in Burgos...1/3 of the way!

since we last wrote....we left azofra and went to Santo Domingo de la Calzada.... a really pretty town with an interesting history and cathedral. A miracle happened that involved a hen and a cock and today in the cathedral there is an ornate cage that houses a live hen and cock 24 hours a day. there is a hen coop in the back of the albergue where we stayed - a really nice place - and we were awakened by the crowing of the rooster very early but it was time to get up and on the road again. We walked 14 miles to Belorado thru hay fields, little villages, and more harvested hay fields and then a long hot sunny few more miles into Belorado. we stayed in a small albergue run by the swiss confraternity and two little old ladies welcomed us. gene swears they are ex nuns. our room looked like a womens prison dorm...10 people on bunks with a bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling... but...the people were very nice and that night after a short mass, the pilgrims were called over to a small Santiago chapel where a French, Engligh , Italian and German pilgrim read a pilgrim prayer and then the priest talked about Santiago and the camino and gave us all a blessing. It was a nice way to end the evening before lights out at 10:00pm. up again at 6 and walked 15 miles, our longest yet. It was a steady uphill with several very steep climbs - looked like 90 degree angles to us...we took pictures. we went thru forests and purple heather and then the last 7 miles we thought we were walking thru the reservation at Ft. Bragg....a dusty road thru pine trees, no shade and lots of sun...it was endless...but we made it in good shape to San Juan de la Ortega. Another nice church there. Susu has entered EVERY church that she has passed...those who know her will not be surprised. We made a last minute decision while having a refreshment in San Juan to take a cab into Burgos rather than spend the night there in the over crowded albergue...we knew we were going to take a bus the last part into burgos anyway because of the traffic. So...here we are in Burgos...not a 5 star hotel but nice and clean...we can sleep on the sheets here instead of in our sleeping bags for a change. Burgos is a beautiful city...took a choo choo train ride around the city late yesterday afternoon and walked the lovely promenades and went to a restaurant last night...no pilgrims meal. After a nice, peaceful sleep, we went to the Cathedral this morning. It is gorgeous...and huge...also where El Cid is buried. We met up with several pilgrims in front of the cathedral that we hadn´t seen for a while. most were recuperating from blisters, sore knees, etc. and our young friend from Australia is headed home...too many physical problems. We are hoping that we get nothing worse than the blisters and sores we already have. Just another tidbit....we follow the Camino by looking for yellow arrows or scallop shells..they are on the road, the side of a building, on a post....sometimes it is just a dap of yellow paint. We have used our flashlight in the early mornings to find the arrows. We only missed our trail once for a few minutes. we noticed no one was following or in front of us...a sign. We are headed out tomorrow. hope to make Leon in 7 or 8 days. love the comments and emails...thanks Cailtin for the card - loved it! hasta, gene and susu