Two long hot days

Our rest day in Burgos was notable for the number of times we got ripped ! First coffees at breakfast were advertised at 90c but cost double - we think that the cheap price was for thimble sized cups ! Then buying our lunch from a dairy we were short changed ! Then we decided to have a pre-dinner drink at a cafe and were charged 12E for a round ! At dinner we decided to try sangria at 14E jug - and only got 4 glasses out of it - it was 50% ice ! One of those days !

The next day we shot off in gorgeous conditions looking at 25 or 30kms. For the last few days our paths had crossed with an American dude who looks and sounds like travel guru Rick Steve.
he is travelling with a companion and we met them again after our breakfast stop. They set off before us and I thought they had raced ahead so at the edge of town I let rip with my valedictory salute to the town. Unfortunately the 2 Americans were hiding to the side filling up their water bottles ! Kathleen was acutely embarrassed and set off full steam ahead whilst the yanks were left to deal with the fallout ! We didn´´t see them again til after lunch when they gave us a wide berth and still looked shell shocked !

Just up the track from the mini-Chernobyl we paused for a water refil and encountered and Irish guy who looked under the weather - stressed out, sunburnt and dehydrated. He declined our offer of a boiled lolly so we resumed walking. At our next stop he powered past us aided by two twig like bendy poles and proceeded to disappear into the distance. At the 25km mark we looked at staying at Sanbol which was in the middle of nowhere but declined when advised that there were no toilets ! So we pressed on to Hontanas in 30 degree heat eventually arriving exhausted. Advertising hoardings on the way to the town showed a nice private albergue so we flopped into there. It was great ! While waiting for the washing machine to do its job I had a well deserved beer at the bar and who should join me but the re-juvenated Irishman - except he wasn´´t Irish - his parents are but he lives in Wales ! Tim was a bar manager from Cardiff and in his element on either side of the bar ! He kept Gabe and me entertained all afternoon with stories of football fans, rugby fans and life in Cardiff. The only porky he told all afternoon was his claim that he didn´t snore - he was like a freight train ! Tim had done the camino 5 years ago with 12 mates but wanted to do it now on his own. He disappeared before sunup and we haven´´t seen him since - tho 2 girls report that they heard a Welsh voice calling out from under some shady bushes - like some modern day Siren !

Next day dawned fine and hot and we did another 30km trek to Boadilla. We stayed at another private hostal which appeared like an oasis - green grass surrounding a pool ! Our host was an Argentinian who was in awe of the All Blacks ! Had a great stay there and today trudged off in misty rain to Carrion de Condes where we are staying at an old convent hosted by nuns !