Come with me, half an hour before sunrise, straight up the hill for 6km. Uphill, but not overly demanding.
Can you hear the cuckoo?
Apparently pilgrims often used to get lost here (before there was a road that now ensures you couldn’t get lost if you tried), and it is easy to imagine how it could happen
Oak trees and perfect Christmas trees
A few puddles too
A memorial to the many men taken from their families and found dead the next morning…day after day…it is important to remember
More puddles and more forest
A sudden splash of colour
Arrows to follow
And the forest goes on….
….until suddenly you come out of it into fields again….and only 500m later the monastery appears
We arrive before 10. I had been thinking we would walk on, because I was hoping to get to Burgos a day earlier than I’d planned so that I can go to the dentist (yes, I have had a toothache for a few days, so I think I should get it checked)…..but that silly foot of mine was burning, so I decided to stop.
Eventually the sun would come out and others would start arriving…
…and then a few more…
Did you enjoy being Numero Uno with me in the queue and getting into the shower before others had splashed all over the floor?
Speaking of splashing, after splashing out on dinner last night I decided we should conserve a few euros today, so this might not have been the best day to come with me…….breakfast was ok – muesli and yoghurt, then a slice of tortilla de patatas from the bar after the washing was done….I’m still carrying a StupidBagOfPasta and two tins of peppers and a head of garlic that I want to cook….but again, there’s no kitchen, and we missed the cutoff for asking for dinner, and besides, we’re not spending money today remember, so we’ll have some more muesli mixed with the orange I’ve been carrying for a couple of days.
You might be glad you didn’t come with me. If you were one of my kids you would probably be embarrassed that I went into a bar and asked to buy a cup of cold milk!! Must say it made the muesli taste better…and I got a teaspoon to use as well.
solowalk 2024 