Day 13 - Orbanejo to Tradajo 23 kilometers

We made it to Burgos, a large city. We went to the gothic Cathedral, one of the largest in Spain and a world heritage site. Next, was time to resupply...cash, food, and new socks for Joan. As we approach the Meseta the weather is dry and hot and so our afternoon through the suburbs was not very enjoyable and I (Joan) ran out of water, but our reward was an outstanding albergue and dinner at La Fabrica in Tradajos.  The beautiful stone building was some sort of historic site with glass floors in the dining area so as to view the ancient building's foundation. 

Day 12 - Villafranca Montes de Oca to Orbanejo 27 kilometers

We prepared ourselves for some major climbing today due to our guidebook's elevation maps.  But those maps were inaccurate and it was not a big deal. We traveled 12 kilometers in around two hours. A small time later we found ourselves in a village where we thought we might stay but it was very early so as usual, we pressed on.  We found ourselves mid afternoon in the last town before a long trek to the city of Burgos.  We knew we couldn't go on but there appeared to be no place to stay.  We went in a local cafe/bar and asked the owner if he knew of any place to stay. Although we could not understand him, he pointed us back up the road 100 meters to a Casa Rural.  We found the owner there and she had just finished cleaning after a group had occupied her house for a month.  How lucky for us!  The Camino Provides!

Day 11 - Granon to Villafranca Montes de Oca 27.6 Kilometers

Not sure one calls 27 kilometers short, but that was what we were thinking when we set out today. With stout winds in our face all day, we arrived with Roger from Australia in a small village at the foot of a small mountain range that we will climb tomorrow. After our daily chores we partook in a large pilgrims meal before resting. We have left behind the miles and miles of vineyards and now the fields have been harvested of the hay, and are dry.

Day 10 - Azofra to Granon 22.4 Kilometers

After our small breakfast, we headed out (8:00 a.m.) and found ourselves in Santo Domingo de la Calzada. We stopped at the well-known Cathedral and took a look around. We also climbed up in the bell tower which was quite cool.  Our next hot, seven kilometer sprint landed us in Granon where we found a neat hippy albergue.  The place features a very small, quiet and shady courtyard where we are resting and catching up on our blog.  We will share a communal dinner tonight.

Day 9 - Nazarette to Azofra 23.2 Kilometers

The albergue where we stayed allowed us to leave late. What a treat! We left at 8:45 a.m. After a short walk we came upon the hamlet of Ventosa where they were having a medieval festival.  We saw a variety of things like wild animals, birds of prey, crafts, foods and other goods. After sampling some things we moved on and passed through the town of Najera. Interestingly enough we stopped and ate a bargain of a simple Chinese lunch. Great fuel.  After snagging some groceries for the rest of the day we walked on and wound up in Azofra, a sleepy little town. The purpose-built albergue there served us well. We had great washing facilities and a small cubby to ourselves.  The courtyard had a wonderful small cool-pool where we could soak our tired, hot feet. 

Day 8 - Viana to Nazarette 23 kilometers

Another early day with poor rest took us through the city of Logrono.  We searched out and found the local market with fresh fruit and meat.  We procured some provisions and walked to the village of Nazarette where we secured an albergue that had no other pilgrims.  A nice place all to ourselves.  We fixed our own dinner and had an unusually quiet night.  

Day 7 - Villamayor de Monjardin to Viana 30.1 kilometers

An unusually hearty breakfast gave us the fuel to cover some ground today.  As usual, we stopped in a couple of hamlets to fill our coffee tanks.  The overcast skies finally gave way to rain.  Fortunately, it was not a hard rain and we were able to don our rain gear and keep going.  We landed in the town of Viana and logged in to a parroquial albergue with meager accomodations (we would be sleeping on mats on the floor).  Our saving grace in this town were two places to hang out.  The first was a restaurant/bar tucked away on a side street where we relaxed, ate, and used their WiFi.  We then relaxed at a place called the Pilgrima Oasis that is run by some folks who were originally from the U.S.  We drank tea and conversed with them for quite a while.  The time spent just chilling in this town probably gave us more rest than sleeping on the Parrish floor.