Day 16 on the Camino Frances, Belorado to Burgos

I wanted to give my body a break, gain some mileage on the trip, and spend some time in Burgos, so I walked from Belorado to Villafranca de Oca, and then took a bus some 45 km to Burgos. Luckily my hotel was only a block from the bus station, and literally across the street from the Cathedral of Burgos.

Burgos dates from Roman times, and was later built up as a frontier castle in the 9th century. It was part of the country of Castilla, which split off from Leon. Burgos was situated between Leon, Navarra, and Aragon, and was the scene of much fighting. The Gothic cathedral was started in 1221. A Spanish hero was from Burgos, Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, also called El Cid. He proved to be a great military leader, and gathered an army of warriors with whom he offered his services to royalty. His remains along with his wife’s are in the cathedral, along with lots of other notables.

The room above was a sitting room in the lobby of my hotel, very posh. My room was tiny, but comfortable and didn’t cost too much. When I got to Burgos, they gave a little street parade in my honor. Nice!