Day 12 - Burgos to Rabé de las Calzadas

After 40 km yesterday, today was a short walk: only 11 km. I needed to rest my poor tired and swollen feet. I stopped at an albergue, Ospidal-Albergue de Peregrinos Santa Marina y Santiago, run by a French lady and her Spanish husband. It was a little pricey based on everything so far (€23), but included dinner and breakfast. It also looked really small and that it might be very quiet. There was one room with an incredibly tall ceiling (and a 10m deep well in which you could see the water table below) that had nearly every square inch of the walls covered with either compostelas (about 40 of them) or other artifacts about El Camino. She and her husband have been walking El Camino for over 23 years each and she opened the albergue to welcome and care for pilgrims. For a while, I thought I'd be the only one there until a pair of Australians, mother and daughter, showed up after their first day of walking. The place ended up being really nice and worth the price. She also threaded my one blister I've gotten so far (knock on wood).

There was a bar in town where I went for lunch. I ordered one bocadilla and a beer and ended up getting 2 beers, a plate of home-grown tomatoes with olive oil, yogurt, cheese, and a medallion of the Virgin Mary. He spoke no English and I speak very, very little Spanish. But he was just so friendly and talkative. I gathered he's from Cuba orginally and has done the Inca Trail as well as El Camino. Just a really nice guy. All of the Spaniards I've encountered have been really, really friendly and helpful. I wish I knew more Spanish.

On I walk.