The next morning in Ages, the lobby of the Albergue was stuffed with luggage for Jacotrans and the other services to pick up. Somehow, I ended up being one of the last people to leave. My boots were the last ones on the rack.
Lila, the Danish woman and I started out walking together. It was a glorious morning with sun, blue sky, and the Camino took us past charming half-timbered houses.
There was a circle of stones off to the left of the road, and I wanted to see what they were. They reminded me of the stones at the top of Alto de Perdon that were a Civil War monument. At that moment I realized that both Lila and I were both used to walking at our own pace, and I am a habitual reader of signs, plaques, and lover of views. I stop a lot. I sensed Lila was ready to make better time. I was also in search of coffee because I left Ages without having breakfast. When we got to the next village I said I was stopping for coffee and she said she could wait longer. We said, “Buen Camino,” and she walked ahead.
My itinerary was getting a bit squished. I wanted to be in Burgos around 5:00 to meet Hale at the bus station, and I had 23k to walk. I also didn’t want to be thrashed when he arrived. Having walked into cities before, I knew how tough the kilometers on pavement could be on your feet. I wanted to walk into Burgos along the river but I wanted to avoid the next 10k or so through the industrial outskirts.
So, I asked the bar in Atapuerca to call for a taxi. I calculated that if I skipped to Costanones, I could pick up the river path and have a scenic 10k walk. I realized that we’d called for a taxi in 2013 at the same cafe, which felt a little like Deja-vu.
The taxi driver arrived and we sped off down the two lane road, then got on the motorway and then took several turns off it into roundabouts. As the crow flies it’s not that far from Burgos so the roads were built for suburban traffic.
The Camino’s approach into Burgos is complicated. There’s a path that follows the road, and two other paths that hug the beautiful shallow river that runs through Burgos. I definitely wanted to try one of those, but the description in the guidebook looked confusing. You know it’s confusing when the guidebook says, “Stop! Focus!”
Fortunately, my dashing taxi driver knew where to go. He let me out where an industrial park met the river path. I was immediately in a greenway, but the signage was somewhat lacking. There were yellow arrows every once in awhile but not many.
But it didn’t seem to matter because the river was on my right, and the path was well-defined. I saw two pilgrim up ahead of me, so I tried to keep them in sight.
It did seem like my days of walking had sped by too fast. In some ways I was just getting in the groove, and wouldn’t it be fun to keep going? At the same time, I was looking forward to seeing Hale and showing him beautiful Burgos.
So I strolled along taking my time and enjoying the river route. Whenever I stopped to recalibrate my route, a jogger would cry out, “Camino!” Pointing me the right way.
After awhile the path became paved, and then became a wide sidewalk along the river. There were lots of residents of all ages out strolling with friends, or getting exercise, or pushing elderly people in wheelchairs and babies in strollers. Every once in awhile there was access to the dirt path closer to the river and I took advantage of it, to walk under the weeping willow trees.
I paused for awhile on a park bench and tried to gather my thoughts before entering town.
I didn’t have any grand summations on the last 12 days. I did feel a sense of gratitude for the time to walk and finding that sense of timelessness again along the Camino that felt grounding to me. Seeing the churches and art gave me joy. I love the human scale of the villages, the narrow streets. I love meeting people from all over the world, drawn to walk in a common direction.
I also felt grateful to be healthy and strong enough to walk the Camino again. My broken wrist, surgery, and osteoporosis diagnosis two years ago had made me anxious about doing another Camino. Was it such a good idea to wear a full-sized pack? I don’t know, but maybe it’s helped my spinal bone density numbers. I haven’t had any back issues. The only side effect of walking has been heat rash on longer stretches. And yeah, no blisters!
As I sat there I gave thanks for not falling, and for no injuries, and not getting sick. As always, I felt a deep sense of safety on the Camino, and a sense of faith in humanity. Trust. With all that’s happening in the US, I needed that. It’s been healing.
I crossed the river and passed through the old gate into central Burgos. It reminded me of the gate in Canterbury, but much bigger and in better shape. Once through the gate, the Cathedral appears, massive and towering at the same time. It’s one of my most favorite cathedrals, a work of art, full of art.
It felt a bit like coming home. This was the third time I’ve been there, and I remembered how to get around the old part of the city. Now it was time to find Hotel Notre y Londres and rest before meeting Hale at the bus station.
One Footestep at a Time 