clairedavieswriter

In anticipation of a bracing start this morning…

Last night, we went in search of the necessary fortification against the cold. We found it in a popular tapas bar, recommended to us in a timely exchange with our hosts from Rublacedo (thanks David and Paula!).

Notwithstanding the extra padding provided by our dinner of croquetas de jamón, revuelto de morcilla and pimientos rellenos de carne (our vegetarian diet has gone out the window – needs must), zero degrees made for a very chilly start, and we were wearing every layer we had. But with that blue sky and sunshine, we weren’t complaining.

Burgos sent us on our way as safely as she had welcomed us, with a cheerful red cycle path beside the river Arlanzón.

Leaving a river valley can mean only one thing. But on the plus side, climbing 100m in a couple of kilometres helped warm us up, and soon we’d reached our highest point of the day: 938m.

It was hard to capture the views, or the sheer vast emptiness of the meseta in a photo:

But I kept trying…

As you can see, traffic was a bit of a nuisance. In the whole day, we counted no more than a couple of dozen vehicles.

There was virtually no wind, and the only sound came from bees and birds.
Our avian soundtrack included larks, cuckoos, bee-eaters and even a peacock, and we spotted finches, shrikes, warblers, wagtails, partridges, swallows and housemartins. But the highlight of the day came just outside the village of Santa María del Campo, where we not only found coffee but also saw a huge flock of 30-40 vultures, wheeling overhead and lurching about on land, the latter looking very much like their counterparts in The Jungle Book. We passed only a handful of settlements, most of which wouldn’t even qualify as a village, but nonetheless offered sights of interest. The blink or you miss it village of Presencio offered troglodyte houses (possibly used these days to dry ham):

And a fine addition to my old doors collection.

While the home of the vultures, Santa María del Campo, sported this rather startled looking arch/tower.

Along the way, we enjoyed our napolitanas at nearly 1000m above sea level:

Ate our lunch (you guessed it, tortilla sandwiches) beside the tranquil river Arlanza:

And left the province of Burgos behind:

As always, there were curiosities to ponder, such as why the one street village of Antiguedad (literally: antiquity) should have a fighter jet sitting on a plinth just outside.

And as young at heart (?) 50-something cyclists, this just made us laugh.

Tonight, we’re in the small town of Baltanás, where some of our neighbours’ houses look like this:

But we’re in more conventional accommodation, a lovely apartment on a quiet square. Our laundry is festooned in a sunny window and Bernard and Colin are snoozing in the living room. Buenas noches y hasta mañana!