2215 hrs 2/16/2011

It's past 2200 hrs here in Burgos, Castile y Leon (Spain) and I'm apparently a rebel because its supposed to be lights out at the Albergue de Peregrinos, but I'm writing my blog post.  It's okay, though, because I still hear whispers from the edgy French pilgrim couple next door and the set of five Spanish boys down the hall. 

Over the last couple of days the skies have given Franzcesca and I incredible fits of rain, wind, snow, cold, and mud at our feet.  We were fortunate enough to finish yesterday with only a 16.5K walk over steep hills and heavy rain in a wonderfully remodeled private albergue in Ages. We relaxed about our room- the only two in the whole place, from 1:30 pm to 7:00 pm when they prepared our pilgrim's menu in the dining room.  Aside from the blood sausage that was part of the first course, the entire meal was filling and so welcoming. The owner, a wonderful motherly type, was so gracious- she  even poured, and shared with us, an orange liqueur shot in a miniature pie-type crust---ummmm! I got two tries at it, because I took the first as a "shot" and apparently I was only supposed to drink a little bit and then put the entire liqueur filled crust in my mouth.

As for our walk today from Ages to beautiful Burgos...(see photos for a bit of the experience).  SNOW, RAIN, MUD, really badly marked directions into Gamonal (suburb of Burgos)-- but we made it to the Albergue in Burgos at 1:15 pm- that's 21K in less than 5 hours! The problem is that the Albergue didn't open until 2:00 pm.

After waiting for the albergue doors to open, hot showers and a fresh set of clothing, we set out into Burgos for mine and Franzcesca's last Camino night as walking partners. We visited a monastery and went along on a Spanish-only tour (where we remarked "that's interesting" to one another, alot because we only understood about every hundredth word). Then, we went to the Cathedral of Burgos-- an amazing tour of religion, spirituality, art, architecture and culture! We finished the night with a botella y vino and some tapas at a local bar and a great pre-intoxicated photo of us at our table.  The time spent with Franzcesca has been a friendship in the making!! So thankful.

As for the evening- Dustin and I finally got a Skype call to happen and it was great to see his face & hear his voice.  I also got to see and talk to Hailey, my little girl (dog for those of you who don't know)- she responded to the computer wondering where mom's voice was coming from. Boy, do I miss them all.

Good-bye and best wishes to my new friend, Franzcesca. She has about 31 days left on the Camino; all the way to Finnisterra (the end of the world).