Fromista - Burgos - Cork (10/10/15)

The following morning I again had that wistful feeling of longing I get as I watch other pilgrims packing their rucksacks to set off once more towards Santiago, knowing that I have to return home and my latest section of walking the Camino is over. I can’t afford the time or get the annual leave from work that I would need to walk the entire French Way in one go, but I hope to do so one day, God willing, when I retire, if I am fit enough! I often wonder what it would be like to walk the entire path in one go? The problem with walking it in short sections is that just as your body is getting used to it and getting over the initial aches and pains, it is time to go home again!

Sunrise leaving Fromista

So, we shuffled regretfully out of the albergue and into the pre-dawn gloom to make our way back down to the plaza in front of San Martín to wait for Elisa Vallejera, the local taxi driver we had booked online for €100 to take us back to Burgos; a price we thought very reasonable, when divided between the four of us. While we waited we went into a nearby café to enjoy some breakfast and Elisa arrived on time at 7.30am as arranged and we were throwing our rucksacks into her car boot as the sun began to rise over San Martín.

The journey back to Burgos along the motorway took about one hour and Elisa dropped us off outside Burgos Bus Station where we placed our bags in lockers before going back into Burgos city centre for a spot of sightseeing before our bus departed for Bilbao at 12.30pm.

We had seen a lot of Burgos city centre by now, but hadn’t been up to the top of the hill on which the old centre is situated, to see the remains of Burgos Castle. We therefore made our way up the hill passing the cathedral, shining in the early morning sunshine and availing of the outdoor escalator that takes you up part of the hillside.

Castle Entrance

The castle remains were more extensive than I expected and the site afforded fine views over the city centre allowing us to pick out some of the landmarks such as Santa María la Real de Huelgas, in the distance.

An interesting memorial in front of the castle entrance noted the battle for the Castle which had taken place between September and October 1812 when the Duke of Wellington and his forces attacked the French garrison in the fortress during the Napoleonic Wars.

It would have been interesting to see inside the castle ruins but it was too early for them to be open and we contented ourselves with a walk around the impressive exterior walls along a path shaded by pines.

We made our way back down to Plaza Santa Maria to fortify ourselves with a second breakfast in the Valor Chocolate Café with more churros dipped in chocolate caliente!

We boarded the ALSA bus to Bilbao which passed through Vitoria-Gasteiz and delivered us back at Bilbao bus station. We returned to the bar we had visited when we arrived and then made our way to the airport on the Biskai Bus.

The plane was delayed and unfortunately upon returning to Dublin and picking up my car to drive home to Cork, there was a serious accident near Port Laoise on the M7 and we were stationary in a traffic jam for two hours. It was therefore 1.30am instead of 10.00pm when I stepped through my front door and Frómista seemed a very distant memory!