Day 17 - Rest day in Burgos, 6 miles

Well the food in Burgos is amazing.  Last night we went to the square in  search of dinner at 7pm…like a ghost town, everything pretty much locked up, all the crowds from before gone… We finally found a pintxo bar (pronounced peencho) that had delicious pupu sized entrees… After our little feast, we decided to go in search of ice cream.  We stepped outside to hoards of people again and all the shops open for a couple more hours… Siesta was over… At night they eat really late here!  They live on a very different timetable to the western world.

This morning, I took a leisurely breakfast… I find I am eating much slower here, enjoying my food in a new way, one bite at a time… nobody is rushing you, you have to chase them down to pay the check …

I haven’t seen one obese Spanish person… Not one!  You don’t ever see them eating while walking, or in their cars… They always sit down to eat, and concentrate on the meal.

I wandered over to the breathtaking Cathedral.  I noticed the special Holy door invitingly open, due to it being a recently announced Holy Year of Mercy… If you walk through this door during a Holy year, you are considered absolved of your sins.  Only select cathedrals around the world have these ‘holy doors’ and two are on the Camino, the other in Santiago.  They will not be open again utill 2021, and then another 25 years.  So, without further ado, I walked through it…’ting’ …I think I feel my angel wings starting to sprout already 😇

It was time to do the tour…I got my audio set, immediately got confused and went the opposite way of everyone else…come on, pretend to be surprised…I hope I haven’t started accruing new sins already 😄

The artwork, the gold, the sacred geometry, all the little crypts where famous kings and holy men are buried, the stained glass…and the gothic architecture is absolutely mind blowing … How did they do it with no technology or machines….it literally took centuries to build starting in 1021…I looked up at the middle spire several stories up… I was in awe.

I snuck in a few pictures thinking I wasn’t supposed to be taking any, so just snapped quickly, towards the end, I looked at the sign again and it said no “flash” pictures…sigh!

I turned my headset in, and as I prepared to leave a magnificent sound stopped me in my tracks…the church bells were ringing…it continued for 15 minutes…I sat in the square to witness, and make a short video as tears came to my eyes, I felt well and truly blessed.  It’s not letting me embed this in the story, you’ll have to scroll to the end to hear it.

I met my friends a short while later and we went for paella… Oh yum!  No late eating for me tonight.

I got the hit this morning to get some compression sleeves for my arch/ankles…I felt immediate relief!  Following a very relaxing day, with lots of self care, I feel ready to tackle the trail again tomorrow…2 short days though 12.5 miles each, I promise.