Burgos

Stayed in a lovely albergue in Ages last night. A bit chaotic but like staying in someone's home - very friendly, a great dinner cooked by the senora of the house . Up and on the road early. A cold morning and a climb up to 1200 metres past Atapuerca, a site where Neanderthal sites have been found. Cold, windy and wet up there, but very beautiful. I tried channeling my inner neanderthal getting over the mountain. The trail had lots of potato sized bits of smooth rock all nice and slippery in the drizzle, an ankle twisting opportunity at every step, and sure enough I twisted my ankle. Limped into Burgos, and up to the municipal albergue with its magnificent doorway. After washing self and clothes i headed out to find a pharmacia for remedial ankle treatments. I am applying RACE - rest, alcohol, compression and elevation, plus some tapas  _ should be RICE but no ice and 6you need to be adaptable. Hope it will do the trick. Burgos is a lovely city. I feel a bit guilty missing the cathedral, but I think I need to take it easy if I want to move tomorrow and sitting in the sun out the front of a nice tapas bar, watching the world wander by, with lovely wine at 1.50 euros is hard to beat.

I've been walking with a bunch of people for a few days now - one of the fluid mini tribes that form and evaporate on the Camino. But tomorrow some people staying in Burgos so tomorrow a new start. Tomorrow the Meseta, the much feared high flat plane that drives perigrinos crazy because it involves days of walking across a flat, featureless landscape. Tomorrow, maybe Hornillos del Camino, around 20k,  or maybe Hontanos, around 30 k.