Burgos

We are in Burgos. After walking 20 km today, in 13 degree weather with a battering west wind that at times felt like it would knock us off our feet, and the last 8 km on the hard paved streets and tiled sidewalks of the city´s suburbs, we arrived in the old town centre of this city of 175,000.
Today we left behind many friends we have made along the way; tomorrow we will bus ahead to Leon so that we can reach Santiago by May 23 or 24 to have a few days rest and time to explore the city before we leave there on the 27th: Anni and Jean-Luc from France who we found ourselves with in the same place time and time again, and with whom we shared many meals and wonderful and strange french-english conversation with lots of laughs and talking with our hands and faces, Uta and HannahLaura from Germany, Filiz from Turkey, Agnes from Jamaica/Switzerland, Horst and Manfried from Germany, Charlotte from South Africa/Germany, and Mary from near Seattle who we met and ate with almost every day for the past week.

Two days ago we spent the afternoon in the small lobby of a beautiful 14th century refurbished hotel in Villanfranca trying to stay warm with cafe con leches and, a brandy while the wind blew and the rain poured down outside! We stayed in the unheated pilgrims´ albergue at the rear of this luxury hotel. We shared the afternoon and had wonderful far-reaching conversation about gardening and Obama, obesity and good nutrition, world religions and politics with Charlotte (67, originally from South Africa and now living in Germany), and Filiz (35 from Turkey, who we discovered was passionate about permaculture, the art of hosting, sustainability, and who has travelled extensively and has attended workshops with Margaret Wheatley and Christina Baldwin!)

And today, after walking a total of 220 km, we are in Burgos. This afternoon we visited the enormous and beautiful Catedral de Burgos, a world heritage site; ornate, filled with story and art, and 21 chapels ...

The story of the origin of our species yesterday in Atapuerca where they have discovered the oldest human remains in Europe - 1,000,000 years old, the history and telling of the Christian story in Burgos today, and yesterday, and again today, we met two men from Canada, one from Canmore whose close friends have been encouraging him to come to Naramata Centre for years, and the other from Toronto; both have gone on birding trips with Dick Cannings, from Naramata. It is an incredibly large and small world.

On the Camino we have encountered and walked spontaneous spiral labyrinths, made by pilgrims from stones. Our lives spiral in tight and out again.

And yes seester and brothers, mom is with me and I am thinking of her and dad most days. I made a special journal to take with me on the Camino, and I have a picture of mom with me. She is in my heart, especially today on mother´s day.

Small children and almost ALL of the more than 100 runners in a 10 km run who passed us today called out Buen Camino, and touched our outreached hands as they went by.

It is good luck to touch a Peregrino, especially one who is lost.

A Dios ...