Day 13: San Juan to Burgos

Yay! It's finally time to see the first of the huge cathedrals!

I got a slow start because it was still dark when I left, making it hard to see the path. Once I knew which path I was on, I was to my normal pace.

The first half of the trekk was nice...back to the natural country side and farming land...

It also wasn't long before I came upon my first town.

I love how the church's are the biggest buildings, at the highest point in a town, and in the center of a town.

There was some steep climbing...

The view at the top was nice!

This was at the top of the hill/mountain. 

After a couple of hours, I needed to take a break. Got to stop with some familiar faces for some coffee.

A local church...it was kind of hidden.

The many hills still looked great even amoungst the towns.

The walk to Burgos was long. There is an alternative route that is more scenic, but I missed it. I had to settle for going through an industrial city. I was just glad to see the sign that I made it to Burgos!

The walk to the alburge was so long. I thought that I would never get there. On the way, I was able to stop and look inside the church of Saint Maria. The priest was preparing for something, so I just took a quick snapshot of the inside.

I was almost there..

I made it!

I took off my boots and got coffee and a tortilla. I sat with some French men that I have been seeing since Roncesvalles. They are too funny....when they remembered where I was from, the immediately commented that I wasn't a fat American...it was really funny. Maybe you just had to have been there.

While waiting on the alburge to open, the church bells from the cathedral started ringing...all of them. I was really pretty. 

It was funny.....every time a pilgrim made it to the alburge, people cheered. It's like a major accomplishment to make it to Burgos. 

I made a "b line" for the Burgos cathedral. It was fantastic! We weren't allowed in the main chapel. I guess because it was Sunday...they were having service while I was touring. I remembered my phone, so I will have a separate blog for it....I have a lot of pictures. The place is huge!

As I was wandering around the city, I came across this church(?) that was in ruins. It's amazing that the Spanish don't tear those buildings, but they leave them up as some sort of reminder of their past. It's really neat.

I also saw an exercise class going on outside. They went from Zumba to kickboxing. 

I went to go see Church of San Sabastine around 5....it was closed...try again at 5:30

 Afterwards, I went to go drain my blister (again) and take care of my clothes.

(I swore to myself that I would never do this, but it works)

I went to have dinner with some fellow pilgrims--it was the last day for many pilgrims, so we had a good-bye dinner. I had eggs with chorizo and red peppers.

Saw this neat structor that is important to Burgos.