Two days ago, I walked to Burgos, Spain, which is a city of 170,000. There is a beautiful cathedral there, called the Cathedral of Santa Marie, which was built in the 13th century. Every time I hear that name, which is often, I think of the song we sang as children about Columbus` ships, "the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Marie". I guess since today is Columbus Day, that is a fitting reminder. In Burgos, there was a wonderful medieval festival, and thousands of people had come into the city to enjoy the activities: everyone was dressed up in medieval attire; there were booths and booths, with crafts, wares to sell, foods from that time period; flags and decorations, etc. It added a festive air and I saw many of my fellow pilgrims in the crowd.
By the way, I stayed at a hostel that can hold 330 people at one time!!! There are five levels with sixty-six beds on each level. It is very impressive how organized the managers of the hostel are. Sometime later, I will explain how each hostel (called "albergues") are organized. These people are prepared for the masses!
That same day, I also hiked past Atapuerca, which was declared a "UNESCO
World Heritage site in 2000," as the book says, "on account of their
source as the earliest human remains ever discovered in Europe dating
back over 900,000 years..." I didn´t stop to check it out, but after climbing over thousands of stones just after that site on Mount Cruceiro (altitude 1,080 meters), I can understand why it took "Early Man" so long to move ahead on the evolutionary scale. (Please note, that is not a statement about my views on evolution!)
I have now hiked over one third of the way along the Camino! In fact, to be (almost) exact, there are about 500 miles (over 800 kms) and I have hiked, as of today (Day 16), 192.6 miles! It will feel good to get to the halfway point. I do ask you to pray for my feet. I took the in-soles out (the person at the hiking store had put them in the shoes) and that has helped. But, I continue to get one blister after another. Yesterday, I sat out in the sun for a long time to try to dry them out. But, there are more today, not counting the old ones that have not completely healed. (Note: My camera setting got readjusted somehow and unfortunately, most of my photos from this day did not come out.)
By the way, I stayed at a hostel that can hold 330 people at one time!!! There are five levels with sixty-six beds on each level. It is very impressive how organized the managers of the hostel are. Sometime later, I will explain how each hostel (called "albergues") are organized. These people are prepared for the masses!
I have now hiked over one third of the way along the Camino! In fact, to be (almost) exact, there are about 500 miles (over 800 kms) and I have hiked, as of today (Day 16), 192.6 miles! It will feel good to get to the halfway point. I do ask you to pray for my feet. I took the in-soles out (the person at the hiking store had put them in the shoes) and that has helped. But, I continue to get one blister after another. Yesterday, I sat out in the sun for a long time to try to dry them out. But, there are more today, not counting the old ones that have not completely healed. (Note: My camera setting got readjusted somehow and unfortunately, most of my photos from this day did not come out.)
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