At home it´s so quiet you can hear a pin drop, well a needle maybe… In the refugios / albergues you can hear a German fart from a room away, several snorers (although I´ve never heard myself, just been told I do REALLY LOUDLY).
So I shouldn't be surprised that I haven´t had a full nights sleep in a week, without interruption from having to have a piss (which I normally don´t) or some idiot with a torch in his gob or phone light shining everywhere except what on they´re trying to find. Whoever invented plastic bags needs shootin, they make SO MUCH NOISE in the morning when another German (yes over two thirds are German or Austrian on the Camino, two world wars one world cup, let´s take back the Camino for Blighty) decides to get ready
while I´m actually managing to be asleep for five minutes. So I had a go at him, first I said “You guys make me sick” then I snapped at him when he asked to put the light on, “No you can take your stuff downstairs and get ready there!”. And when the poorly Spanish bloke and his friend who´s a girl (but they're not together, or are they? Who arrived later in the afternoon, who I hadn´t seen since Estella / Villava over a week ago) kept coughing I uttered the unforgivable “And you can die quietly”...
So apologies all round, plus I asked if the German was French, which he ignored, either because he didn´t understand me or was insulted, and although I had made things right and explained that I was a miserable English git who had had no sleep, I felt like a right prick well into the mornings walk…
The day hotted up until I reached the outskirts of Bourgos, the 8k of outskirts and then some more inskirts to get to the Cathedral, where nearby there´s a year old Municipal Albergue (for 3 Euros and that´s a record, when it´s a donation I usually give them 5 Euros minimum anyway). Separate boot storage downstairs, purpose built dorms upstairs with adjoining shower blocks, Cornelius another German described it as looking like a prison, perhaps he knows… Clean, cheap and cheerful, hmmm reminds me of a girl I used to know........
So what´s the plan? Try and find my other German buddies that I lost when I left Logrono at some god awful time in the morning four or five days ago, including Astrid… Although I caught up with them two days ago she had already scarpered on to the next place and the pool and a bit of sunbathing at the hotel my stuff was at was beckoning so I made plans to catch them up in Bourgos…
Fingers crossed there then. Met a Korean young lady last night, who has no Spanish, very little English and a Korean / American English Phrasebook with things like “I´ll have a Bourbon on the rocks” and “Can I have a taxi to Fifth avenue please?” in it which is of course absolutely useless here. How we managed to find something on the menu in the bar last night I´ll never know, between Andrej from Slovakia miming slitting his throat for blood sausage and me oinking for ham she eventually plumped for an omelette, while I stuffed myself with the standard “Mixed Salad” (Half an iceberg lettuce, half a tomato, quarter of an onion and in this case whoop some Olives, yuck).
Of all the things that I´ve been eating either because they´re actually
not that bad now that I´ve tried them or because I´m so ravenous that I don´t care it just goes into me gob and down me gullet, I´d say the battered prawns was a revelation, wet food is no longer off the menu although the Tradition of providing the Pilgrims with soup (which was bready water with some kind of hot ish red stuff init and possibly garlic) just didn't hit the spot hence the salad and then two fried eggs and ham to follow…
Apparently when the barman brought it over, looking very much like one of Tony Soprano´s finest Goombas, he said something along the lines of You´ve lost your balls which apparently is a standard Spanish phrase / insult…
On leaving to get back to the refuge in time for 10:00 curfew, I managed to memorise and say back that I had found them…
A Encontradas mes huevos
I´ve just heard Astrid is in the square with a fever, ill but still smiling so I´ve gotta go see her before I lose her again…
Jess, Steffy, Stefan, Harry, Otmar and grumpy old man ;)
So I shouldn't be surprised that I haven´t had a full nights sleep in a week, without interruption from having to have a piss (which I normally don´t) or some idiot with a torch in his gob or phone light shining everywhere except what on they´re trying to find. Whoever invented plastic bags needs shootin, they make SO MUCH NOISE in the morning when another German (yes over two thirds are German or Austrian on the Camino, two world wars one world cup, let´s take back the Camino for Blighty) decides to get ready
while I´m actually managing to be asleep for five minutes. So I had a go at him, first I said “You guys make me sick” then I snapped at him when he asked to put the light on, “No you can take your stuff downstairs and get ready there!”. And when the poorly Spanish bloke and his friend who´s a girl (but they're not together, or are they? Who arrived later in the afternoon, who I hadn´t seen since Estella / Villava over a week ago) kept coughing I uttered the unforgivable “And you can die quietly”...
So apologies all round, plus I asked if the German was French, which he ignored, either because he didn´t understand me or was insulted, and although I had made things right and explained that I was a miserable English git who had had no sleep, I felt like a right prick well into the mornings walk…
The day hotted up until I reached the outskirts of Bourgos, the 8k of outskirts and then some more inskirts to get to the Cathedral, where nearby there´s a year old Municipal Albergue (for 3 Euros and that´s a record, when it´s a donation I usually give them 5 Euros minimum anyway). Separate boot storage downstairs, purpose built dorms upstairs with adjoining shower blocks, Cornelius another German described it as looking like a prison, perhaps he knows… Clean, cheap and cheerful, hmmm reminds me of a girl I used to know........
So what´s the plan? Try and find my other German buddies that I lost when I left Logrono at some god awful time in the morning four or five days ago, including Astrid… Although I caught up with them two days ago she had already scarpered on to the next place and the pool and a bit of sunbathing at the hotel my stuff was at was beckoning so I made plans to catch them up in Bourgos…
Fingers crossed there then. Met a Korean young lady last night, who has no Spanish, very little English and a Korean / American English Phrasebook with things like “I´ll have a Bourbon on the rocks” and “Can I have a taxi to Fifth avenue please?” in it which is of course absolutely useless here. How we managed to find something on the menu in the bar last night I´ll never know, between Andrej from Slovakia miming slitting his throat for blood sausage and me oinking for ham she eventually plumped for an omelette, while I stuffed myself with the standard “Mixed Salad” (Half an iceberg lettuce, half a tomato, quarter of an onion and in this case whoop some Olives, yuck).Of all the things that I´ve been eating either because they´re actually
not that bad now that I´ve tried them or because I´m so ravenous that I don´t care it just goes into me gob and down me gullet, I´d say the battered prawns was a revelation, wet food is no longer off the menu although the Tradition of providing the Pilgrims with soup (which was bready water with some kind of hot ish red stuff init and possibly garlic) just didn't hit the spot hence the salad and then two fried eggs and ham to follow…
Apparently when the barman brought it over, looking very much like one of Tony Soprano´s finest Goombas, he said something along the lines of You´ve lost your balls which apparently is a standard Spanish phrase / insult…On leaving to get back to the refuge in time for 10:00 curfew, I managed to memorise and say back that I had found them…
A Encontradas mes huevos
I´ve just heard Astrid is in the square with a fever, ill but still smiling so I´ve gotta go see her before I lose her again…
Bourgos Cathedral
Jess, Steffy, Stefan, Harry, Otmar and grumpy old man ;)
JonxXx
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