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Published: June 24th 2011
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Goats block the highway
Apparently a herd of goats was being moved from one field to another. Oh, beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain.
For purple mountains majesties, above the fruited plains.
I know -- the lyrics to the song belong to America, but the sentiment was certainly stirring through my brain yesterday as we cycled 105 kms. from Carrion de las Condes to here in Burgos. This area must be the “bread basket of Spain,” definitely not as flat as Kansas but growing enough grain to feed the populace. And beautiful windmills pirouetting against the blue skies!!
Before I tell you about the day, let me tell you that we made our first “food mistake” last night. At a small grocery store, we had purchased the makings for dinner. Everything was fine until . . . dessert. I had gotten two little brown crocks of what I thought was flan or pudding or something. One bite convinced us that it was “something,” but not something good. We both spit out the yucky stuff, dumped the crocks and washed them. The clay containers are now in my pannier, a reminder of our first gastronomical error of the trip.
A couple of notable events today include sheep, lavender, and a refugio. First, the
sheep. As we cycled around a bend in the road, a huge herd of sheep stopped our progress as the shepherd and his dogs herded the animals a hundred yards down the road and then into a field. What a back roads, Spanish sight that was. A true glimpse at the country.
As for lavender -- both yesterday and today we have been greeted frequently by the pleasant odor of lavender as it grows in huge fields along the road. There is also a yellow bush, looks a bit like forsythia but is not, that emits a pleasant smell. Mmmmmm…
The refugio was a pilgrim “hospital” (think hospitality rather than sick) housed in the ruins of the Convent of San Anton. Bill took a number of photos that do not do justice to the immensity or the antiquity of the building.
Because we had biked hard and long on Tuesday, our legs were certainly losing energy as we neared Burgos, a town that was populated in 884 under the direction of Count Diego Rodriquez Porcelos. Entering the outskirts of town, we were directed to the campground, Fuentes Blancas, 5 kms on the other side of the city and accessible entirely by a bike path!!!! Two Dutch cyclists actually showed us the way around some construction; by 3:30 we were sitting down to a menu del dia before we even had the tent set up.
With a cold wind blowing, we walked into town and found a . . . . .Walmart. Well, not quite, but almost. Al Campo was a huge story that had more stuff than a Walmart Supercenter. Low prices and a larger wine selection (starting at 79 cents a bottle) than the entire beverage and snack section at any large store in the US. We loaded up on stuff, walked home, crawled in the tent, and fell asleep.
After two hard days in a row and because we are a couple of days ahead of our schedule, we took today off the bikes and, instead, took the bus into town and toured the cathedral. Again, words and photos can not begin to describe the magnificence and immensity of the construction. So I won’t try except to say . . . . AMAZING!!!! Built in the 13 century on the grounds of a previous Romanesque cathedral, it boasts slender spires and a wealth of art treasures and filigree work in the Latin cross layout with three naves. Of course, its main claim to fame is that it is the burial place of El Cid and his wife.
The city is one of the most important along the pilgrims’ route to Santiago, reflecting the importance of the cultural, economic, and communication route linking eastern and western Europe.
It is now about 7 p.m. I am sitting in the campground café having spent some time chatting with another cyclist from Holland and thinking about putting together some ham and cheese sandwiches. The Internet here doesn’t seem to be working, though we will try again before we hit the sack.
Once again, we thank God for his bountiful blessings!!
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