Day 16, June 23rd, 2023
I don't know where to put my feet, so I often wake up at night. The blister on my little toe on my left foot hurts, and my heel hurts on my right foot. I also have a bit of a cold and my voice is really hoarse. Like I said before, there is always something.
I head into the old town and find a lovely café in the sun where I enjoy a coffee amidst lively visits from sparrows on my table. I fancy a proper breakfast and browse through the menu. Unbelievable! For weeks it has been nothing but tortillas and bocadillos everywhere, and here, for a change, they have tortilla-bocadillos! If it weren't so depressing I would burst out laughing. In desperation I order a second coffee, hoping to get my bowels working, which I manage with moderate success. This time it is less goaty but more like sheep, so I am well on my way back to normal.
There is no bus, or at least I don't see one, so I am walking the two and a half kilometres to Decathlon. I am walking slowly as this is not so painful. It is very hot and unpleasant here along the loud and smelly main road, but I have to persevere because I desperately need comfortable trail running shoes and a sleeping bag liner that keeps me warm and allows my legs to move freely. I am not entirely satisfied with my haul though, because they don't have the kind of sleeping bag liner I am looking for, and I don't even get any shoes. I have now bought a synthetic sleeping bag that weighs only 150 grams less than my good down sleeping bag, which I foolishly sent home. But I did manage to get a rubber ball with nubs, which I can roll and massage the soles of my feet over. I am going to do that every evening now. And stretching, I keep forgetting to stretch!
In the afternoon I watch a film from my USB stick on the big TV in my room - a film about our trip to Africa three years ago, when I was there with David, Dad, and our friend Uschi. I am so engrossed in the memory that I forget about the Camino for a while. I always get quite wistful towards the end of the film, especially when a certain piece of music starts playing, underscoring the feeling of farewell. And from one moment to the other, when the film has ended, Dad, Uschi and David are gone, even though they were just in my room.
This sad feeling lingers, so I go outside hoping to distract myself. How I wish to see Angela again! My mood improves when I buy trail running shoes at a sports shop, and even better, shoes like the ones Andrew has. I wear them straight back, hoping I can hike pain-free in the future. They feel fantastic, and so I stroll comfortably through Burgos for another two hours, constantly on the lookout for Angela, unfortunately without success. Why didn't we exchange numbers?
A large stage has been set up in the Plaza Mayor, and brass bands with drums and trumpets are playing in different spots. It is Friday, the crowds are flocking to the city, and me? I am going back to the hotel. I always seem to do things the wrong way around. All evening I can hear the music from the old town in my room. Poor Angela is staying in a hotel right next to the Plaza Mayor.
I have long since fallen asleep when at 11:30 p.m. I start from a massive bang. An incredibly loud fireworks goes off, lasting at least twenty minutes.
