It was so nice to sleep in today. I got some breakfast at a cafe near my hostel, which was very close to the Arco San Juan entering the old part of the city.
For a rest day, my day wasn’t actually that restful. I spent the morning walking around the gorgeous Burgos cathedral. Admission was €7, kind of steep for a cathedral, but it came with an audio guide, so I couldn’t complain.
I spent the rest of the day doing errands: finding somewhere to wash my filthy clothes, finding a pharmacy that sold travel-sized contact solution, etc. I walked to the municipal albergue (which had been full the night before) and was allowed to use their washing facilities. There was a line to use the washers and dryers, but luckily a really kind Irish woman named Colette only had half a load and offered to throw my clothes in with hers. Yay!
In the past few days, I had learned about a pilgrim who is traveling with a documentary crew. Dane Johansen, a musician, is walking the Camino carrying his cello in its case and stopping along the way to give performances in cathedrals and churches. I had seen ads for his concerts in other towns but didn’t know the whole story behind it. I was happy to hear that he would be playing at a monastery in Burgos that night. Colin and I decided to go; we watched a roughly hour-long performance of Bach pieces and a shorter work by a Spanish composer. I was so impressed by this guy’s Camino stamina: the last thing that I would want to do after an exhausting day of walking is perform a musical instrument for an hour in front of cameras and a room full of strangers! I spoke to him for a bit afterwards: turns out, he went to high school and music school in Cleveland. (‘Cause Cleveland rocks, you know 😉 ).
The whole gang got together once again in the evening for tapas and karaoke. Minus points to Piano Bar in Burgos for the following:
1. Poor selection of rock songs
2. Speeding up the tempo/ changing the key of popular songs
3. Using video footage that shows the lyrics after they’ve been sung. What’s the point of THAT?
But it was worth it to hear Chris sing “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath; Colin and Jasmin also got in a good version of “Losing My Religion.” In the end, we stayed out way too late, but (to paraphrase Colin), that would be Future Becky’s problem.
It’s Jaime Lannister’s hand!
Tooth on the Loose 
Spain certainly does have its share of beautiful churches. Burgos cathedral’s lacy dome is exquisite! And what a treat to have heard and met the cellist. Serendipity? Or another instance of “The Camino provides”?
All of Burgos is in 3-D on Google Earth! Wow!
From the reader’s perspective, this has been an amazing trip so far.
Thank you, Mia: it has been. Some days, though, when it seems like my body is falling apart from the cumulative walking, it can be difficult to remember that! I’m sure that there will be many ups and downs to come, but it’s worth it in the end.
I just love reading your updates Becky. You are an incredible writer. My take on the ups and downs. It’s all a necessary part of your journey, any journey I suppose. You keep going girl!!
Thanks for the pep talk, Annie! It’s been a crap week :).