one side of the garden and private rooms on the other, each side with a small kitchen. After a cup of tea and half a bar of choc from my emergency rations, I went to wait for the special minibus that took visitors to the Atapuerca archaeological site at 4.40 p.m. every day.

With a young and enthusiastic English speaking guide, who switched rapidly from English to Spanish, we went to a site where human remains from 1 million years ago had been discovered in layers of sediment that had been washed down by the river system, as well as remains of many wild animals including lions and rhinos; also evidence of cannibalism of children whose bones had been scaped clean with hand axes. The site had been discovered when an English company had cut a railway line to an iron ore mine. This was never developed because it was uneconomic, but the subsequent archaeological finds were amazing, and proved the existence of humans in Europe much earlier than had previously been thought.

Atapuerca archaeological site: a UNESCO World Heritage site

Viloria to Villafranca Montes de Oca (22 Kms) 14 May

I reached Belorado by about 10 a.m. and had a lovely second breakfast in the sunny square: a big coffee, Danish pastry and freshly squeezed orange juice. Then off to the pharmacy to buy tissues and an ATM to draw out 200 Euros. I had intended to stay the night in Belorado, but at 11.00 a.m. it seemed too soon to stop walking. It proved to be a beautiful sunny day walking through fields of wheat, with a few veggies on one side: spinach, peas, leeks all coming up well. No more asparagus, though! Occasionally the trail went very near to the busy N-120, which had huge trucks thiundering past. It was very scary when they seemed to come too close.

I had a nice beer at Tosantos and asked the friendly bar lady to phone up and reserve a room for me at the Hotel San Anton Abad in Villafranca Montes de Oca. I had a quick lunch of cheese and dates at Villambistia, where I saw a man pull up in a Prius just opposite and told him I had the same car at home in Australia. I had a short lie down in the sun on a park bench, before continuing on the last uphill stretch.

My single room in the hotel (which also owns the adjoining albergue) is small, but the shower/loo is fine. Also, it is quiet – can’t hear the lorries thundering by 100 m. away. Had dinner with a couple from Norway in the hotel dining room: asparagus salad, pork w. chips, fruit salad.

Church at Viloria

Sunny square at Belorado

Ancient cave dwellings near Belorado

Gateway of my hotel in Villafranca