(Written on May 5.)
So, given my illness, what were our plans for after I got well? We had originally planned to spend a week in Zamora after we finished this year’s Camino in Sahagún on May 6. We had the option to cancel the Zamora plan and spend that week finishing the Camino. When I got sick, we had to cancel all our upcoming reservations for hotels, etc. At this point, private rooms on the Camino were scarce. It wasn’t at all clear we’d be able to get accommodations at short notice except for bunk bed albergues. And Charlie and I had decided … no more of those.
I was feeling a lot better by the 3rd. It was looking like soon I’d be able to start walking again. But … because of the accommodation problem we reluctantly decided that it would be best to not try to finish. I was really disappointed. Already feeling nostalgia for our daily walks in the pretty countryside and through the little towns, never having to retrace our steps. Getting into a delightful town and into our accommodation for the night. Making brief connections with the pilgrims and locals along the way. But then we thought about scrambling to find places to stay. We probably made the right decision but it made me very sad.
We decided to leave Burgos and come to Palencia for a few days. It is a medium sized city (77,000). We rented an Airbnb for 4 nights in Palencia and then we will move on on Thursday to spend the planned week in Zamora.
So, May 3 was a travel day. We didn’t have to leave our Burgos hotel till noon so we (1) had another good breakfast at the hotel, (2) walked the Camino to the edge of Burgos and back (about 4 miles round trip, much of it through a neat park), (3) packed up and then took a taxi to the train station, (5) took a train to Palencia, (6) got into our Airbnb, (7) took a walk around Palencia and were awestruck by the huge and pretty cathedral — third largest in Spain!
What a lovely picture of the river. I can’t get over all the casual beauty!
Palencia is a lovely city. Today we are going to walk along a canal near this river. Tomorrow we go to Zamora “The old town, declared a historical-artistic site, is a veritable open-air museum of Romanesque art, with more than twenty churches in this style. The two most outstanding are the cathedral and the church of Santa María Magdalena.”
I think going to Palencia was a great decision!! Looks like an incredibly lovely place and if you feel up to it maybe there is a one-day walk you can make with a taxi ride back to home.
Moira always recites that nursery rhyme about magpies when she sees one. Her version is:
One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a letter…
Google give a version that goes up the numbers…
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for…
Don’t think that applies to the two of you.
I think I first heard about the Magpie superstition when watching the Magpie Murders on PBS. (Highly recommended!) I loved hearing Moira’s verse. It does seem like a very British thing since we never had that in the States, that I know of.
Sounds like you are recovered and making the best of a disappointing situation. Perhaps you’ll have your daily walks and explorations, just not quite on the Camino. Looking forward to hearing about Zamora.