Those of you who follow me on Instagram will know that this summer, I spent 7 days walking around 120km along the Camino de Santiago, from Logroño to Burgos in Spain. This was the second leg of the Camino that I started in 2016 (if you’re interested, I wrote a Q&A post in response to some of the questions people had asked me along the way). This is Part 16 (other posts linked at the end of this post).
Camino Frances Day 16: Atapuerca to Burgos (approx 19 km)
Last day for this leg of the Camino 🙂 We started out early, getting in a taxi in Burgos which would take us back to Atapuerca so we could legitimately finish this leg (see previous post as to why we ended up in Burgos a day early anyway!). It was the first day that felt “cold” (this year and last) and, in fact, we’d read that the first section of the walk today was windy so combine the “chilly” temps (it was about 10˚C when we started out) with the wind and you have a very different walk that the previous week.
Not much sun to start out with, either…
It was pretty quiet that morning too with just a handful of people on the route early on (I guess because it’s a “short” leg,, and especially because it was cooler that day, perhaps people were starting a little later?) but we had some company in the form of these guys…
There was some beautiful countryside to check out (as we were holding onto our hats – soooo windy though you wouldn’t know it from the pictures)…
After about 90 minutes’ walking through pretty remote countryside (we passed through just one tiny town), we happened upon Cardeñuela Riopico where we stopped awhile for breakfast (and for some respite from the wind!). It was a pretty little town…
And we had the breakfast of champions…
Knowing there was not much else between here and Burgos, we lingered a little while over this, hoping the wind might have died down. It hadn’t but we pushed on. It seemed like this might have been the longest day (though it wasn’t) – perhaps because we’d driven the distance twice in a taxi already in the past 24 hours – we knew it was still pretty far in a car, let alone on foot!
Even reaching the “outskirts” of Burgos, it felt like we had so far to go (we did) but it was still exciting to see “big roads” appear…
We nearly missed the “river route” into town. Thankfully we looked down:
And were rewarded with 1. much better (and warm!) weather and 2. glorious views as we entered Burgos…
The difference in temperature (and no wind) made such a difference walking the last few kilometres…
And finally…
Arrived in Burgos. This time legitimately (i.e. on foot).
Our hotel was literally steps from the cathedral…
And we rested a little then packed for the last time before we headed out to sight see…
We took the “petit train” tour through the city (because we felt we’d done enough walking that day!) which was a great way to see a bunch of the sights in a short period of time… It really is a gorgeous town – though super crowded and a little bit “much” compared to the tiny towns we’d been used to. The crowds take some getting used to!
Of course, we headed out for some dinner later, ending our time in Spain with a few of our favourite things…
Garlicky mushrooms at La Cueva del Champiñon (soooo good! Need to recreate!).
And of course, we went back to La Favorita…
And on our way back to the hotel around 9pm, this was the view…
This was a wonderful way to end our time in Spain this year – we’re grateful the Camino Travel Center was able to accommodate a room mix-up in Atapuerca and help us finish the stage on foot, legitimately (no stamp in the pilgrim passport if you arrive in a town in a taxi!) and, wind aside, this was a pretty easy last day’s walking (don’t forget to account for the fact that you’ll most likely want to walk a lot around Burgos once you arrive – I’d even suggest staying an extra night so you don’t have to do all of that – walking and sight seeing – in the same day). It’s definitely worth it!
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Disclosure: I researched Camino trips independently and chose the Camino Travel Center based on a number of features such as flexibility to accommodate a couple of “splits” in some of the longer days, price and customer service. They were, in fact the first company I came across in my very first Google search and the one I ended up booking with. From the initial inquiry to the actual trips, they have been a pleasure to deal with and we have been very impressed with the service provided (bag transportation) and the accommodation choices. I was not compensated to write about this trip in any way but I love sharing companies and products I believe in with my readers. I couldn’t recommend the Camino Travel Center more and, in fact, am booking another Camino walk with them for next summer (and every summer until I reach Santiago!).
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Great post Mardi. The scenery is really lovely and the town of Burgos looks very interesting.
Thanks for sharing it all.
Yes the scenery is lovely and Burgos is a placeI’d definitely like to spend a few more days…
This very beautiful and i very like it..
Thanks so much!