Agés → Burgos
Distance: 14.34 miles / 22km
Elevation: +459ft, -902ft
I slept okay last night, but there was a guy in my room who snored SO loud. I genuinely don’t understand how people make noises like that. It took me awhile to fall asleep, but after I did, I slept pretty well.
I woke up around 6:15am and then got ready for the day, leaving around 7am. I really didn’t feel like walking today, but I didn’t have much choice, so I made the best of it. The route was flat at first, then there was quite a hill about 3 miles in and then it descended, but it was flat for the rest of it so it was nice to not have so much elevation.
I got a carton of orange juice from a small grocery store this morning, as some people around me at the albergue the past few days were sick, and I wanted to get ahead of it. Then I stopped at a town about 5 miles in to get breakfast which was a ham, egg, and bell pepper sandwich on a baguette and a coffee.
I kept walking after that and today was a pretty boring walking day. I was alone for most of it and the path was really not the best. There are two routes into Burgos, one goes through about 4 miles of industrial park, and the other still goes through industrial park but less of it, and it also goes through a park and is next to a river. I did the more scenic route through the park, but it was still a pretty boring walk.
I had switched over to my chacos, but my feet were still really hurting by the time I got to the hostel. When I arrived, there was a sign that said “be back in 5 minutes” and the doors were locked. After 5 minutes, still no one showed up, so I sat at the cafe next door for a while and then at the bus station (also next door) and eventually circled back around and someone was back at the reception desk.
Check in wasn’t until 3pm though and my room wasn’t ready so I STILL couldn’t check in. I went up to the hostel’s “lounge” area for about an hour to charge my phone and spend some time catching up on the day.
A man from Seattle who was also a pilgrim came up and started talking to me and we chatted for maybe 30 minutes. Finally, my room was ready and I checked in. I got the bottom bunk! I’m planning on taking tomorrow as a rest day, as Burgos is a bigger city and common spot for pilgrims to take a zero day. My feet could desperately use it.
After decompressing for a while, I went and explored the town and went to the Burgos cathedral. On Tuesdays from 4:30-6:30pm, they have free entry, so I got lucky by being there on a Tuesday. I waited in line for a bit and eventually got into the cathedral. It was MASSIVE inside and really felt more like a museum than a cathedral. It had an audio listening guide so I walked around for about an hour while listening to the guide.
After I explored the cathedral, I found a cafe and got a class of wine and a meat skewer on bread pintxo. I then wandered around the town for a bit and went back to the hostel to grab my fleece, since it was getting a little chilly out.
At 7pm, I headed back out and walked around a bit more and sat and people watched for a bit. Then I met up with Mark to grab dinner. We had a glass of wine at a bar first and then decided to meet a friend, Dominic, since he was ending in Burgos and today was his last day of the Camino. We walked across town (about 5 minutes) to meet him, and he and an Australian friend were already sat at a restaurant.
They had already eaten dinner, but they hung around while Mark and I ordered and ate since we hadn’t eaten yet. The place we went to had a pilgrim menu that came with bread, 1/2 bottle of wine per person, and a few offerings for first and second courses. I was famished at this point since it was about 9pm, so I got pasta as a starting dish and a burger - I was eyeing up the burgers on the menu and it sounded delicious. The pasta was fairly good and the burger ended up being pretty basic but still good. The whole meal was very filling and it was very nice to get to eat a meal with the three of them.
Although I don't remember his name, the other Australian guy there is also taking a rest day tomorrow, so we’ll be in the same boat starting from Burgos in a day from now. Even though I had only met Dominic briefly, it was sad to say goodbye to him and hard to believe it was the end of his Camino.
Dinner was very nice and I loved chatting with all of them - it made me a bit sad to know that most of us were all going our separate ways tomorrow, and I don't know if I'll ever see any of them again. But nonetheless it was a lovely meal and afterwards, we all went for a short walk together and then went back to our respective albergues/hostels/hotels for the night. It was about 10:30pm by the time I got back, so tonight was a very late dinner. I’m starting to feel like a true Spaniard!
After I got back, I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed, and then journaled for a bit and got ready to sleep. I’m really looking forward to (hopefully) sleeping in tomorrow, and being able to get some rest for both my spirit and my body.
