Burgos to Hornillos del Camino

13.8 miles and 31,697 steps

One last statue on the way out of Burgos.  There seemed to many statues honoring the "simple" work of women.  

And many parks with beautiful flowers!

Miles to go and rivers to cross.

On the outskirts of Burgos was this beautiful old monastery.  It once housed the young women of the aristocracy.

I am sure the were taught the fine art of being a lady!

Now it is a part of the very large University of Burgos.

I love the magpies.  They are fairly large birds, say the size of a pigeon but a little sleeker and leggier. We heard the sound of the cuckoo bird all day.  I love that sound.  I think they are small birds with big voices.  You can hear the sound of one cuckoo for several miles.

A much more modern church...unusual in Spain.  They all seem to be old.  But I suspect God is present in all of them if only one looks.

This is the first purple brick building I have ever seen.  And it wasn't painted it was actually purple brick.

Look at these beautiful flowers.  They were bursting with bees. There are many bees in Spain and honey is widely available. You would expect numerous bees with an abundance of farms and orchards.

This is the tiny Ermita de Nuestra Señora de Monasterio.  The chapel was manned (womanned?) by a tiny eldery nun who gave each of us a little emblem of the Camino on a string. She put it around my neck and blessed me.  What a kind gesture. She also stamped my credientials.  I said a prayer for all of you.  A miracle occurred, at this site, when Mary, the Blessed Virgin visited Sister Cateherine Labouré  In the center of the tiny chapel is a statue of Mary standing on a globe. 

Our Camino friends from New Zeland rented bikes for the several days to cross the Meseta. We climbed 950 meters (3116 feet) up a semi-steep hill/mountain. I thought it would never end.  Up...up...up.  I think I might prefer a steeper climb just to get it over.

This is looking down on the Meseta.  

We saw many tractors today. This is one of the primary farming areas in Spain.  We are staying in a hotel in Isar.  I stayed here on my first Camino Francais.  The man who runs it is ever so nice and quite gregarious.  This tiny bar attached is the only thing in town.  We will be having a Camino group dinner tonight and that is always fun!