Dinner in albergue la Fabrica in the Molino
Impressive city gate of Burgos. Swollen eye is already thinner
alternately playing accordion in minor and major under the city gate. I also filmed 
in the absence of good contacts today I simply chat with an icy Burgosian
First look at the cathedral of Burgos
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Is my nose hair now less prominent? 
After a good night’s sleep in the molino, including duck down comforters, I got up. Quickly I put the dog out in the court yard. I didn’t yet get my clothes, including my coat, back from the loundry. Without jacket the wind feels icy. Besides, with jacket too! I walked 500 m tot the village to buy new food for Tosca and I actually sometimes need gloves and a hat in this icy weather. The village has a small grocery shop: no dog food. No clothes available anywhere. You need to go to Burgos: 14 km. Next bus to Burgos is only at 4 p.m.. Back at 8 p.m.. Then it will be late again tonight, and I want to get up tomorrow very early. Probably today, Saturday, I’ll go to Burgos anyway, because Monday everything is closed, so I need stocking up a bit of dog’s food for today, tomorrow, for Monday and also for Tuesday. This afternoon I still can take a picture of the famous Burgos cathedral and tomorrow with my animals I won’t have the opportunity no more. Well, there’s not much here in Tardajos to relax.
Let’s go, arranging, planning. This is a survival trip because of the ongoing uncertainties and the constant improvisation. But I also have fun again. One moment I am like a prince, but without a towel, because it is still in the laundry (but luckily a handfull of good drying toilet paper helps me and the resting moisterous bits are being done with the pillow case); the next moment I’m a bum, chewing stale bread from the horse. Do you want a fancy living, expensive cars, and so, or do you want to live simple and basic, down to earth? Appreciate the power of simplicity. I often say: Fly like an eagle and scratch with the chickens.
After this first meditation I arrange a hostel for a few days, in Agès past Burgos, while the Rolling Stones are singing sensitive Angy. Life has its good sides, including the ludicrous uncertainties. How wonderful to be a little crazy! To be continued.
Meanwhile, it is already 7 p.m. I am back at the inn and have a drink and tapas to think over the day. Before I forget, I need to get rid of a frustration, one of many. It seems that my emails are not being sent. I do get mails, but there are 47 in the outbox. Strange. Ceciel, Constance, Servé, Rob and Plien and others, I want you to know that I can do nothing about it.
Anyway, the next inn, in Agès, is booked, incl. for horse and dog. Waaaauw! That eases my mind considerably. Jummig! (Gee), today is the Spanish day of the Constitution, many shops closed. Tomorrow will be Sunday, Monday a religious holiday. And Tosca almost runs out of food. And so will I tomorrow. No importante. I’ll simply go shopping in the village. I can take Tosca with me, so she gets a short break from the unpleasant role she plays here as short-chain dog in this cold weather, since this morning in the dark I directed her right away outward into the courtyard of the molino. On the way to the village we come right past horse Leon. I give Leon on his pasture bread, potatoes and corn and I moved him a bit further on fresh grass. No sooner said than done. In the village was a mini bakery and a mini-alimentation, a kind of small village shop like Jack and Bep Schins in Vijlen. The shop had everything, but not for dogs.
However, razor blades, because mine were finished. I have my nose hair cut once again! Due to constant sniffling this less appetizing secondary sex characteristic grew out of my nose, which mainly flawed my selfies. And now? Today vultures passed overvus again and however impressive I think they are, I don’t want my Tosca to end up as birds food. It hailed and it was snowing and it was so cold. The frost was on the roofs. You know what Dutch song? Today I’ll go to Burgos. At what time does the bus leave? At 4 hence and back at 8. Great. The animals I can leave alone for so long, Tosca with her warm outfit. Arriving in the village center shows that on Saturdays only in the early morning a bus goes to Burgos. Run! Hush! A little shampoo, razors and if possible Hejse (gloves) I need. I can hitch hike, like long ago. Forget it. Nobody took me.
Then, while hitchhiking, I’ll start walking to Burgos. But nowhere places where cars can stop. To Burgos and back is a total of 14 km. Walking those 14 km today to Burgos is half of the distance that I’ll have to walk tomorrow. Tomorrow I will walk again through Burgos and I can better go wrong today on my own, then tomorrow with the animals. That going astray is exactly what happened once. Fortunately, only about 1 km. wrong. Often two ways continue into one, like an inverted Y-grec. For those who go to Santiago no direction arrows are needed, but I’m going in the opposite direction and thus I have to choose at a split. Sometimes I gambled wrong. So I did today. Nasty cold winds and matschetige (how do you translate that? Mud) rain. But as opposed to the Netherlands you see here and there, yet again some pieces of blue sky. And those blue strecyhtes of sky give me hope, evebn if it is in vain. Nevertheless I enjoyed it, for the first time in two months a few hours without the “kids”.
Beautiful city, Burgos. Under the city gate sat an old woman, she seemed older than me, playing accordion, completely wrapped in many warm cloths. I had to take a picture. Furthermore, I walked around the church. What a building! Since I had not had the noon (lunch), a bocadillo bun was consumed in a bar. Would you like a napkin, asked the young girl. With my hands dirty because of the beasts one bit of paper, so only one napkin, doesn’t help me anough. Those hands should first be able to soak for a while. Finally I filmed a little, just before dark, for director Rudi, my cineast. Yes, and now, señora, sabe donde esta una tienda con alimentation o un supermercado? I’m not from here, she says! I do not know. Over there, over the bridge, left, right, left and then ask again. Eithyer no shop, or closed. In the mean time it’s getting dark, cold, despite the Christmas market stalls in the cathedral. Just like in our cities of Maastricht or Aachen. Guys, this does not work, this goes wrong. I must also carry home food for my animals. Deus ex machina: taxi. Take me to a grocery store that has got everything and then drive on to the mill inn of Tabajos. That worked out. Along the way I cozy listened to his unintelligible babble, I hummed and aha’d and si-d, until he asked me something. Then he had to repeat it 3 times before I understood it. Yet cute boys, those Spaniards, except when it comes to dogs. I think they have been brainwashed here since childhood with a fobia for dogs. This morning Tosca was not on her leash for a moment and ran enthusiastically to a visitor of the inn to greet her. She picked up a chair, loud screaming, to ward off the atrocious monster and fled the tavern-restaurant. And more experiences like this. Oh, you get used to it. A bit of that horror canis will also reflect on me, I think, but yes, I don’t give a damn, but it is not fun. Because my emails do not go out, I write for those involved here my near future plans:
Sunday Dec 7 . Agès
Monday, 8 Dec . Villambistia
Tuesday Dec 9 . Grañon
Wed, 10 Dec . Najera
Thurs 11 dec. Navarette
Friday, Dec 12 . Torres Del Rio
Sat, 13 Dec . Ayegui
Sunday, Dec 14 . Cirauqui
Monday Dec 15 . Puente La Reina passed to Murazabal
Tuesday, 16 Dec . Zariquigi and then to Cizur Menor
Wednesdays . 17 Dec . Via Pamplona to Larrasoaña
Thurs . Dec 18 . Biscarreta / Guerendiain
Free. Dec 19 . Roncevalles
Sat . Dec 20 . rest day
Sunday. 21 dec. Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (France).
Then I have to figure out .
Now it is 20.30 . The mill inn cafe is crowded with people, young and old. Meanwhile, I know that the middle group lingers until the small hours . I took a picture of my diner. Great. mmmmm
Geef uw mening