29th to 30th Sept. Santo Domingo de Silos to Burgos

Today Andy and I returned to Quintanarrayo to complete the walk to Santo Domingo de Silos. I was a bit undecided about doing it but I didn’t want Andy to go alone and Peter was in too much discomfort to do the hilly part of this day. I was so glad I did go. It was a wonderful walk with forest and ravines and more quaint towns and I felt really good at the end when we came over the hill to see Santo Domingo below. It was about 23kms and pretty cold so we walked fast. We were also racing the potential rain. I put my poncho on and felt like a walking plastic bag but it did feel warmer if noisy! Swish , swish!

We arrived starving but just minutes before the rain finally fell hard and persistent for the rest of the day. I was cold and needed to wrap up in a rug to get warm. Karen had made a substantial lentil soup. God bless her! I had two huge bowls. None of us wanted to go out so we did our media etc and then settled in for cards.Andy has had a run of bad luck ( losing) so he and Karen suggested we learn to play bridge. Well, I kind of got the basics but after three hands we reverted to Nomination Whist.

I think we just didn’t quite have the brain energy for more challenges. Peter is feeling even worse and really needs a dentist. We decided that he and Karen should go straight to Burgos and the dentist suggested by our Airbnb host in the morning. Andy and I would walk from Santo Domingo de Silos to Covarrubias about 17 kms. Hopefully Karen and Peter would meet us there and we would go to just outside Burgos and walk the last 5 kms.

It was a sobering walk out of Santo Domingo de Silos through fire devastated forest. Even more extensive than we had seen the other day. Everything was black and silent and one tree had branches snapped off leaving an almost red wound. The burnt timber was being harvested as it was charcoal outside but still usable timber inside.

We also came across a limestone quarry and I was blown away by the size of the blocks that were cut.

It was cold again even with another layer and we walked through cloud mist as we climbed the mountain. It was good when we finally heard a few birds and saw a deer.

We came into Retuerta past some very fancy bodegas but alas no bar or cafe. So it was a cold seat outside the church with a banana and a muesli bar to fortify us for the next 4kms. We had good news from Karen and Peter. They had presented themselves to the dentist surgery at 10 am and were seen immediately. The dentist X-rayed Peter’s mouth and ascertained an infection in the root of a tooth. She prescribed antibiotics and anti- inflammatory drugs and said she could remove the tooth on Monday after the antibiotics had done their job. it cost €20 and €6 for the drugs. Roughly A$40. Very good value! Peter was soon feeling considerably better and felt he could do the last 5 kms into Burgos which is part of his commitment to walking to Burgos.

With that good news we quickened our pace and we were soon in Covarrubias. I was cold and starving as usual and decided to have something from the panderia with a hot coffee. Not gluten free but food!

What a charming town. A bit touristy but with good reason. Very quaint buildings, rubbish bins disguised as buildings, a story of a young Norwegian princess married to Felipe abad de Covarrubias in 1257 which has since instigated a twin city arrangement with Ionsberg Norway in 1978. They also have an arms museum and seem to do re-enactments of the fight between Christian’s and Muslims on Saturdays. It was one of the first towns reconquered from the Moors.

We headed off to our drop off point outside Burgos while Karen headed into Burgos to find the Airbnb and a parking spot. She has the tough job!

Our walk was much more pleasant than my first encounter with Burgos which was through industrial areas. Since then there has been a new alternative path avoiding the highway and using a defunct railway line. It was flat! We walked quickly and covered the 5 kms to the Cathedral easily. Andy was disappointed to find the bar he had visited many years before which had been in the movie The Way has been renovated. We had our photos taken outside the city walls as per the photo on Peter’s fund raising poster to mark our arrival in Burgos.

Our apartment building overlooks the Cathedral but has 95 stairs (4 stories) to climb. Second time up with the contents of the car, parked 10 minutes away seemed quicker! Best aspect is the JAPANESE restaurant down stairs!!!