Distance: 16.1km, Steps: 22,874, Time taken: 3.5hrs

What a great night was had last night – Mr  D stayed downstairs another 45 minutes before stumbling up to bed. The German man must of been a fish in his previous life, he could drink anyone under the table. He kept buying more wine & after the 5th bottle he was still going! He ordered a 6th bottle & started inappropriate conversations about which country has the most attractive women, so that’s when Mr D had enough & left.

We slept in to our surprise! It was 6.55am & breakfast was at 7am so we fell out of bed & sleepily changed into our day wear. But finding the doors locked to the outside & dining room & no one about! Scratching our heads, we went back to the room & packed up. By after 7.30 the door was unlocked to go outside & around to the front entrance only & not through the dining room. We grabbed our breakfast & Mr D complained about the bed. His side had a noticeable dip in it & he felt like he was stinking into a big hole all night.

We didn’t leave till after 8am. The lady working there is a one woman show & does everything – maybe there’s a chef in the kitchen? But we only saw her managing everything & she only speaks Spanish so talks super fast like the Spanish do & I have no idea what she is saying! Mr D had trouble communicating to her yesterday wanting a double bed & she kept showing a picture of a room with 2 single beds. She had assumed we weren’t a couple.

So we hit the open country road again & it was a pretty easy walk in. The only concern was from the lentil soup we had last night, we couldn’t shake off the frogs following us down the road! Once we reached the highway, the city traffic noise drowned out the quiet peaceful nature sounds of the country. We found the alternative route in via the river pleasant walking following the river all the way into the big city. I saw a deer, a deer I saw! But it quickly ran into the bushes & disappeared before I could photograph it. So Mr D was unbelieving of my sighting & kept saying, “yeah, sure! Yeah right you saw a deer!” Mr D briefly chatted to a Pilgrim man from Taiwan whom had started on the 30th. People starting later then us are now catching up & overtaking us. Most people have 4 to 5 weeks only & have to rush. The only disappointing thing is the group we started with are a long way in front & we will never see them again.

It wasn’t yet midday & as we walked into the centre Mr D spotted Vodafone & they were open! He wanted to top up our SIM cards so we went in, took a number, and waited, and waited, and waited with our backpacks still on it felt like an hour. The service was so slow & some people were just walking out. Mr D was losing his patience & his cool! Finally we got assistance, the shop assistant had to use a Spanish to English translator on the computer to find out what we wanted. We got there in the end & went looking for a bite to eat.

We stopped at Pilgrims Central cafe. Well it felt like it as there was a huge group there waiting for the Albergue across the road to open. All these people must of stayed close to Burgos like we had & got in the city early. After some grub & beer, we had the joy of choosing somewhere to stay. Very complicated. Had to be a hotel or Pension as you can only stay one night in an Albergue. We were needing a rest day as it had been awhile now. But hotels costs much more in the city. Mr D was losing his cool again as we walked around trying to find hotels on the map with no luck. The streets were confusing! Mr D tried one which was actually an Albergue & it was completo full as the Taiwan man we met earlier was outside & told me. So poor Mr D wasted effort going up the spiral staircase almost tripping up in the process.

I managed to locate a hotel on the Camino walkway which does a Peregrino special rates. It still cost us 100€ tonight & 120€ tomorrow night & the room was pretty plain with two single beds pushed together & a 3rd single bed on wheels. No views no nothing. Compared to paying 35€ last night with a real nice modern bedroom with double bed, big bathroom & private balcony. You pay more for less in the city. At least we got a room for 2 nights….

We went out for a coffee & tea at a place called LaMafia. Well they were pretty hopeless as they came out with my tea no milk. Then we waited, waited, waited. I said “I think they have forgotten your coffee!” Mr D waited some more, then had to go in to ask for it again & they forgot my milk a third time. Then they were going to charge me for 2 coffees & a tea! Feeling annoyed we set off to run some errands like going to the Farmacia for rash cream for me & Mr D needed something for a sore throat he had developed. We went to the Supermercado, that was an experience & a half. Mr D used his google maps & we walked half the city to find one! Then we had to work out where we were & google map us back to the hotel. And what was right next door to our hotel when we got back? Like a convenience store!

In the evening we headed into the main Cathedral square & waited to order at a nice restaurant, sitting outside admiring the amazing cathedral in front of us. The city of Burgos is a maze of different squares, markets & shops & the evening comes alive with people milling about, having coffee, walking their dogs, kids out playing, families enjoying the evening out, teenagers flying along on their bikes makes for interesting people watching. I don’t think I can get use to these strange hours they keep. Some restaurants open in the afternoon then close in the evening while others are closed all day & you have to wait till 8pm before they open for dinner. And a lot of fashion type shops seem always closed, don’t know how they make money! Mr D was starving by 8pm & ordered a hearty beef hamburger while I had delicious Jamon Croquetas. We are pleased to have made it this far being another milestone for us!