STAGE SEVENTEEN: Boardilla to Carrion de Los Condes

I have found the Maesta far from boring, rumor was today was going to be freezing and raining and it did start out cold. The gang woke me up and I was off with M, Father, and T...they had all had breakfast while I was still packing and the not eating would throw me behind the eight ball quickly, their pace blew my mind and each is about fifteen years older than I am, with that said few people pass me out here and I am told often that my pace is to fast for some. Anyway I walked with them getting to have about a two hour conversation one on one with each. K and A are each having slight injuries that are affecting them, K has a knee injury, I doubt much gets her down so I know it must hurt. A is feeling sick... Being so cold and expecting a long trek in the rain we took off knowing we would all meet up in Carrion (though we had yet to decide the spot). With about one fifth of the trip left we met up K as we walked out of a church, she was doing great on that knee and we walked together into Carrion together. We actually stayed in a different auberge than the rest, it was regrettable as the company was grande but we stayed in a convent run by the sweetest nuns. Men and women were in different rooms, there was nice spacing in the beds and it was nice to be in a huge room where about fifteen beds were steins the perimeter facing into the center and it was all women. I loved the conversation and find I have always been in crowds of men vs women and enjoyed this night a lot. Two French women probably about ten years older than I am are walking with their mother who is eighty! In the morning mom would be waiting for them ready to go. This was the first nap I took arriving into Carrion...when I woke up I was nauseated from the lack of food. While I loved my company today I desperately need to stay true to myself and if I want to stop and eat and drink I need to prioritize myself, I've been great about this but not today. I will prioritize this tomorrow and walk by myself. K and I went to the only restaurant open in town ( they all siesta here from like two to five), I paid heavily for them to be open but had I not eaten I was about to pass out. We then went to the grocery store and waited for it to open (siesta) and bought some stuff to make a dinner. This would be the first time I did this here and it was real enjoyable. We made a pasta, tomato and squash dish and it was perfect. Then pretty much off to bed...

STAGE SIXTEEN HONTANAS TO BOADILLA DEL CAMINO

Oh what a hard walk! I had the most enjoyable evening last night. The auberge was great and kind of poured into the street. I can't stress enough how odd it was to enter this town, as far as the eye could see there was nothing and then this church steeple just appeared out of nowhere and each step just brought it to the surface. This group of wonderful folks is A and K from germany two adorable twenty something gals, full of smiles and happy, they met on the way. Three Irish folks (I really have found I gravitate and enjoy the Irish on this trip so much). M who is just entering her sixties and is hilarious, "Father" who you would never guess is an Irish priest, he is a hoot and nothing phases him. J a retired humble retired Irish police officer, and M from Seattle who I am guessing is a few years older than I am, really nice guy eager to keep a bottle of wine on the table.
I was on a different level than this gang and thankfully being in a room with only one other person I got to sleep in a bit. When I stumbled out of bed and got ready I came down to the restaurant area and was thrilled to see P from Amsterdam, what a character, we met in Vianna where I thought was the last time I had seen him, he quickly said, "what were you doing with the cute police officers?". Ends up he was in the square that day when I was dropped off. I started walking with him and his buddy and he shared he was about to drop out, that today would decide it. Their pace was a bit slow for me with some quick adjustment stops that seemed rather often so I continued on. The gang last night knew I would get a late stop but they said to meet them in Boadilla at the private auberge so I knew we would all be together this evening. The wind yesterday was awful, the wind today was unbearable...when I finally thought that I saw the town I was mistaken and thought I would throw a tantrum right then and there. A Spanish guy of about thirty something came up beside me and while he spoke no English and I spoke no Spanish it was nice to know someone was going to witness the death of me, I had comfort in this strangers presence. With the town insight the rain started, my first real rain...I guessed I was twenty minutes out and had to make the decision to pull over and batten down the hatches (throw on rain gear and cover my pack or just continue and be wet. I decided I needed to learn to deal with the rain in the proper fashion and quickly threw on raincoat and secured my pack. By the time I arrived at our wonderful auberge everyone was arriving and we are freezing. The host/owner is a young guy from Brazil with long black hair, dreadlocks and a knit black cap I suspect never left his head. He worked so hard to cater to the pilgrims, hospitality was tops on his list and he brought out blankets, started a fire and went into overflow mode welcoming people in and finding a place for them. Had it been sunny this would have been a dream spot, a huge courtyard, a loved place...but as it was we were crammed together but no one seemed to mind. The true spirit of the Camino was present all around and the people all assembled there were the best of the best. We had a wonderful pilgrim meal with the whole gang from the night before and were quick to get into bed, with the cold rain we were all eager to just get to sleep.

STAGE EIGHTEEN: Carrion to Sahagun

I was the last in my room this morning when I finally left, I enjoyed it, I packed up slowly and had my sights set on a distance that is not common...about forty two kilometers. I had several reasons for this, I was determined to not really walk alone as much as to set my pace...I pulled over to get coffee before hand and the place I went into gave you a pastry, cafe con leche and orange juice for 2.50 euros a perfect way to start the day. In my pack I had a pack of cured ham, mozzarella , baguette and yoghurt. I felt stocked and way better off than yesterday. I walked alone with my sights pretty high. I stopped at one point to get something from my pack a guy in shorts passed me, hands in pockets as casual as can be. I was freezing cold so his shorts caught my attention but he seemed so at peace with his steps and just looked kind of like a poster boy for an REI ad and a casual outdoor life. We walked the exact pace for about two hours and I was totally fine walking on
My own not certain I wanted to change it... I was curious how many steps apart we were from walking together and figured it out to be forty eight steps difference at the exact pace. I guess two hours into it my pace must have increased and we ended up side by side and would walk together and take a nice lunch break. J from Canada is in his early fifties and he and his wife sound really outdoorsy, no children and I enjoyed our conversation. He started kilometers ahead of me and I would say bye to him as he picked a small auberge in a very small town...I kept going for what would be my longest walk today's, a length almost unheard of of forty two or so kilometers. I was so happy to walk into Sahagun, to a Benedictine convent where I would get a single room for twenty Euros. I found the local grocery store and boy
Bought enough to tie me over, a nice slice of green melon and shaved carpaccio for dinner, and I took the longest hot bath that was the greatest feeling in the World. I tried to talk to Steve tonight on the phone but I was so tired I couldn't even speak. I slept so well, I would try to sleep in but the rule is to be out by eight thirty (late by pilgrims standards) and I would push it to close to nine. My plan is to take advantage of all great weather after my two cold days and walk a nice length in a comfortable pace.

STAGE FIFTEEN: Burgos to Hontanas

This Maesta is such a different critter, it took awhile to get out of Burgos but almost instantly you hit the wheat colored area known as the maesta. Some have called this boring but I see great beauty in it and it is not as flat as I imagined. Today was a great day of walking for me, I didn't start till noon way past the starting time for pilgrims, I safely returned the clothes to the store had my last meal in Burgos and was off. I was so focused today with my walking on a mission to catch up sometime and determined to do so, I really enjoyed the peace of this walk. I passed two pilgrims on foot and saw only a handful of pilgrims on bikes. I passed on gentleman right outside of Burgos I only said, "Buen Camino"" and passed on by barely even glancing his way (not to pilgrim like). Our paths would cross again about two hours later when I was walking the wrong way out of a town, he was sitting at a fountain with his shoes off tending to his feet, I hoped he understood English when I asked if he had seen any way markers. He did, pointed me in the right direction and we proceeded to walk together for a bit. He was G from Northern Italy and was on a tight schedule but was ready to stop font the night. Nice guy who is having to catch a bus periodically to make his schedule. The other pilgrim I saw was like stumbling upon two men and a bike in the desert, a thin very sun darkened Spaniard over his bike and a tall, blond who I suspect was from Norway or there abouts. I think the bike was just finished , maybe a punctured tire...I asked if they needed any help (very pilgrim) and with that the pilgrim on foot and I were just about to start walking together I suspect when he brought out his damn walking poles and starting clacking around in what could have been the most peaceful of walks. I hate these walking sticks when people don't apply the rubber tips and leave us all to listen to this clinking and clacking down the street. It is awful...most carry them and it is proper to have tips. Anyway it took five seconds of that noise and I was off in the most impressive stride. I pulled up at what would be the normal leg for this trip, I just wanted food it was about four and pilgrims routinely would be done at this point. The town was on overflow mode, everything full but they were opening some place on floors for overflow. This is seen in the summer months but rumor is we have record breaking numbers out here,not normal for September. The one place to eat was not serving till dinners one at seven. Even more reason not to be tempted to stay. I saw my little buddy W from Canada, he is over his tummy bug but still feeling sick he was do kind to give me a banana and offered up a granola bar...I gladly took the banana. A table of older Canadian men took pictures of my wineglass hanging off my backpack (this starts a lot of conversation). I headed out having no idea where I would end up or even if I would get a bed but I was at an enormous peace about it, I was ready to walk tell nine pm or so. I got a cheap phone option here that is buy the phone for twenty five dollars and then you get 1 cent a minute to the states. I had a talk with Steve but the wind was so powerful it was real difficult to hear. He was checking his map and coaching me of what was ahead. As the sun was just going down and the moon was already hung I the sky my feet really started to ache, I told Steve something was telling me to go on...he said Hontanas was before me and I entertained just getting food there and going on. I never saw the TV show KUNG FU but the image of that actor walking in the desert is all I imaged today, it is exactly how I felt. Nowhere as far as I could see was any town that was being referenced on the map and then with one step a church steeple almost appeared to be coming out of the ground, each step revel waved more , and there was a precious town with a thin alley going thru it, colorful banners overhead and I knew this would be my stopping point. I stopped in the auberge and it was dinner time in the back rooms but two young recent college grads from Germany had a bottle of wine in their hands and were just ordering a pizza each escaping the pilgrim menu being served in the dining hall. I just remember their sweet smiles and both asked me to come and join them for wine, I ordered my pizza and spent the evening with them. These gals were awesome and I felt an instant bond...seems they have formed a group, and after dinner the group came and gathered at our small table and I realized what I was being called to walk further for. There is a really cool Irish priest in the group, a funny older Irish woman who was telling me if I walk with them I would need to 1. Not snore, 2. Walk fast and 3. Maybe have some kind of an initiation. I joked ," like kissing a toothless Shepard?????". I lucked out to get a room that slept eight but only two of us were in there. A very considerate older guy from Poland was already in bed when I arrived, I didn't know till the morning that he was on a bike. He spoke no English but was a great room mate.

My last cafe con leche in Burgos

I'm sitting at my favorite spot here in the Main Square about to take off for the Camino once again. I had a wonderful nights sleep, I feared having a balcony over one of the busy streets would keep me awake but it was pretty quiet, I actually woke up at 8:00 thinking it was probably 6:00. My roomie (twenty something year old guy from Brazil) slept till 9:30 when I decided to wake him since I knew he had a bus to Leon to catch. I think I mentioned he had shared he lives with his mom so I used my gut instinct as to if I should wake him or let him sleep. I am about to venture out on about week of the toughest mentally part of the Camino. Between the cities of Burgos and Leon it is evidently just a flat area, no shade I think thru wheat fields, it is called the maesta. Many catch a bus for this segment, like me roomie...if their time is tight it might make sense if you have to miss any of it that it would be that.
I got some upsetting news last night...when I started planning my trip and using a common forum, it instantly became clear who would be traveling around each others time. The week before me was a huge forum crowd, with strangers all going on their own but bonding beautifully there on the forum and many walking together upon arrival. I had such a connection with Bond, my English friend thru the forum.
He has a child my age but I knew from what he had shared it would me slowing him down and not the other way around. We separated a few days in knowing our paths would cross again. I noticed last night that I had his email address on my new iPad and sent him a note saying I knew he was ahead of me.....I got a quick reply that he was actually home. While I was in Vianna, he suffered a huge blister that treated with compeed (a product that is highly questioned by some, I have no opinion) left a hole in his foot. It did not mend and he made the decision to fly home. He did share he will be flying into Santiago about the day he thought he'd arrive and thus take the walk to the coast of Finesterre and Muxia. We are certain to see each other there.
I lifted my backpack for the first time in two and half days and it feels so light. I dreaded picking it up at the airport when I started, I cringed at having to throw it over my shoulder or to even take it off. I had a huge bruise on my upper arm where I swing it off. Today, I grab it effortlessly and throw it on and buckle it without even having to look down. It looks like rain might come today, you can never really tell...but I am hoping for a very long walk to try to catch up with some of my circle (not really certain what that means on the Camino, we are a huge venn diagram).

A hotel in Burgos- night three

I loved Burgos, but I am so ready to get back on the Camino. I slept real well last night, very comfortable beds and group of gals in room. The ticket to a good nights sleep is earplugs and an eye mask. My only experience with earplugs was when Loftin had his MRI, and have never worn an eye mask in my life till this trip. I wish I had pulled both out when I got on the plane. We woke to a nice breakfast of toast and jams, where I usually just grab coffee for breakfast.
My auberge stay was not as pleasant as I had hoped for.  I read great things about the place, but my friend Tatiana had warned me about some of the parochial auberges (attached to a church with usual prayers and mass) and said that some of the women who run them can be pretty bossy...I wonder if she might have stayed here. Since I can't read Spanish I did not know that the sign on the auberge said you could not stay there if you had already spent a night in Burgos. Only one gal out of the eight in my room fit that description, so upon getting back to the auberge to my found pack I started to hand wash my clothes and the lady that runs the place asked where I was from...when I said the USA she instantly started saying, " ahhhhh....you stayed last night in Burgos....(I shared this with the guy when I registered by the way which is how she knew)...you can't stay here if you have stayed in Burgos...it is too late to wash your clothes...everyone is at mass (not mandatory but I would have gone had I not been buying new clothes)...we eat in ten minutes (which I knew)". As she left she mumbled under breath, "Americanas" to me implying something awful about us, maybe all of them trust too much and leave their back pack out at a church. Anyway with my grand events of the day I just wanted to leave...she made a comment about the drops of water on the counter as I cleaned my clothes at which time I told her that I was the mother of six and she didn't need to worry about me cleaning up after myself. Boy did she turn nice after that, but in my eyes her damage was done and I wanted little to do with her. Two of the other gals in my room were also having to stay another night one due to injury and the other I think because they enjoyed each others company. Recent college grads I assume, traveling around the world (I am amazed at all of the youth doing these grande adventures) and the three of us found ourselves at a small parochial auberge that only sleeps sixteen. We were first in line, sat for hours at the door till it opened at noon, enjoyed conversation with locals arriving to church and were pretty sure we had a 'place at the Inn'. At twelve the gal who runs the place without cracking a smile approaches the back of the line and collects pilgrim's passports and ushers a group in, everyone starts throwing their passport in her hands and while in the front of the line mine didn't make it into her hands intone to be one of the sixteen. Within seconds she was "complete" / full and I was sad. I didn't say anything and felt things would work out for me, instantly a gentleman of about eighty something knowing no English approached me and showed me a card with the name of a hotel on it. I recognized the name from one of the main streets and for twenty euros I was shown a sweet clean room with two beds, the catch is someone else would also be paying twenty euros for that other bed. I took the bed, balcony over one of the more active streets and set off to finally see the inside of the gorgeous cathedral where El CID is buried. When I returned the guy at the lobby told me he put "my friend" in my room someone from Brazil, I asked if it was a lady and thought I got the affirmative (he spoke little to no English). I got up to the room saw a Deuter back pack, knew a real pilgrim was my roomie. It ends up a nice guy who was actually in the lobby when I walked in was my roomie , he was trying to take a bus to Leon as he was running out of time and being a Sunday I guess they were booked. Super nice guy, I think about twenty five, lives at home with his mom and is missing his home and girlfriend. It is almost 7:30pm here and he has been asleep almost the whole time since returning to the room. We enjoyed some nice conversation and he mentioned a mom traveling with her son and eleven month old baby. He had a cute picture of them and oddly it is the family I slept with on my first night in Saint Jean. I was thrilled to see that they had started as it appeared they were taking their time getting out of the gates. She was a super mom and her son reminded me of my Reychoo (oldest).
The city is way calmer today ... I'm not certain if it is due to the sprinkles or that it is Sunday. Few things are open . I grabbed a piece of tapas of toast, goat cheese, Brie, tomato, brie grilled onion and mushroom in the tiniest amount drizzled with balsamic vinegar.
I'm just now reflecting on the days events with a little more clarity, I think I understand these auberges desire to fill their inexpensive auberges with fresh pilgrims right off the track vs someone like me who has lingered (with reason unbeknown to her), and thus starting at a point in line that captures these folks might be sticking more with their real duties on the Camino, to supply an inexpensive bed to the wandering tired pilgrim. I might look a little rested now, that will change tomorrow...

...and that will get you a ride in a cop car Madame

I woke this morning with the laziest of intentions, an extra day in Burgos. You of course can't keep track of the days of the week but the energy in the main square last night told me it must be a weekend. I love family life here, couples are out strolling and the young children are just wild with play, you never see a stressful parent trying to hush them. I like how couples can be sitting out and enjoying a drink with not a care in the world and their children are in the center of the square kicking a ball and acting clearly as children do, the parents not at all feeling like they need to reign them in.
I had heard about an auberge right outside of Burgos over the river as you come in called Emaus, a parochial auberge I decided to head there and see if I could stay another night. I had two clear choices, a small auberge in the middle of everything opening at 12 or this softer calmer place opening at 2 according to the sign. I couldn't make out what the sign said in Spanish but the 2:00 was obvious. I wasn't convinced which was the best option for me until wandering around in the streets was G from India (lives in Milan, Italy) who said Emaus was what he needed having been there last night. I went on then to Emaus leaving the street cleaning cladder and had a peaceful walk to Emaus. The auberge was closed but the street was quiet , the door was gated closed and a children's playground was there in the courtyard. I had about five hours till they opened and made a decision without much thought to of course take my money, technology etc... and to leave my pack there for this coveted spot. In hindsight maybe a bigger gamble than I realized. I actually assumed the gate would be opened by someone and they would just move my bag within the walls of the auberge/church chapel. I have to say I have observed these wonderful hosts do such things often so in my opinion this was not far fetched. I returned to the cathedral area enjoyed coffee and conversation with other pilgrims and was about to go into the cathedral when I realized if I had my pilgrim passport I would get a discount and more importantly get my pilgrim passport stamped.
It was now about 12:30 and I would start the leisurely walk back over the river to Emaus. I arrived to the nicest group of ladies sitting out leaning on their packs, our conversation was nice and lighthearted filled with laugh and stories. One shared that the sign on the door written in Spanish said you could not stay here if you had arrived via bus and or stayed the night before in Burgos, one of us had arrived by bus all of the others had slept in Burgos the night before. My backpack was not there but I honestly didn't worry. When the door finally opened a sweet soft spoken man brought us in and upon entering the room where you typically take off your shoes and start the process I didn't see pack and slightly worried. He too felt it was probably safe inside the walls there but asked if I would wait till he registered folks before he started looking. I was calm, not really certain why but I was not panicking. About an hour passed and it was concluded that my pack was not there and still not panicking I got directions to the police station and walked there hoping that someone "found" my backpack. The police officer at the desk when I walked in was chatting with a lady and did not speak English but he gave me a phone number to call and I called it not really knowing what I was doing. It ends up I was calling a central number that took a report in English, the officer on the phone shared he was in Madrid and spoke excellent English he then asked me to hand the phone to the officer there and I did. They had had a changing of the guard and the new officer spoke a little English, I asked if they could tell me where to purchase new clothes, I needed sporting clothes and not just a normal clothing store. The main challenge and prep for a trip like this is quick dry light clothing. I still was not panicking but clearly in survival mode...what do I REALLY need? What did I have that I could live without? An amazing thing to have to think about. I have still what 3/4, of my trip still ahead of me and I am having to reconsider what I need to get me thru this. I packed well, I researched and planned extensively I have two pairs of everything but all were expensive, the best quality and my pack alone was about two hundred dollars. Javid, my hero police officer would quickly say, "we will take you to get your new clothes". A few minutes later a female officer and Javid led me down to the garage where we hopped into a police car and they drove me several miles to a huge sporting goods store called , Decathalon. Here I saw all of the brands I am seeing on the Camino. I bought a change of clothes as I had one on and a new sleeping bag and I stood in front the backpacks and picked up the lightest one. Javid and his partner had just dropped me off, he said , " you can catch the bus over here". I wondered how would I know which one to catch, but still not the slightest bit of anxiety had kicked in. Javid then said , " call us we will come back and get you" he then gave me the number to the police and his personal cell. Javid shared that my backpack would surface in three days, that someone stole it would realize that there was nothing in it of value ( to them) and it would be found somewhere. With that said I was all for purchasing a new light backpack until we filled it with weights and it felt so cheap almost like cardboard on my shoulders. I thought if Javid was right if my pack surfaced in three days then maybe I should gamble carry my stuff in a garbage bag and in three days time catch a taxi or pay a taxi to deliver the bag and what would be left in it. Of course ALL of these things entering my mind were contingent on so many different things. I honestly didn't know what to do and think I was clearly numb.
When I was done I called Javid and it was difficult to converse and his English is not fluent but I think I got across that I was done and he said something and I waited only hoping that he was indeed coming. There was no shade and oddly no place to sit outside of the store but this downtime of waiting started to give me my first thoughts of really what on Earth am I supposed to do now. I also realized that my pack carried the ashes of five of my precious dogs and that really got to me, I had a scoop of Spinnaker, Ama, Q, Buoy and Harbor...Steve could send me more, I would request them to be sent to Finesterre "the end of the world" and felt comfortable that I would get them. The image of where the backpack's ashes would end up upset me greatly. My daughters had made a felt pouch to carry the ashes in with an embroideried heart on it, Karfoo and Tee Tee had made me a ring that they worked on for two weeks that was in that same compartment of my backpack. Karfoo, I love him so, grew crystals to make me this ring, he polished them and glued them on the ring. They both eagerly presented me the ring out at the beach of a lake we have been visiting about a week before I left. They were so cute they had made an origami box for it and we're so proud. Tee Tee had picked out the rock for me to carry to put at the iron cross, I was upset to know that precious rock would not make its destination.
I hesitated to call Javid again, they had not arrived yet, I was so hot and dehydrated and still needed things like soap and a comb...and even a towel. I decided I could use a cotton scarf as a towel a trick someone told me about as they were trying to convince me I could dump my expensive REI towels(they were right by the way, though I never felt comfortable dumping such an expensive item). I called Javid again to make sure he understood me and more importantly that I had understood him, he might have very well just said , "catch the bus". I called again...this time he sounded like he said, "in ten minutes", at which time I called my friend Rabbit to tell her what had happened but did not tell Steve yet...
Ten minutes later Javid and some charming young police officer arrived with a fresh flirtatious amount of enthusiasm. Javid stayed pretty professional, nice but very office rush...but this young guy was clearly the most adorable guy I have ever met in my life...almost a character made to make this middle aged woman feel good. They pulled up and Javid went to get out of the car and I just immediately jumped in the back...I let out a slight scream as I literally jumped into the back seat BUT this car did not have upholstery and was a hard plastic, my bum was not prepared for the experience. Young cop turned with a smirk and huge dimples and said , " Madame this car is made for very bad, bad people".....
Ends up young cop had done the Camino via bike last year and was just simply charming... They asked if I needed anything else, of course I did but do you tell them. I was honest I needed soap, that morning I passed a boutique near the cathedral with handmade soap, I coukdn't justify a lavender soap when I was equipped but now I was ready to have an expensive lavender soap. I asked if they could get me " as close to the cathedral" as possible and that I would walk from there. They laughed and said,"close to the cathedral? Of course...we can go anywhere...we are the police madame".
Thru the old rock walked fortress arch they drove right into the trendy square where a symphony was playing and everyone was out at tables drinking and eating, THERE in front of all this celebration those two precious officers pulled up and hopped out of the car and opened my door as if it was a limousine and I was a movie star and dropped me off there in grand splendor. I hugged them each and got a picture of them.
Here I stood with a symphony playing and a table of older Englishman within inches of me. The most social one of the group clearly knew I must have some great story to share and asked what it was. Within seconds of starting the story he handed me a glass of wine and kept topping it off as needed. I got my soap and headed back to the auberge.
As I approached I felt my bag was now within the walls of it, wishful thinking maybe, but reality was kicking in and I knew that I might have new clothes and soap but that I clearly was not equipped for a Camino that still was half way complete. N from the Netherlands was laying in her bunk , I think I expected that if indeed my bag was returned (realizing there was nothing in it to take) that it would be on my bed...it was not there and I took a deep breath realizing that indeed it was stolen and that I better start thinking of a plan. N then said, " I think they found your bag" at which time I look down and it was at my feet. WOW...what a day, maybe a lesson learned...a time to really think about what is important to you and a time to notice the kindness of overworked service employees. My room mates were all women, fun, energetic precious women... My only wish was that we had had the time to sit within those walls and get to know each other more. L from New Zealand had to visit a clinic to be diagnosed with tendinitis and she and N would be seeking another night in Burgos. I had plans to return my items to Decathalon the next day and be on the road...one of the host shared it would not be open on Sunday and I too came terms that I would be here another day...another day in Beautiful Burgos...things could be worse....