Burgos, 29 April

There was a lovely breakfast set out in the spacious dining room: the fruit on the buffet was especially good. I watched a few late peregrinos walk past at 9.00 a.m., noting the size of their backpacks (mostly too big!) this hotel is on the higher, official, route out of town on Fernan Gonzalez.

I moved my backpack down to the Meson del CiD, having abandoned the old suitcase which had protected my new lightweight Aarn pack on the plane. I left a little message for the chambermaid: "no lo quiero". Then I crossed the square to the cathedral and got the pilgrim's rate (3.5 E) to visit, complete with audio commentary. This gave a guided tour lasting about an hour.

Burgos was the first Gothic cathedral to be built in Spain. There were displays and models in the cloister, showing how it was extended and embellished over the centuries. It also explained how the different levels on the sloping site were cleverly compensated for, including a magnificent staircase by Diego de Siloe, leading up to the north door of the cathedral. El CiD and his wife are buried beneath the transept crossing.

I had the Menu del Dia for lunch at the Bonfin Restaurant: Sopa Castellana, grilled Merluza w. salad, then Tarta de Manzana for dessert. I went back to the hotel for a siesta, but was disturbed by people arriving in the next room and their plumbing. I was about to make myself a cup of tea when I discovered I had left my adaptor plug behind at the Abba. On returning there, I was delighted when it was returned to me from a box of similar paraphernalia kept at reception.

At 5.00 p.m. the Museo de Burgos opened, so I went along to see the archaeological exhibits and medieval paintings. I passed a "China Shop" on the way and was able to buy a dinky little hairbrush for under 2E. Strolling back across the river, I couldn't resist having chocolate w. churros at a popular cafe. This just about filled me up for the evening, so I went to bed and read my Kindle, forgetting about dinner.

My room at Meson del Cid is in a prime spot overlooking the cathedral's west door. I can also see over the typical red and ochre rooftops to a line of wind turbines on a green ridge in the distance.

View from my window

Meson del Cid - my balcony is near the Hotel sign

This fresh pilgrim seated next to a weary one

Madrid to Burgos, 28 April

The flight to Madrid arrived 20 minutes early, so there was plenty of time to find the ASLA counter near the exit of T4, purchase my ticket to Burgos and simply cross the road to find all the bus stops. The coach was very comfortable and it was a lovely sunny afternoon for the journey. I felt a bit worn out after 20 hours on a plane and just wanted to get to the end. The film being shown on board was "The Impossible", in English with Spanish subtitles, and I might have watched it if I hadn't already seen it on the plane last year!

On arrival in Burgos, I went straight to Meson del Cid where I had a booking for the following day. It was around 6.00 p.m. They were fully booked and extremely apologetic, saying that normally they would have expected to have a few spare rooms. The friendly receptionist phoned the Abba Hotel, some 200m. away, and got me a room for 70 E. This proved to be a good choice, a nice room with a small balcony which had a view of the cathedral spires beyond a park in the Castillo area. After a beer from the mini bar, I set off for a walk and purchased a few items from the small supermarket below the cathedral: bread, cheese, jamon and an orange to have later in my room. After all the meals on the plane, this was just what I needed.

The Abba Hotel was playing Abba music in reception, where I used their computer to send an email home. The hotel seemed to specialize in coach tours, as there were 2 enormous coaches parked outside. It also boasted a heated indoor pool, but I didn't have a cozzie with me. I turned in at 9.00 p.m. with a sleeping pill to combat any jet lag and slept soundly till the sky lightened at 7.00 a.m.

 

Perth to Dubai, 27th April 2014

Poster in Leon

It was a rainy evening as I left Perth for my 2014 Camino adventure. The flight was 50 minutes late taking off, due to an unknown "technical problem", but there would be plenty of time in Dubai to make the connection to Madrid. The plane was packed; not a spare seat anywhere, so no chance of stretching out for a sleep. Dinner was finally served around midnight, after which I took 2 painkillers for the insipient toothache which had been bothering me for a week. Would I have to walk the entire Camino with this problem? The lady sitting next to me (on her way to walk the Via Plata from Seville) suggested oil of cloves, an old-fashioned remedy probably available at a Spanish pharmacy.

I managed to sleep fitfully till about 7.00 a.m. Perth time, when I walked around the plane for a bit and did a few exercises. In Dubai, I went into the airport hotel to book a room overnight for the return journey (US$ 248 for 7-10 hours).