Mr. Magoo Crushes The Hills (Day 12)
Yesterdays walk got us fairly close to Burgos and I stayed in a hotel only about 8 miles from the city square. The hotel was fascinating and Daisy and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what was going on there. It was like a vintage store was crammed into a 1970’s upscale hotel. There was a chandelier AND disco ball simultaneously occupying the same ceiling in the dining room. Also, there was this in the elevator lobby of my floor. Keep in mind, not the main lobby but the smaller lobby right when you exit the elevator cab to find your room.
Soooo….yeah.
I traveled today with Steve and Daisy again and it was another great experience. We had a nice easy walk in a bright but not too hot sun. Along the way Steve and Daisy helped me with my horrible Spanish which we practiced on innocent people walking by (sorry about that Spain).
Nothing can stop us! Except my inability to roll Rs and recognize that two Ls is a y sound.
The walk led us into Burgos which is a beautiful small city. The last few kilometers followed a trail near a river in a huge city park. We quickly came to the realization that old people in Burgos are fast. There were a ton of folks out walking the paths and enjoying the day. I was truly impressed with how many elderly people were out exercising. I was also impressed by how damned fast they all were. It’s a humbling experience to have a 75 year old man who looks like Mr. Magoo in a mustard cardigan absolutely tear by you on a hill and throw a wave at you as he passes. I would’ve tripped him if only i could’ve caught him.
This was the first day in quite a while where I arrived at my hotel with enough time to shower, get some chores done and explore the city. So I’ve been doing just that. I checked in and got showered (which should’ve come with either a manual or YouTube instructional video - see below).
Still not sure what the middle two knobs do and I wasn’t about to try and find out. Some rocks are best unturned.
I then got to do my favorite thing in the world, LAUNDRY!!! I assume everyone who reads this knows me (if not, how the hell did you find this obscure blog?) and if you know me you know I love laundry. I found a laundromat (lavanderia- that’s right, I’m bilingual now) and got to clean all of my super funky camino clothes. Some extremely patient locals helped me figure the machine out and get this, it came with the soap already in the machine. ALREADY IN THE MACHINE!! My life changed today and I believe that we’ve peaked as a society. I later got to explain how the machine worked to some German pilgrims and when they saw how excited I was about the automatic soap they shared my enthusiasm. At least I think that was their reaction. It might have been concern mixed with a little fear. It’s hard to tell with Germans. Anyway, I was able to show them the way.
Trying to keep a cool exterior but inside I’m bursting with glee
Next to the laundromat was a pilgrims shop and I picked up new walking sticks.
These sticks have antishock technology. So essentially they are better than your walking sticks so just deal with it.
Then when I finished laundry I went and got Spanish froyo and ate it in the square.
Good lord it was good!
In short, today was a good day. I had to say farewell to Steve and Daisy and tonight I’m meeting 3 other folks for dinner and it will likely be our final meal together on this adventure. It’s bittersweet but all kidding aside I’m truly inspired by and grateful for the people I’ve met so far. I’m off to explore the cathedral square before dinner and I might try and take some photos.
More than likely I will go get more froyo. It makes me feel like this guy:
If I’m ever this happy about anything you’ll know I’ve joined a cult. Actually the white pajamas would be another sign something is terribly wrong in Glennland.
