13. Belorado to Burgos 19/7/12

I was the last to wake up at 7.30 and last to leave at 8.30.  I like being last as then I can have the bathroom to myself and can get changed in the dorm and pack at leisure.  It was an overcast day so great for cycling as it had been so hot the day before.  At Ventosa they had a thermometer in the garden and it was 44 degrees celcius. 

I cycled along the Camino, rather than the road, and like most days would ride alongside people I had had dinner with the night before or people I’d met in the albergue.  

The woman in the pink is 67 and the woman in the blue has just had her 70th birthday!
Like most people they both had blisters but kept going each day - step by step.

Most of the way was a gorgeous ride going through tiny villages but the last 14 kilometres into the city was the opposite of pleasant as it followed the main highway and went through an industrial area and then an ugly part of the city.  It was okay on a bike but I felt sorry for the walkers who had a long slog.  It was a different story when you reached the old part of the city as it was beautiful. 


Photos on the way to Burgos:

I had coffee in this lovely old building 

I got to Burgos about 3.30pm but the main albergue that had 150 beds was completely full.  At the same time as I got there so did Julia, the lovely doctor I’d met at Belorado during dinner.  There was a second albergue in Burgos but it only had 18 beds and we presumed it would also be full – but it was still empty – so we walked there.  It didn’t have a place for bikes but I managed to squeeze mine under the stairs.  I thought that it might be a religious albergue as it was above a church but luckily it wasn’t. 

We registered and paid our 5 euros and chose our bunks.  It was a weird set up as the reception area and dining table was in the same room as the bunks.  The two showers were separated only by a piece of material. 

Julia and I planned to have a quick shower and then head out and look around the city but our shower was delayed while the hospitalero played us a song.  We did the appreciative thing and watched him and took a photo and clapped at the end – but then he started playing another song so we sloped off to our bunks to get organised for our shower. 

The welcome song

The man was very friendly and a bit eccentric, bordering on strange.  I thought it was strange when he decided to show new people the shower area while Julia and I were in there getting changed and it was a bit strange the next morning when he decided to make the bunk bed right next to mine while I was packing (so we were both in a tiny space) - especially when all the other bunk beds in the room also needed to be made. 

We had a lovely wander around 3 of the plazas and by the river and bought some beer, olives and chips and sat and had those on a park bench while watching the people and chatting.

I loved the trees in the city

These old men were delightful to talk to.  They meet regularly at this cafe to play a dice game.

Julia in one of the plazas

Government workers protesting because of all the cuts - to salary and workers

The cathedral stands out in the centre of the city and is amazing.  It started to be built in 1221 and took three centuries to finish it.

We asked some people about a good tapas bar to eat at and the recommendation we got was great.  It was a restaurant that was crowded with Spanish people - a lot were standing to eat tapas and drink and the tables were all full. We were lucky as some people moved over so Julia and I could sit at their table.  We ordered a pitcher of sangria and 3 raciones (raciones are like tapas but you usually sit down to eat them as they are a full plate of food rather than a small snack like tapas are).   I learned that tapa means 'cover' and originally comes from the small plates used to cover the snacks on the bars so that the flies didn't get on them.  Sometimes, when you order a drink they give you free tapas. Where I'm having a drink now they just gave me a bit of French bread with two types of meat on it (one a ham and one salami) and a slice of cheese.  It's typical for Spanish people to do a bar crawl and have a drink and a tapa at each.  I love this idea and think that our aim Jeff when we come to Spain together is to try everything on this list of tapas and raciones:

Popular tapas

Aceitunas Olives (usually free)
Patatas fritas Crisps (usually free)
Jamon Serrano Cured ham
Jamon Iberico Excellent quality cured ham (Be careful when ordering, if you don’t want the most expensive, or you may get a shock with the bill!)
Marisco Seafood
Chirlas Tiny clams with rice and sauce
Calamares Squid rings
Chipirones Small squid (you eat the whole thing)
Gambas Prawns (a la plancha grilled, al ajo with garlic)
Langostinos King prawns boiled
Cigalas type of large prawn boiled and salted (exquisite)
Mejillones Mussels (served in a variety of ways - stuffed or in a sauce)
Pescado Fish
Pescadito frito Plate of mixed fish
Bacalao Cod
Boquerones White bait, small delicate white fish, fried in batter or done in vinegar with olives
Huevas Fish eggs
Sausages
There is a wide variety of chorizo type Spanish sausages, served in many different ways. You may even have to cook it yourself with paraffin! Once again all are usually cheap except the chorizo iberico and lomo ibérico


Popular raciones


Tortilla española Spanish potato omelette
Patatatas Bravas Tiny roast potatoes with a spicy sauce on top
Morcilla Similar to black pudding but with other ingredients added, more like a tasty sausage.
Pescadito frito A whole plateful of different fried fish (a real favourite!)
Langostinos King prawns
Tortitas de camarones Chickpea-basedpancakes with shrimps
Bienmesabe Small pieces of fried fish with special herb coating
Sepia Large, grilled cuttle fish served with garlic mayonese
Sardinas Sardines (usually a summer food grilled on an open fire and often served in the beach bars at night)
Tortas de gachas Small fish pancake

These people had a plate of calamari and I'm looking forward to having that one night

We were having a lovely time out at dinner but then we saw that the time was 10.20 so we paid the bill and literally had to run back to our albergue (as it was locked at 10.30).  The hostelero was waiting down on the street for us and would not have a bar of the idea of us just going out for one more drink.  He may have been a bit strange but he certainly wasn't silly.  

Here's us at the door of our albergue with the hostelero in the centre.  I don't know why he's not smiling like we all are.  He actually did a good job at getting us all to be quiet before he let us go up the stairs to the dorm room.  When we got there everyone was asleep and some were snoring - but because Julia had given me a pair of silicon air plugs I didn't hear a thing.