I thought I had the 6-bed dorm to myself since no one else had shown up by dinner time, but as I was undressing for bed, six young Spanish bicyclists walked into the room! Apparently, the albergue had booked the room for them and then double booked me into the same room. The albergue was COMPLETELY full, so they brought a mattress into the room and set one of the cyclists on the floor. As is the case with all of the albergue dormitories, the room was co-ed. Fortunately, my state of undress wasn't complete and I had the presence of mind not to scream when they entered the room. I just slipped my sleeping cocoon over body and waited for the lights to go out to actually maneuver myself into the cocoon. They were hot, tired, and dirty from the road; and not the least bit interested in me. So it was easy to just melt into the background as they went about getting ready for bed. Before they arrived, I had draped my bath towel from the slats on the bottom of the upper bunk bed, creating a privacy screen so that the light from the window would not bother me during the night. I was not anticipating company, but the drape worked perfectly to give me (and them) some privacy. They were young and full of themselves as they talked, joked, and jostled each other while undressing and heading into the showers. My privacy screen really did little to prevent me from seeing "everything." So I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep, or at least I tried.
I never set my alarm because pilgrims tend to be early (5am) risers and they usually wake me up way before I need to get up. Imagine my surprise when I awoke in the morning at 7:15 am!!! Way later than I wanted to. The bus was supposed to leave at 9:00, so I jumped out of bed and realised that the Spaniards were still asleep in their bunks. I threw modesty to the wind as I dressed right there next to my bunk, grabbed my pack and started stuffing everything into it. I had time to brush my teeth and grab a cup of cafe con leche in the kitchen before running out the door to the bus station. It was a lot closer to the albergue than I thought, so I got there in plenty of time. Doug and Colin were already there so we greeted each other and sat to wait. It was about 8:30 when we heard someone calling to us from across the street. The bus driver was calling out and waving at us. We gathered our packs and ran across the street, loaded them into the bottom of the bus, paid our fares, boarded the bus. He then TOOK OFF!! I sure was glad I didn't wait until nine to get there!!
We arrived at the main bus hub in Burgos. Doug and Colin wished me a "Buen Camino" and took off for their hotel. I took off in the opposite direction for mine. My GPS took me straight to the hotel, but I was too early to check in. I left my pack in the luggage closet and took off to find food, as I missed breakfast. Burgos is a bright and beautiful city. Many cathedrals, many plazas and squares, tons of restaurants, bars, cafes, shops.... you name it!! I found a cute cafe and got a bocadillo and coke (seems to be my regular meal) and after lunch I went exploring. Spectacular!! Beautiful architecture and art everywhere. And the people are quite handsome as well. I felt under dressed every where I went.
Many streets were blocked off to traffic in preparation for the processions scheduled for the Easter celebrations. I toured the Burgos Cathedral, it took me several hours to see the whole thing. Quite spectacular. I went back to the hotel and checked in, got to my room and took a nap. I'm really beginning to like the idea of siestas!!
When I awoke, there was a huge crowd of people walking in one direction on the street below. I got dressed and followed the crowd to a convent where we waited for the processional. When the statue of the Virgin arrived at the convent, the choir of cloistered nuns sang a beautiful, but very mournful piece. I couldn't understand it, but I found it quite moving. As if on cue, it began to rain. The woman next to me pulled out her umbrella and then reached over and hugged me to her to protect me from the rain. That act of kindness and the mournful music had me in tears.
When it was over, I thanked her and she hugged me. I took off to find dinner because we had been standing over an hour waiting for the procession and then the ceremony took another hour. I found an outdoor cafe, ate dinner with wine, contemplated the day's events, and with a joyful and grateful heart walked in the cold rain back to my hotel room for a hot shower and warm bed.
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