A well earned rest day in the city of Burgos. As with all the Refugios we had to leave by 8.00am , after which they shut for cleaning and open up again around Midday for the next wave of ” Peregrinos “. A Pilgrim isn’t allowed to spend more than one night in any Refugio so I booked into a Hotel opposite the spectacular 13th C Cathedral de Santa Maria that dominates the City.
Burgos is the 2nd largest city on The Camino Frances with a population of 175,000. It is referred to as the Gothic capital of Spain and was the seat of Franco’s Government until 1938. I can vouch for the fact that it is a beautiful city and this weekend was a great time to be there due to the festivities. It more than made up my experience in Pamplona.
The festivities seemed to centre on El Cid ( who was born near the city ) and there was a medieval theme to it all. Every other person seemed to be dressed in medieval costume , the children too. There was a concert of classical and regional music outside the Cathedral in the morning. Throughout the day there were ” knights” jousting and stick fighting down by the river. There were costumed basket weavers , blacksmiths , puppet makers and others. A bunch of musicians wandered the city all day playing the Spanish version of the bagpipes and drums . All in all it provided a terrific atmosphere and the place was teeming with visitors. In the evening there was a great torchlit procession of all the costumed people and the horses through the city.
iwouldwalk500mls 