The day started off passing the hermit church and caves of Tosantos, I then walked through a few villages. I am about to make an observation....If you are Spanish please do not think I am disparaging to your country (Any country that can give me a frothy coffee and a SB for a couple of euros has got to be a good place)

But they seem to have a reasonably relaxed view of planning. The villages are a strange mixture of new, lived in old and ruins where people have just walked away from existing buildings. This strange mixture leaves a strange air of decay to what might be lively communities.

I started talking to a German lady called Renate, who I walked with for a couple of days until she returned home from Burgos. Renate is blessed with a gentle spirit and was good company.

Just before the famed (please read the various pilgrim guides to understand the 'famed' tag)  monastery and Albergue of San Juan de Ortaga, we moved into forest, which after the village changed to a large open plain.  At Ages we flipped a coin to decide if we should stay their or walk on to Atapuerca. ....we walked on.

We stayed at a private Albergue which had 4 to a room, I can report if anyone was snoring it was me (and I do not own up to any such misdemeanour), but sadly I slept badly.

I dined in the Alburge kitchen with a cheerful Italian called Stephano and a French Canadian lady called Joanna. We shared our food with a lot of laughter...conversation was a little more challenging as none of us knew each others language. We were joined by Renate who helped with the dire translation mess we were getting into.

Sharing the bunk room was a couple who were walking 'partners'...They wisely left their non-walking other 'partners' at home. Marie Noëlle  and Jean-François are blessed with the French ability to have a laugh at anything and not take life too seriously. The four of us shared a delightful supper in Burgos the following evening.....and they all had the good grace not to comment on my snoring...which I do not.