Slow start

 

Day 48 - Atapuerca 

    Mornings in a large alberge (hostel) are one of the least desirable experiences of the Camino.  At 5:00 people start scrummaging around with headlamps, scrounging in their backpacks and tromping back and forth to the bathroom.  When we finally decide that it’s time to get going at 6:30, we have to do the same thing. There are some who sleep later, so the lights stay off. Wait your turn at the bathroom, collect your things that are on your bunk, under the bed and on the floor.  And then have breakfast in a crowded dining hall.  Sound like fun yet!

     Today’s alberge did not really serve breakfast, but we had to stand in line for a half an hour to get coffee from a bar.  Needless to say I wasn’t in the best of moods to start the day.  We immediately started climbing a hill.  The air was quite chilly, but the scenery was very nice.  We entered a mountain forest with scrub oak which we hadn’t seen in over a week. We were able to cover a lot of ground quickly.  We said goodbye to a Swedish friend who is heading home.

     Because we want to stop in the city of Burgos coming soon, we had to do a couple of short distance days.  Soon after noon we arrived in Atapuerca.  It is a small village, but it has a nice archeological museum that was free and had English text.  We have a nice little hotel with a private room.  At dinner we sat with a couple from Seattle who winter in Barcelona. We had a good meal and great conversation.