Day 12: June. 16, San Juan de la Ortega to Burgos

Day 12 on Camino, Tuesday, June 16, San Juan de la Ortega to Burgos

Numbers: 18.75 miles per Garmin GPS, and 47,387 steps and 67 floors per Fitbit

Preface: Just a little note about the upcoming post. Please don't worry. The Camino is full of ups and downs - both literally and figuratively. If we told you that every day was a great day, we'd be lying. I (Deb here) am always leery of people who say that their life (either on Facebook or elsewhere) is wonderful and that they are so fortunate. Well, maybe most or much of the time, but we all know that things aren't great all of the time.

Dave voice

A bad day. We got directions from hotel staff and, relying on them, walked 3 miles in the wrong direction before turning back. This turned a medium day into a long one. To make It even better, the defective toe and Scout’s previously unreported knee pain both got a workout over rocky, rocky terrain. The lesson learned: locals don’t necessarily know their way around their own neighborhood. This is true for us, so why should it not be true for people in different nations?

A tough slog of a day despite cool/pleasant weather. We dragged ourselves (okay, Dave was dragging; Scout, as usual, was pretending to be chipper despite this being a no sex day in honor of El Cid, who was from Burgos and is probably buried somewhere around here. Or, Charlton Heston is. Who remembers?

Today we passed Atapuerca, where signs of life from 900,000 years ago were found by highway workers. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site despite what the guide book describes as a disappointingly artificial museum on site. If only there were a better museum within walking distance from our hotel. Damn.

We’re closing in on 200 miles since starting the Camino and it shows. The easy, whimsical moments are fewer and the long, silent miles are more frequent. Dave’s back on heroin again even though he promised he’d quit, if only during the hike. As was noted above, we’re in it for the Camino even if it means missing the Exhibit of Royal Underpants Through the Ages, now touring northern Spain. Who knows if cultural and educational gems like this will ever reach the hinterlands of San Diego? One can hope, but missing it here is part of the price we pay for our quest. It’s a lot like binge-watching an entire season of "House of Cards" In only a single day, then you don’t have to pee in bushes beside the road.

We broke down and watched a little TV during our one restaurant meal today. Refreshing to note that TV news in a foreign language has about the same content and intellectual impact for us as the same news in English on American TV. One delightful story from the U.S.: the one about the woman passing for Black so she could get a job with the NAACP. God bless America.

Deb voice

As Dave said, we went three extra miles farther than what we should have. C'est la vie. And, although the Fitbit showed only 67 floors, there was some tough footing with very rocky terrain both up and down. I believe this exacerbated Dave's blister (he now has one on top of his other) and I found one also on top of my little toe. (Does it count if I didn't feel it?) Ah...hopefully the wine will ease the pain. We've found a new way to make wine a bit tastier and last longer. Not our idea, but that of one our hotel people. Add some carbonated water (con gas) to it. Hey, instant sparkling wine! Yum!

Also, for anyone interested in the Atapuerca site (oldest humans found in Europe - designated a World Heritage Site in 2000), here it is.

Ok, I've found an app called Instashare that seems to work fairly well (at least some of the time) to share pictures between my devices. Hopefully, wifi/Bluetooth will enable the transfer to work ok and I can upload them to the blog.

Tomorrow's a shorter day (14 miles), weather should be good, terrain reasonable, and hopefully injuries will stay at bay and we will stop whining. Either that, or we'll stay in and we'll drink until we feel better.

Atapuerca sacred stones

Some of the terrain we faced today

Rocks don't lessen the view

Watching footing while trying to appreciate the view

7.5K from Burgos and a quick stop

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