We are so shattered and tired. Somehow, Jenny and I let six French Seniors get the best of us. We were in bed by 9pm but our roommates were up until midnight with the lights on having a good time and then somehow managed to wake at 5am and immediately, turn the lights on. We are absolutely perplexed at how these old people can have the energy that they have until we figure out that they are not only having all of their luggage transported, but they are also walking very short distances each day. For these folks it's similar to a pub crawl, only they crawl from cathedral to cathedral and stay up late drinking copious amounts of wine along the way. Now, I'm all for older people who know how to enjoy life, but come on...can't we just put them all in one room together so the young people can get some sleep!?!?
Jenny and I start the day grumpy and tell each other every joke we know at the expense of the French. Having lived in Cornwall, I have quite the repertoire! And then we decide collectively that if I could have another shot at answering the question posed by the creepy naked Canadian, the answer would definitely be French Senior Citizens. Then we apparently got all the frustration out of our systems and moved on.
Jenny, like so many young people, has a tendency to say, "I hate when this happens, or I hate the way he does that"...etc. This is something that I always got on to my children for & the first time I heard her say it I looked at her seriously and told her that I felt pretty strongly that we shouldn't hate on the Camino. She started laughing but from that point on she told everyone she heard say it, "Bethany says we can't hate on the Camino" So, we decided that while we didn't hate the French people in our room, we certainly didn't approve of their behavior either!
It really doesn't come as a surprise to us, but we start the morning walking in the freezing rain again. We decide straight away that we will walk the 27k directly to Burgos, as fast as possible, with no stops. Once again we are climbing up to 1,100 meters and then straight back down a slippery steep decent, in the freezing rain, and snow, with high winds, through sloggy mud.
We walk from 7:45-10:45 like we are on fire, but upon reaching the edge of the big city the urge to stop in a bar and warm up is too strong to resist. We have a quick coffee and then head out through the industrial part of the town.
Our motivation is the warm, dry, luxurious 4 star hotel waiting on the far side of town beyond the magnificent cathedral. I have to admit that I am filled with trepidation at the thought of stepping back into my life before the Camino. My worry being that I won't have the strength or desire to carry on. Our arrival in Burgos marks the completion of one third of the walk to Santiago. I had pre-planned stays in posh hotels at 3 points, Burgos, Leon, and Santiago as a bit of a reward for myself, but after the last few days I'm not so sure it's a good idea. Jenny, on the other hand, is beside herself with joy & excitement.
When we come into view of the massive 13th Century Gothic Cathedral we both freeze in place. We just stand there in the middle of the road staring. Eventually, we remove our packs and sit on a bench continuing to stare with our mouths wide open. We are frozen, covered in a combination of sweat and mud, after hike/jogging 27k, headed to a 4 star oasis, but all is forgotten and we just sit completely still.
After a bit of time two other pilgrims come along, both from the Netherlands, Zander & Saskia. We take turns doing pictures for each other and trying to put what we see & feel into words. We all agree that it's just impossible. Within a few minutes our long lost Pietra comes up to join us and we are so happy to see that she is well, with no limp like the last time we saw her. The sun comes out brilliantly warm as if on cue and we all sit catching up as if it has been the best day ever.
Pietra walks to the hotel with us and then says she'll be back to get us for dinner at 6:30. As soon a we check in Jenny is ecstatic, checking things out in the room and trying to force feed me the chocolate almonds so carefully placed on each pillow. Before I know it she is stripped down and wearing her hotel robe & slipper ensemble, ready to climb into the giant bath.
I decide to take myself, along with all my feelings of apprehension, and my guidebook full of maps, down to the bar for a cup of coffee and a long hard look at my next 30 days. As I sit there, still covered from head to toe in mud, completely frustrated with the hotel wifi that my phone doesn't want to recognize, I hear my name. Actually, I hear, "Delibery for Ms. Porta" and I turn my head to see this man standing 10 feet away from me with giant red roses. Naturally, I just sit there staring at him because it can't be real. He walks right up to me and leans into my face saying, "Ms. Porta?" (So funny because in Spanish "puerta" means "door", and sounds exactly like my last name....this has caused a few mishaps & laughs!) Anyhow, I snap out of it and say,"yes" and he thrusts the flowers in my face saying, "for you!"
I just sit there for ages & then finally open the card to find the strangest broken English message written with no name. The key words I can pick out are "challenge, journey, support, & love" I am so touched and thankfully, alone in the bar, when tears start streaming down my face.
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