Go Porrón or Go Home

We have done a 300k...without a bike! That changes tomorrow but more about our cheating later.

We had one ridge to get over and then we spilled down into Burgos. We came in along the alternate route by the airport first and the along the river which was really nice. We ran into Jonathan soaking his feet in the river. He joined us later as we took a chocolate break. Suddenly he stopped as his wallet was nowhere to be found. His pack was emptied on the grass and eventually the "money pouch" was retrieved from his crumpled pants pocket of the previous day.

Why have I not heard more about Burgos! I've visited many cathedrals but none better than the Cathedral of Burgos. Construction was begun in the 13th century and it will blow your mind. The chapels are ornate. The scale is massive. It is best appreciated if you walk to it... from France.

The cheating has begun. We have checked into a hotel just off the main square with a window looking at the face of the nave. You can take the pilgrim off of the Camino but you can't take the Camino off of the pilgrim. We did our laundry in the sink and it now is drying in the shadow of the Cathedral in the only open window of our hotel.

We may have arranged for bicycles tomorrow. We shall see. Tonight we wandered the small streets of the old town and sampled tapas. We had a blast. Am I feeling guilty? NO!! I walked here...from FRANCE. Have you drunk beer from a porrón? I hadn't either but that changed tonight.

We are now back at the hotel and there is a rumor that someone here has bed bugs 😳!!! Just a rumor though at this point. Buenas noches.

The pilgrim's diet

Can we talk about my favorite subject? Food! Our typical day starts out with a desperate search for breakfast that eventually finds us on the Way taking inventory of our chocolate supplies.

Eventually we stumble across a place that is open, usually in the next town. Today it was at a truck stop. We were desperate for a coffee. The proprietor helped us with the automated machine. We picked out our desired coffee puck and mashed the button. He heated the milk in the microwave and then poured the hot milk in a swirling motion into our small service station cups that said I used to be a barista in Madrid! Usually we find a more proper cafe/bar and order tortilla and café con leches.

Tortilla is like an egg fritada but can have many other ingredients. Often it contains potatoes and sometimes chorizo. Then we plod along until morale sags and we stop for a Coke and a smile, or some olives and bocadillos. Bocadillos are Spanish sandwiches that are usually way off on meat to bread ratio. The loaf is the size of my thigh and you can read the newspaper through the meat. Today I struck gold with a chorizo bocadillo that didn't spare the meat!

There are no other toppings other than occasionally olive oil. They are awesome fuel. Then we reboot and march on. Chocolate often provides the fuel to finish the stage. We rehydrate with a beer and blog.

Next meat is acquired often with eggs and potatoes in some form or other.

Then comes the flan or pudding and voila, the pilgrim retires to their top bunk with a satisfaction that only comes from complete exhaustion. Buen provecho!