Today was a long day, often soulless as the Camino tracked for many kilometers alongside a busy stretch of highway.
There were bright spots. A wonderful little food truck, permanently in place with a garden and picnic tables.
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Soft music played in the background as a peaceful accompaniment to coffee and a chocolate croissant.
The surrounding hills and farm fields were eye candy, the cars and trucks thundering along on the nearby highway were not so kind to the ears.
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There were four small communities evenly spaced between our start and finish.
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Each features its own unique church. Viloria de la Rioja is reputed to be the birthplace of Santo Domingo (1019-1109). The baptism fount (9th century?) by which he was christened is displayed in the church.
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As we entered Belorado we passed a “different” albergue. Large colorful wood cutouts of pilgrims “trucking along” like the 1970’s Mr. Natural are the advertisement of choice. How I date myself!
Our hotel in Belorado features a nice restaurant where we ate a better than average pilgrim’s dinner. We are in a region where each town features its own version of Morcilla, blood sausage with rice and spices mixed in. Britton loved it!
Somehow we rated a room with four beds and a private bath.
There is a real bathtub. I enjoyed a hot soak which was real medicine for my back.
We are next to the town church and cliff caves which once were home to medieval hermits.
Atop the church bell tower are huge stork nests.
Tomorrow is much shorter than today and precedes our arrival into Burgos.
Today was a Goldilocks day: Not too hot, not too cold, not too far, not too short, not too sunny, not too cloudy. It was just right.
For vast stretches of the walk today we could see lines of pilgrims ahead and behind us.
This was mostly farmland with no fountains or significant rest spots in between the start and finish of the day.
One exception was a man who had set up a stand for refreshments, accepting donations for his offerings.
Another exception was walking into the town which had been developed as a golf resort community. When we were here in 2013 it was largely vacant… a ghost town. Today there were a few golfers, but most of the buildings were still uninhabited.
Our Polish friends have gone ahead, Kasia to Burgos, where she will be resting her tendinitis, and Witek to the next town beyond us.
We walked much of a day with a very friendly young Spanish woman, Rocío.
She has spent the last 8 years working in Yorkshire, England, and thus speaks good English. She was a delight!.
Our rooms for the night are courtesy of a community of Cisterciense Nuns.
The simple but spotless room was likely an accommodation for two sisters in the past. A crucifix looks over us from above the beds.The facility has been converted to a simple pilgrims hotel. Our room with dinner and breakfast totaled €100. Dinner is tonight after Mass in the Cathedral.
Britton and I toured the Cathedral, the Cathedral, Museum, and Crypt where Santo Domingo is laid to rest.
Most fascinating to us was the Bell Tower which is the tallest in the province, the tower clock which is the oldest working one in the province, and the magnificent bells which overlook the city.
We were standing under the bells when they tolled 5 o’clock.
My ears are still ringing and it’s not just tinnitus!
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There is a minor controversy on the Camino. It has long been the case that a pilgrim walking the last 100 km is entitled to Compostela, as is a bicyclist or horseman who ride the last 200 km. These days electric bicycles have become very popular.
I estimate that half of the bicycles we see proceeding to Santiago with packs are electrically assisted.
Should they be entitled to Compostela? Therein lies the controversy. Britton’s thoughts, of which I tend to agree, are that a bicycle (electric or not) is not different than a horse which transports the rider. He votes that the e-bikes should qualify.
Britton and I have begun transporting our packs each day. In my case it is a matter of preservation given the pain in my back each morning. With Britton it is just a matter of fairness on my part.
As we near Burgos and our transport to Leon I am becoming sensitive to another controversy, what qualifies as a “real pilgrim“. Perhaps it is my imagination, but I think that I have sensed some silent disapproval from a pilgrim here and there.
Do you remember “Pat“ from New York who in 2013 voiced that a “real pilgrim“ does not transport their pack and walks every step of the way. About halfway to Santiago we observed her transporting by taxi cab! Perhaps that was a bit of karma.
Thank you for arranging the appointments with the orthopedic physician, massage therapist, and Chiropractor the day after our return. I hope that there is something that can be done to alleviate this difficulty. 72 years and my family genetics are definitely catching up to me.
Tomorrow is a long day, but the weather looks to still favor us. I understand that Kansas City is suffering under a terrible heat wave. Please stay cool and take good care of yourselves.
Except for a few brief spits of rain this morning it has remained dry.
The sun came out and (thankfully) helped my shoes to dry along the way.
They had remained wet and uncomfortable from yesterday.
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Speaking of uncomfortable: In the morning when I wake up my lower back and right hip are really tight and painful. Ibuprofen barely helps. But an hour of walking and I feel good again.
Somewhat similarly Britton starts to feel twinges of discomfort in his right knee by the end of a long day walking.
Again, it is not the one day walking, rather it is the day-after-day walk that is the challenge. In these matters we are not alone.
We see other pilgrims with taped ankles, taped knees, blisters… and we think we are not doing so badly. (Knock on wood!)
Today we encountered a grandfather and grandson from France walking the Camino. Grandson is 14 and grandfather 62. We are not alone!
Britton’s shyness again raised its head. It occurred to me that he is not shy with using his language skills, he is just shy as most 15-year-olds are in meeting strangers. Give him a little time with people and he is more personable than many adults.
I think he and I have found our comfort levels with one another. We seem to both now seem instinctively to know what to expect from each other. It’s all good!
There was time today for a little fun and to pose behind some “cut outs”.
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One remarkable sight we had been alerted to was that of a huge olive tree at the entrance to a local bodega. The tree is huge and reputed to be well over 1000 years old!
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I have continued to work through plans to assure us of reaching Santiago in time, but with a minimum of discomfort. As pilgrim Anna from Montana has recently told us, “There is no trophy for suffering the most!”
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We are doing a good job of taking care of each other.
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Love to both of you. Peace. Dad.
PS. in the evening there was again dinner with our Polish friends!
I had thought there would not be much to say about today other than to report the return of the cold and rain that we experienced early on.
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I was wrong.
First just to emphasize: It was cold, an arthritis triggering cold and dampness. There were, however, other sites which distracted us from the discomfort. 
A 12th century arch leading into a cemetery. A Bodega that gives homage to pilgrims. The incredible Church of the Assumption in the relatively small town of Navarrete (pop. 2,900)
It rained throughout most of the day. Perhaps those conditions contributed to the nonstop conversation that occurred between Britton and me. Through his questions he knows more about our history than any of the grandchildren, and possibly our own children. Yet this was not the highlight of the day.
We reached Ventosa after another 20+km hike that lasted nearly 6 hours. Our venue for the night was Hotel Rural Las Aguedas. I expected a clean and functional establishment. What we received was nothing short of elegant!
Our room was spacious and well appointed.
Down the hall was a sitting room that would be welcoming in any 5 star establishment. Yet this very small rural hotel has only 7 rooms.
For €22 per person our hostess, Rocio, personally cooked a three course dinner, which included bread and a fine local wine.
The same meal in the States would be at least twice the cost. And the setting…!
There were only four of us at table. The other two guests were ab delightful couple from Poland, Kasia & Witek Obszynski, from Cracow.
They are walking the Camino, his fourth and her first. Kasia is struggling through some tendinitis.
Our dinner and conversation extended to almost 3 hours. As it luck has it they will be spending tomorrow night “down the road” at the same small establishment as us. We have committed to continue discussions where we left off. These are people that I know you would enjoy hosting either in Kansas City or Colorado.
The dinner was amazing! Vegetable and fruit salad so colorful that should be memorialized in a painting.
A chicken paella that tops anything that I’ve had on any of my prior visits to Spain.
There was also an excellent dessert and delicious local Rioja wine.
The evening’s experience had taken us from Camino Purgatory to Camino Heaven.
We have a relatively short day tomorrow, only 16 km. I have been working through some reservations for the next few days including train tickets from Burgos to Leon.
First of all to you Christine: I give all my love and gratitude for 47 years of your love and our partnership. I lit a candle to us.
Today was another 20+ km day. The sun was out and it warmed quickly.
There was a steep climb at the beginning but we are growing accustom to the variances in topography.
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Bigger climbs await us ahead.
Walking 20 or more kilometers in a day it’s not such a big deal, but doing it every day does wear on the body and soul.
I have made some decisions. I want Britton to enjoy this and not become “burned out” in the same way that I once burned out his mother (you Renee!) on backpacking.
There is a very nice four-star hotel about 20km before Burgos. The owner of the hotel has set aside a wing for pilgrims. While many of the guests are paying hundreds of dollars a night the pilgrims pay about 20. We get to eat with the upscale guests and from our experience there in 2013 it is the pilgrims who are the celebrities.
The next day Britton and I will bus into Burgos and skip the suburbs. We will get a hotel for the night and tour the magnificent cathedral. We will get train tickets to Leon and thus skip the desert-like high plains known as the Meseta. This is not just in the interest of comfort, but in looking at our calendar we do not have enough days to otherwise complete the journey into Santiago. We will still qualify for our Compostelas.
I succeeded in getting tickets to visit the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. It’s a darn good thing that I did it now because they are already virtually sold out for the early part of July.
Christine, you may recall that when you and I walked into Logroño in 2013 there was a delightful woman who invited us into her home where she provided refreshments and memorabilia on the Camino, only asking for a donation.
This was Maria, daughter of the modern Camino’s famous Felisa (1910-2002) who for most of his adult life “stood guard”, just as Maria was doing, greeting pilgrims entering La Rioja. Sadly, Maria died in 2021.
Today as Britton and I were walking toward Logroño I recognized the home. Two ladies, one older, and one younger, were providing refreshments and Camino memorabilia, again asking only a donation. I showed them the picture of you with Maria, and one of the ladies said in broken English, “My mother!”. The younger lady said, “My grandmother!”. They were also in the process of setting up to celebrate the birthday of their five-year-old son/grandson.
We joined for hugs and a picture. It was a wonderful renewal of a time eleven years gone and which spanned 5 generations.
I will sign off here and finish this post with photographs and captions where appropriate.
Love to you both. Happy Anniversary, Christine. Dad
Hundreds of stone memorials. Prayer flags ..We encountered three of these little “shelters“. The cathedral in Logroño .
After a visit to the cathedral, we adjourned for an incredible variety of tapas and amazing wine. 
