Day 11, September 4: Atapuerca to Tardajos (29 km; 7:15)
This was a somewhat sad day as the three of us decided to split up. Janos wanted to spend an extra day in Burgos to let his feet and legs heal and to do some sightseeing and Krisztina wanted to slow down the pace. So, they chose to stop in Burgos, 20 kilometres away, and I carried on to Tardajos, nine kilometres beyond. We hadn’t really been walking together in the traditional sense. Everyone had their own walking pace but we met regularly during the day to rest and eat, and always stayed at the same albergue. We agreed to email each other along the way and to meet in Finisterre in front of the church at noon on September 25.
From Atapuerca we climbed steadily to the flat-topped summit of the Sierra de Atapuerca where one can see Burgos and the flat Meseta (plains or moors) that stretches endlessly west of the city. At the summit we added three stones to the steadily growing spiral of rocks on the ground.
Photo 407: The flash doesn't do justice to the size. It's huge. These stone circles are about two feet apart.
At Villaval there was an amusing cartoon that someone had been painted on a wall.
Photo 408: An amusing caricature of an atypical pilgrim. Most of us tried very hard to keep our backpacks close to 20 pounds though I, for one, didn't quite manage that.
The long walk through the suburbs of Burgos was unpleasant due to the industrial areas, and dangerous because of the vehicle traffic whizzing by at 100 kilometres per hour or more. In retrospect, taking a local bus would have been preferable and safer. However, the old section of the city, dominated by the massive Gothic cathedral, is beautiful.
Photo 411: City square in Burgos with the cathedral peaks in the background.
Photo 415: Burgos cathedral.
We had a pleasant walk on the promenade along the Rio Arlanzon to the albergue.
Photo 418: Picturesque Rio Arlanzon.
We took a last picture at some old ruins and then parted ways, not knowing whether or not we would see each other again.
Photo 421: Unnamed medieval ruins. Oh, and me.
As I was getting a little short of money I decided to get some from a bank machine on the outskirts of Burgos. It chose not to accept my debit card, so I decided to carry on to Tardajos where, once again, I was unable to get my card to work. Finally I tried using my MasterCard. The debit machine accepted it, but the transaction was aborted when I was unable to supply a password.
Photo 424: Stone relief at Tardajos.
At the albergue I took stock of my financial situation – I had 115 euros, enough to last about a week if I was careful. My wine consumption was about to come to a screeching halt!
The computer in the albergue was not working, nor was there an email cafe in the town. So I needed to get to a larger town with email availability to contact Lo to try to straighten out my financial problem.
From Atapuerca we climbed steadily to the flat-topped summit of the Sierra de Atapuerca where one can see Burgos and the flat Meseta (plains or moors) that stretches endlessly west of the city. At the summit we added three stones to the steadily growing spiral of rocks on the ground.
Photo 407: The flash doesn't do justice to the size. It's huge. These stone circles are about two feet apart. At Villaval there was an amusing cartoon that someone had been painted on a wall.
Photo 408: An amusing caricature of an atypical pilgrim. Most of us tried very hard to keep our backpacks close to 20 pounds though I, for one, didn't quite manage that.The long walk through the suburbs of Burgos was unpleasant due to the industrial areas, and dangerous because of the vehicle traffic whizzing by at 100 kilometres per hour or more. In retrospect, taking a local bus would have been preferable and safer. However, the old section of the city, dominated by the massive Gothic cathedral, is beautiful.
Photo 411: City square in Burgos with the cathedral peaks in the background.
Photo 415: Burgos cathedral. We had a pleasant walk on the promenade along the Rio Arlanzon to the albergue.
Photo 418: Picturesque Rio Arlanzon. We took a last picture at some old ruins and then parted ways, not knowing whether or not we would see each other again.
Photo 421: Unnamed medieval ruins. Oh, and me.As I was getting a little short of money I decided to get some from a bank machine on the outskirts of Burgos. It chose not to accept my debit card, so I decided to carry on to Tardajos where, once again, I was unable to get my card to work. Finally I tried using my MasterCard. The debit machine accepted it, but the transaction was aborted when I was unable to supply a password.
Photo 424: Stone relief at Tardajos.At the albergue I took stock of my financial situation – I had 115 euros, enough to last about a week if I was careful. My wine consumption was about to come to a screeching halt!
The computer in the albergue was not working, nor was there an email cafe in the town. So I needed to get to a larger town with email availability to contact Lo to try to straighten out my financial problem.
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