Camino de Santiago LITE: Day 14 (Camino II): Sun Juan de Ortega to Burgos

It is dark and cloudy at 8am. It got quite chilly last night and we hope it wasn't too cold for pilgrims, especially those staying at the albergue. Manuel is already up and about. He's the one who answered all my e-mails, checked us in, was at the mass, and served us dinner last night. How many hours a day is he working? I guess if your family owns the whole darn town, you are motivated. As soon as we walk out of the church square that defines San Juan, we are in a pine forest. Looking back at the town, I appreciate its unique setting even more.

It's quite windy on the trail, but we reach the next town, Ages, in less than an hour, i.e., it did not take ages. This is the first day we have breakfast after we start out, which some people do routinely, especially early starters.

Looking back at San Juan as we leave: the church square leads to a dense forest. I don't know about others, but this place will remain special in my memory.

The pine forest has given way to oak trees, and the Scots have caught up.

Mystsery circles. Ages (the town) coming into view. Howling wind. Chisoon wearing the poncho, not because it's raining but to keep warm.

Breakfast in Ages: a delightful place, inside and out.

Soon we arrive at Atapuerca, a world-renowned archeological site. This is a major reason we are spending an extra day in Burgos. But for now we just go through it, as we are retuning here to visit the dig site and other facilities tomorrow. From here, there is a steep hill up to what is simply listed as an "alto." Chisoon is very slow walking up. At the top, the wind is strong, you can see Burgos in the distance, and there is a sense of desolation.

Atapuerca coming into view

Menhir collection near Atapuerca

Atapuerca: San Martin Church

Rocky, hilly, windy. A cross waits at the top.

Plateau at top of the hill. A young French walking the stone circle.

After coming down the hill, we stop at a tiny bar in Cardenuela Riopico, where have a quick bite and ask the lady to call a taxi for Chisoon. The young French we saw earlier strolls in and asks the server if there are any ATMs around. She says no, and he is ready to walk out, having no cash on him. We offer to pay for his sandwich and he reluctantly accepts. We ask him, "how about drinks?" but he says, "no, it OK," but we are concerned since there is still 15km left to Burgos.
The server who was watching all this brings a free glass of Sangria to him. A carpenter from north of Paris, he is between jobs. He started in Belorado with 20 Euros and could not find any cash machine along the way. Obviously he is a lot closer to the classic pilgrim than we are.

Church ruins at Villalval. The town itself looks moribund.

Once alone, I walk quite briskly to Orbaneja and then on a dirt track to Catanares, which is the new recommended route avoiding the Burgos Airport and some of the industrial areas. At Catanares, some people on a stopped bus are furiously waving at me, and it is the Scots who are urging me to come aboard. I make a big cross with my arms, "no," and we all laugh and go our separate ways. I have a pleasant conversation for the next two hours with a half-German half-French who just finished her master's in London. Fluent in Spanish as well, she is quadruple-lingual. She is one of those young people on a very tight budget and states that she has not gone into a cathedral that charges admission, partly out of principle as well. I think I was able to convince her to make an exception to the Burgos Cathedral, as I have heard it is definitely worth a look inside.

The first part after Orbaneja is a long dirt track. No other person in sight. The wind's still blowing hard. I seem to have lost a guy who was just behind me after relieving himself on the streets of Orbaneja. He could have waited till now. But then again, he'd be passing in the wind.

Close to Burgos, the path is through the park and along the river, much better option than the previous standard route.

El Cid (or Charlton Heston?): We must be in Burgos.

Getting close to Burgos Cathedral

Pilgrims passing with the Cathedral in the backdrop

I arrive at the hotel around 5pm and am greeted by a great view of the cathedral from our room. Chisoon was able to upgrade our room for extra 10 Euros and this room is worth every cent of it. It is an impressive sight. The cathedral looks massive and we are almost looking down on it. We have a quick visit to the cathedral and it is overwhelming. We will need to return.
We have a good-bye dinner with David and Richie, as they are moving ahead to the next town tomorrow and therefore we won't see them again on the Camino.