Enjoying God's Goodness: Day of Rest in Burgos

Had breakfast at a little cafe across the street from the Albergue and headed to Pension Nueva, a place we had scoped out last night. It is close to the city center and run by a woman who speaks no English but jabbers away in Spanish and somehow we understand. She agreed we could drop off put backpacks first thing this morning and when we arrived about 8:30, she took us to our room. We settled in and the headed to the city center. Burgos has parks along the River Arlanzon for miles and miles. The ones in the suburbs we walked through yesterday aren't well maintained but as soon as you get to the city proper they are magnificent...shaped sycamore trees that form wonderful canopies, statues and fountains, cafes and bars, sculptures, and beautifully sculpted trees and bushes...just wonderful. The promenade is called Espolon Way. At the end you find Saint Mary's Arch into the plaza where the Cathedral is located. The arch used to be the main entrance of this medieval city. It is adorned with statues of distinguished figures of Bugos in the XVI century to commemorate the visit of Kimg Charles V.

Many of the streets in the old town are pedestrian streets that invite you to got for a walk, enjoy the shops, and stop at a tapas bar. Several streets take you to a plaza. Plaza Mayor is the main square in town. It is a great mix of old and new archecture With lots of benches to stop and enjoy the festive atmosphere. We also made our way to the Iglesia de de San Nicolas de Bari which has a stone altarpiece like I have never seen before. We just sat and looked and looked...so much detail and so much meaning.

We decided to take a Chu-Chu Tran ride/tour of the city so see many of the sights without having to walk. It lasted about an hour and gave a good running commentary of what we were seeing. It made one stop up at the overlook point by the Castile. We could see the Cathedral, the entire city, and off in the distance the hill we had climbed and the trail we had taken to walk into Burgos. Very cool.

We had a plan to meet up with Jon and Elena Nelson and her friend, Nick. They were a little late, but we enjoyed sitting in the sun by the Cathedral watching people and soaking up the sun. We had a nice lunch together when they arrived and then Jon took us on an insiders tour of some of the historic places in town. He has spent a lot of time there doing research about the man who first translated the Bible into Spanish. Very interesting. He also showed us a plaque that recorded a welcome home ceremony for Christopher Columbus when he returned from the new world, and the very large sculpture of a victorious El CID. Burgos is a must see stop if you are ever in Spain!

After the Nelson's left to head home, we took a rest and then went to take the audio tour of the Cathedral....ending up taking 1 1/2 hours....very interesting and very beautiful but at the same time very sad....much of it honors and remembers rich and influencial people of old. We were both on overload by the end.

We are grateful for a cozy neat clean place to stay, for the fun visit and encouragement from friends, and for God's help in finding sunglasses, a bank machine without a fee, fruit, a tapas bar for a light supper, and some cream for my shins. They feel better today and I am praying for complete recovery for tomorrow. It is a fairly flat hike tomorrow and just 13 miles, so I am hoping to make to in good shape.

Time. For. Bed. That's all for now.