Melissa West

It’s difficult to write about a pilgrimage. Every day you get up and walk.  That’s it. Nothing happens, and yet everything happens.  

The world slows down.  You see the flowers and the bees.  You hear the constant birdsong that happens in the Spanish countryside. The clouds sail by. You feel the warmth of the sun on your back. You hear the crunch of your boots on the gravel.

And the world slows down and opens up and presents itself to you with the possibility of finding your best self. You have the chance to give and receive kindness. You listen to stories and share your own. You have the opportunity for stillness.

It is a gift for which I am extremely grateful.

Greetings from Burgos, a lovely city on the meseta, Spain’s high northern plain. 

Our adventures began before we even left home. By ‘we’ I mean me and Janice, my old college roommate who agreed to join me for the first two weeks of this trip to Spain.  We had wanted to start our walk in Logrono, but found that it was completo, totally full.  So we have a Burgos rest day even before we begin, then take the local bus back to Logrono, where we did find a room for tonight.

Speaking of buses, we had an adventure there, too.  We had bought our tickets ahead of time, with plenty of time allowed to get through customs and pick up our bags.  However, we didn’t allow enough time for Jan’s plane’s 2-hour flight delay.  The bus company clerk sent us to Madrid main bus terminal, where we got new tickets with credit given for our old ones.  Plus we met another pilgrim who had been on that plane and was also going to Burgos.  The small world of pereginos. 😀

Now we’re off for some cafe con leche.  Hasta pronto!

Photos from top: the Arco de Santa Maria; Burgos cathedral; the altar of Iglesia San Nicolas.