How Time Flies!

We were shocked to realize that it has been four days since we last updated the blog. We enjoyed three days off from the Camino: two in Burgos and one in Leon. The time off really helped us get over the worst of our colds. We are both feeling more energetic and coughing a lot less.

Some of our highlights of the time in Burgos included touring the cathedral and taking in a pretty good museum. We also encountered the only vegetarian restaurant we have seen in Spain so far. Wendy was in heaven!

We travelled by bus the 180 kilometers or so from Burgos to Leon. We walked around the city centre a bit and saw the exterior of Leon´s cathedral. Pretty impressive, but not as grand as the one in Burgos.

As always, it is people we encounter along the way that are of greatest interest. Here are a few vignettes:

Overheard on the Burgos to Leon bus from one women: "I just lost in one hour the two people I had been travelling with for the last two weeks."

A Dutch man from near Rotterdam who began walking in early March and, when he reaches Santiago on June 10th will have walked 2,600 kilometers. His wife is joining him for the last 100 kilomters into Santiago.

A mother and adult daughter from the Czech Republic who are travelling together on the Camino. Mom pushes her daughter in her wheelchair about 15 kilometers each day.
We had a delightful dinner with them yesterday in a tiny town called St. Martin of the Camino. The daughter is a translator and speaks excellent English. She effortlessly translated between English and Czech when needed.

Tonight we are in Astorga, having travelled about 50 kilometers in the past two days since Leon. This part of the camino is very dry, the Spanish call it the meseta. Leon to Astorga is the last remnant of the meseta before we head into the mountainous Cordillera area, starting tomorrow.

During the past two days, we have had the option of travelling one of two different routes on the Camino. The original Camino route travels parallel and usually just a few metres from the main highway. The purists take this route because it is the original Camino route. It is also somewhat more direct. The second option is the more scenic route that winds its way through rolling hills. We have experienced both routes. We found the route tracking the highway to be ok with relatively light traffic noise. The scenic route had rolling hills that made it more demanding while offering less scenery than we might have hoped.

We are hoping to see a Gaudi designed church here in Astorga, if we can stir ourselves to keep moving. Not always easy after a day out on the Camino!