Day 12: May 18, 2016 Cardeñuela de Riopico to Burgos

May 03, 2025

Burgos, Spain

May 20, 2016
Burgos
Hotel Cordon
9.5 miles, 24, 728 steps, 1 flight, 1:41 hr

Burgos is the first major city on the Camino, and if you are walking from St Jean Pied de Port, it is about a third of the way to Santiago.

The perpetrated Camino folk wisdom is that the first third of the Camino is about physical challenge, the middle third – mental, and the final third spiritual.

I can say that at least for the first third, this is true. The challenges so far have been largely physical. The physical effort is not an issue, on the first few days, all most pilgrims wanted to do was sleep after walking. More and more, pilgrims are used to the physical exertion. The problems are with the foot stress of walking 10-20 miles a day.

First, there is the Roncesvalles Pass on day one. For me this was moderately challenging, but not horrible. But for many pilgrims, this is still a recurring topic of conversation, everyone with their particular horror story and tales of pilgrims being rescued off the pass (2 on my day). Largely, this is due to people being unprepared with too heavy packs and poor physical conditioning.

On the subsequent days, other complaints dominate… like me, many with blisters. I have since reconnected with other pilgrims I have met on the road, and I am happy to report that my blister issues are minor relative to what many experience. Of the people I connected with early in the trip, three have dropped out permanently, one with an anaphylactic reaction in Pamplona, one with a ruptured Achilles Tendon, one with severe tendinitis. Others have been severely slowed by tendinitis, knee/ankle issues or foot issues. I feel lucky. An enterprising Spaniard should set up a foot-care clinic in Pamplona… The market is waiting.

That said, many of you have asked about the status of my blisters. The blisters have been drained and bandaged. In Burgos, I bought and applied some antibiotic ointment to some of the old raw blisters. I also got anti-fungal cream since I am spending so much time in sweaty socks and public showers… the foot situation is much improved.

As for the challenges of the middle and final thirds of the camino… I will keep you posted on my mental and spiritual status, though I fear nobody is really expecting much spiritual growth.

As for today, I am enjoying Burgos. I highly recommend the cathedral as one of the most impressive and interesting I have seen.