Where am I today?
Entry 32, December 26th,
2011
Expenses, Day 32
Burgos
Cathedral: 2.50
Postcards: 2.20
Burgos
Munincipal Albergue: 5.00
Chinese Food:
12.00
Churros con
chocolate: 4.00
Replacement
toothbrush + toothpaste: 5.00
Total: 32.70
Trip Total:
738.53
Another
beautiful day today – not a cloud in the sky. Cresting the ridge
out of Agés
we found a huge series of concentric circles, made of white stones
placed by pilgrims in the heath. It was very strong – a rock in
the center had “love” painted on it.
Also
from the ridge we could see Burgos, and beyond – the meséta.
I am excited – time to put on some serious kilometers to León!
My feet feel great, and my boots feel like sex on two feet. It is
not the enemy, impatience, that urges me on, but enthusiasm!
Cleber found me
a perfect walking stick at the albergue last night. It is exactly
the right height and is smooth and straight. I appreciated it on the
way down the hill. Now I feel like a real pilgrim.
The addition of
the stick is tempered by the fact that I keep forgetting things. I
left my watch behind on Christmas Eve, and this morning I left my
whole toiletries bag behind. No great loss, as I only had a
toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, soap, and toenail clippers, but an
annoying one. I need to find soap, and the floss was useful to have
as string.
We ate Chinese
food today in Burgos, as the Master was craving rice. At the
restaurant (La Gran Muralla – the great wall) we were translating
through three languages – Korean to English to Spanish to the
server, and back from Spanish to English to Korean to the Master.
The Koreans didn't want to tip – old animosities die hard, I guess.
The food was okay. My stomach was feeling unsettled earlier, but is
doing alright now.
The cathedral
here is amazing, easily on par with Notre Dame in terms of raw
beauty. Gothic, Gothic, Gothic!!! But for something so rich and
ornamented, it was surprisingly bright inside. I always expect
Gothic architecture to be very dark, but it never is. I guess it
really is all about light. El Cid and his wife were buried here –
it was not so much a cathedral as it was a complex.
And so rich in
storytelling! Everywhere there were tombs and chapels of so-and-so
and such-and-such, all covered entirely in Christian imagery. The
choir in particular; each seat had three different scenes engraved on
it from different stories – that makes hundreds of narratives in
that space alone! How can anyone keep track of so much history?
If
I had to describe Spain in one word, it would be “richness.”
Rich storytelling, rich architecture, rich food – we found another
chocolatería.
Chocolate con churros, mmm . . . the place was all decked out in
Charlie Chaplain stuff, which was a bit of a non-sequiter; not that
we were complaining.
Later
I was in town again to find a toothbrush, and the place was bustling.
Christmas in Spain seems to begin on the 25th
and run until January 6th,
the day when the wise men arrived (and the day that children get
their presents). People were caroling in the plaza, food vendors
were everywhere, and it was packed!
I stopped and
listened to a street violinist for a while. Here on the camino,
without iPod or computer, I feel starved for music. Anything I hear
is like water to a man in the desert – it falls straight into my
depths. I crave it. Harmonies are the sweetest treats in the world.
My sensitivity is heightened . . . I love it!
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