June 28
Burgos to Hontanas 31.8km
Last night we went for an evening stroll as did all the spaniards in Burgos. We had a few tapas and people watched in the plazas. There were street performers, mimes, and lots of family life to watch.
We did laundry at the albergue and hung it out on the line between the sides of the building in the central patio, but from the second floor you can only hope your laundry doesn´t drop from the ground. We visited the cathedral in Burgos one of the worlds most beautiful and were astounded by the works of art and the treasures in the treasury. For you Spanish students, El. Cid is buried there.
Our hospitalero entertained us all by playing guitar and singing, a very spanish experience. Our albergue was on the second floor above a church. Lorie has been able to attend daily mass most days. Its amazing how many people here do that. That evening our hospitalero was very concerned as there were more people than beds. He counted our mochillas (backpacks) at least twenty times to make sure how many people he had rented beds to.  Then he started counting mattresses. Finally, we were very crowded with five people sleeping on mattresses on the floor and one person sleeping on the floor itself, but we all shared blankets with him. His repeated backpack counting was even more entertaining than his guitar playing.
Today, we entered the meseta, the high flat tableland. We climbed up onto the meseta and hiked the flat top for a long time before dipping down into a river valley then right back up to the top of the meseta. We will be on the meseta for three or four days. Much of central Spain is meseta. It was a lovely day with a wonderful breeze.
Tonight we shared our meal with a man from Paris and another couple from Germany. English was the shared language. Wonderful people and the stories shared become added memories.
We are getting to the point where feet ache, but have become tough and are beginning to accept the task we ask of them. Everyday we see people nursing their feet because of blisters or soreness. Everyone also has advise as to how best to take care of them.
For you Spanish students:  the new expression I am hearing constantly is ¨venga¨.  You´ll recognize it as the subjunctive of venir.  But the way they use it is as a pausal phrase, or as okay, or as, vamos, let´s go, get going.  It is just constantly in use!  So, Venga!
 Buen Camino.