Stage 13 - Ages to Burgos

Where We Are Tonight:  Burgos                      Miles Hiked Today:  14.9 (23.9 km)

Miles Hiked Overall:  179.0 (288.0 km)            Miles to Santiago:  306.0 (492.5 km)

Steps Taken Today:  41,536        

Blister Count:  K's are all healing as are Pam's...but Pam has one more

Spanish Word of the Day:  asfalto (asphalt)

What We Learned Today: Walking across hot asphalt for hours is soul draining.

Early this morning we passed the half million step mark in our journey.  That is 500,000 steps!  Or, just imagine marching and saying "left-right-left right..."  and repeating that two word sequence 250,000 times.  That probably explains the blisters and sore feet.   Only about another million steps to go before we get to Santiago.  That's depressing.  Enough said about steps.

Today we climbed one more rocky hill and now we're basically in the meseta - a drier, flatter plain that doesn't have much cover at all to hide from the sun.

We're already feeling the crazy heat and so are now thinking that a daily ice cream is not out of the question.

We didn't fully understand the severity of the sun until midday when we came to the outskirts of Burgos.  There were supposed to be signs leading us to a non-traditional Camino route into town (since the Camino route takes you through the industrial area into town and is far from beautiful or interesting or peaceful).  As with the last time we came to a city, the usually very-helpful Camino signs and arrows disappear in all of the other road signs and distractions and it.becomes very hard to know where to go.  So, we missed the turnoff and bumbled our way into town via lots of hot asphalt. It was hours of soul-draining walking.

Here I am at a resting spot near Burgos...so exhausted.

Today we met pilgrims from Mexico and San Diego.  So far we we have met people from 4 other states (California, New Mexico, Washington, & Tennessee) and 28 countries (Germany, the Netherlands,  Ireland, USA,  Spain, France, Italy, Scotland, Sweden, Brazil, Australia,  Korea, Canada, Greece, Palestine, Guadalupe, Great Britain, Venezuela, Belgium, Singapore, Romania, Ukraine, Hungary, Colombia, Bulgaria, South Africa, Japan & Mexico).

"It always seems impossible until it's done."

― Nelson Mandela