For those of you who know "the prophecy" I am leaving the trail as was said. I am taking a vacation to Bilbao with Molly and Chantal. I ran into Molly again in San Juan de la Ortega, a small village of 20 inhabitants and a huge church containing the sarcophagus of San Juan. The monastery had been converted to an albergue. That day I had been walking alone and bumped into Anthony again. Chantal and I kept catching up to each other and we all walked for a while. Then I stopped and later they stopped, but we all went to San Juan in the end. As Anthony and I were leaving the church after the pilgrim´s mass I saw Molly again in the distance. It was remarkable because neither of us thought we were on the same daily track anymore. Molly had the idea to go to see the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao over the weekend. It is a short 2 hour bus ride from Burgos. Since I am still having a difficult time with my feet and lower legs being overworked I thought it would be a good idea to take the weekend off. I had dinner with Chantal and asked her if she had any interest and she does. So this morning (Friday) we are catching the bus. The weather does not look sunny and warm through Sunday, but we want to spend our time in the museum and at a hotel feeling clean and resting. We plan to return to the Camino on Monday as there is no bus on Sunday. So far I intend to return to Burgos and continue my pilgrimage. Molly plans to go on by bus to Leon to meet her daughter who arrives on Tuesday. It is tempting to do so as well. I have walked, as of my arrival in Burgos, 500 miles or 767 kilometers. But I also have so much time left. Yesterday was my day 45, the middle day of my journey. And yet, between Burgos and Leon is the meseta. Nevertheless, I bought a sunhat yesterday in anticipation of the burning sunshine in the open country of the meseta and Chantal plans to return and start again at Burgos.
Went to tour the Burgos cathedral last evening. It was incredible. Purchasing the tickets they give you a guided tour recording. After a short while the details become fairly overwhelming. Soon I simply walked around taking many photos and marveling at the beautiful works of art and sculpture spanning over one thousand years. There are hardly words to explain the painted sculptures in stone, the intricacies of gothic carving, and the efforts of baroque designers to leave no empty space. And most incredible are the windows in the roof that are designed to appear and bring in light as the artists interpretation of heaven. Absolutely stunning. I had hoped to be able to share a photo but the device isn´t working to upload from my memory card. In the end I will have thousands of photos to share with anyone who wishes to see them. Meanwhile, it is almost time to leave for the bus station, and I will get some breakfast from the vending machine this morning before I go.
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