In Burgos

Having written of my trials and tribulations getting to Burgos I was amused to note that it was the 13th day of walking. Just a coincidence of course...

After staking a claim to my bunk and dumping The Beast I went out for a quick look around. I didn´t wander further than the famous cathedral, it was very cold in the shade and I wanted to just sit and relax after my strenuous day, preferably in the sun. I found a bar where I could sit outside, and enjoyed a large beer there before having an early pilgrim dinner and heading back to complete the usual chores. I missed out completely on any sightseeing, which was a shame as I´m sure there was lots to see, but it was too late and I was too tired.

The albergue is new, purpose-built and very large. I was on the sixth floor, which gives an idea of the size. It even had lifts. Most people speak very highly of it but I was not impressed with the facilities. Maybe the lower floors were better equipped, but my dorm, which must have had over forty bunks, had no showers and only two toilets, one for disabled men and one for disabled women. They were very large and could easily have been divided into at least 4 cubicles each. The bunks were also paired and so close together that your mattress was touching your neighbour´s. This meant you were sleeping in closer proximity to a complete stranger than most married couples. I was unfortunate enough to have a middle-aged gentleman snorer next to me. As well as snoring he did something I have only previously seen in cartoons. When he exhaled his lips flapped rapidly and noisily. Oh my, what a night!

I later heard there had been a tragedy on the morning of the day I arrived in Burgos, a pilgrim had actually died in the albergue. I heard slight variations of the same story from several different people over the next couple of weeks. The pilgrim was an Italian in his early sixties , walking with a group of friends. They were staying at the albergue and made themselves a meal in the kitchen where they had a good time laughing and joking. Later they all went to bed but this particular man didn´t get up in the morning and was found to have died in his sleep. I can imagine the despair of his friends. But, maybe it wasn´t such a bad way to go, being on a pilgrimage and dying quietly in your sleep after having had an enjoyable evening with your companions, and having a pilgrim mass said for your soul in one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Europe.