Once again I realized that the monks at the monastery nearby just don’t know how to count – this morning it was 89 bells for 8:00 – maybe they’re all mostly deaf and only hear every 10th one or something.

Finally did yoga again for the first time in many days – my hips and lower back feel ever so much better.  The campground is right on the southeast edge of the city, and everything past it is parkland with lots of beautiful looking bike trails that I’ll have to explore later.  Burgos is a big stop on the Camino de Santiago trail and I’m sure many of the hikers make a visit to the cathedral in the old city.

We headed the few km into the old city to find the tourist office and hopefully get help there like we did at the one in Hernani.  Parked in an underground lot near the cathedral and walked around a bit – even with a map it took us awhile to find the tourist info office, which was almost hidden back from the square behind some construction fencing.

The lady tried her best to be helpful, but didn’t have a clue what the Vuelta de Burgos even was, let alone have any info on it.  They were out of detailed maps of the area so she ended up giving us six seperate ones as well as a couple of nice brochures of things to see and do.  Burgos is not only the major city but also the name of the whole area.

The Cathedral of Burgos is quite impressive, if not really my taste.  In 3 years time it will be celebrating is 800th anniversary!

The whole old part of the city is just beautiful, with lots of pedestrian-only roads and many trees and parks lined with statues.  

There is a large statue of El Cid on his horse right as you come off the bridge across the river into the old city.

There are also lots and lots of outdoor cafes and tapas bars.  

We stopped at one for a coffee, and I ordered a tostada with Iberian ham, tomatoes and olive oil.  It was very tasty, but so large I ended up splitting it with Colin. The cafe late was delicious (once I put some honey in it – still have a mini-jar that I carry in my camera case).

Back at the campground we sorted out where we want to be on each of the five days of racing the Vuelta a Burgos.  The maps we got from the info place were actually fairly helpful, as I looked up the official site on my ipad while we found the places on the maps we’d gotten and decided where we want to be for each stage.

After that we went shopping for a few things at Decathlon – an outdoor store that’s all over Europe.  I picked out some great sandals to replace the old flip-flops I got last summer in Angoleme – they were literally falling apart and were becoming dangerous to walk in as I kept getting tripped up by the flapping right one.

Went down to the cafe/bar again for dinner and asked immediately about the paella – again they said it would be available at 8:30.  Colin decided he wanted the croquettes again, so I went in to make sure I could get the paella and was told that if it was only for one person I could have it at 7:30 instead of 8:30, which sounded great.  Near to 7:30 I went to order Colin’s croquettes and my paella and was told that I could only have the paella if I was in the indoor restaurant – I really wish they could give a person all of the information at the same time.  They knew I was outside from the beginning and could have told me that rather than making me wait an hour and then providing the essential missing piece of information.

Once again, then, I got the calamari – you also have to ask for knife, fork, condiments, etc as they seem to think you don’t need them unless you ask for them I guess.

 

In no real hurry to leave we had a nice cup of tea and breakfast before tearing down our tents and packing up the car.  We were on the road by about 10:45 heading west along the coast.

The drive was beautiful – along the Atlantic thru lovely little towns, all with gorgeous beaches starting with Zarautz, Getaria, Zumaia, Deba and Ondarroa.

We took all smaller, slower roads and it was so worth it – hardly any traffic, and right thru the middle of so many villages that the motor-ways completely bypass.

As we turned south and left the coast the terrain started to change.  We first went up and over the mountains, which were still green and down the other side where it was much drier and browner, although still very beautiful.

We had already picked the campground in Burgos that we were heading for so Miss GPS took us right there.  We checked in and were told we could pick any place we wanted in the ‘orange areas’ on the map they gave us.  We looked at two places but weren’t that thrilled with them so chose a third and set up the tents.

We went down to the campground’s cafe/bar for dinner and a drink.  The outdoor area was pretty much full and it had cooled down enough to be fairly pleasant.  There wasn’t a menu – just a few things on a blackboard – we were both interested in the paella, but found out when we went to order that we’d have to wait until 8:30.  Since we were both fairly hungry we ordered calamari, croquettes and fries instead and shared them between us – and Mo, of course.

I was still awake at midnight when the bells in the nearby monastery chimed – 66 times!

 

Got up nice and early and were on our way to stake out our spot before 7:30.  We took the peage (toll highway) instead of the ‘scenic road’ so we wouldn’t get hung up anywhere along the way.

We went just past the summit of the second highest climb, then backtracked to a spot about 100 metres before the summit.  There were already two campervans parked there so we pulled in and setup the table and chairs and had tea and breakfast. The fog hadn’t risen yet on the mountain but we could hear the bells of some animals on the hill below.

As the fog gradually lifted we saw that the bells were on horses, not cows – every one of them had a large bell right under their chins, even the baby ones.  The fog lifted, then settled again a couple of times throughout the morning.

Another car joined us after awhile – it was a very nice young Spanish couple, Ivan and Isabelle, and we talked for quite a bit.  It was getting warmer and warmer, and then I had to use the washroom. I walked up past the summit, then down the other way looking for a safe spot but there were too many people riding, driving and walking up and down the road.  Just as I got back to the car the driver of the large campervan next to us got back from a ride on his motorbike, so I immediately asked if I could use his bathroom.

He was very nice and said yes, of course.  A short time later he asked if we wanted to move Mo’s cushion and our chairs under the shade of his campervan, then he brought out a bucket full of ice for our water and wine bottles that we were trying to keep cool in the shade of the table.

A young fellow came down the road and looked at Colin’s license plate, which is from France, and asked in French if we knew when the race would arrive – when we answered he could tell we weren’t French and it was quite funny – he was actually American.  He is here on his honeymoon with his new bride and we ended up chatting for quite a while.  In the meantime several more cars arrived until there was no room for any more.

Since we had the schedule we knew approximately when the riders should start coming by so around 2:30 I walked up to the summit of the climb.  There were banners and about 20 metres of barriers on each side so I went back and forth to decide where the best spot to watch from would be. The American (Michael) saw me and we talked again – he asked how we would know when the race was coming.  I told him we should first see some police motos, then some official cars, and probably the helis, which was what happened.

I chose first of all to stand just beyond the summit banner where there was no barrier, but when the breakaway of six whizzed past I thought I was going to get run over.  The racers veered to my side of the road because there was a corner coming and they wanted to be on the inside, so I moved to the lower side of the banner, outside the barrier.

That wasn’t a bad choice until the peloton came by followed by all of the team cars – that’s when a fierce wind kicked up and the barriers fell over and threw me back against the hill.  At first I thought the wind was from the helicopter, which had been very close, but I think it was actually the cars – they were going so fast to keep up with the riders, even though it was the top of a pretty hard climb.

I picked myself up and kept taking photos of the next group until the end, then looked around at the fallen barrier – it was completely down and had landed right on top of my backpack, but I had my camera and all was ok.  The security guys were worried about me and asked if I was alright – at least they didn’t think it was my fault!

I saw Michael and his new wife (Jackie) on the other side of the road and we talked for a bit – this is the first race she’s seen and thinks its wonderful.  I took a pic for them next to the summit marker on her phone – she had to show me how – ha ha – then went back down to the car for a bit to wait for the second passing of the racers.  Colin was in the large campervan watching the race on the satellite tv for a bit.

Back at the summit I moved down the hill to just before the start of the barrier, which they had picked up and moved onto the very edge of the road so it won’t – theoretically – fall over again.  This time around there was only one racer in the lead, and the peloton wasn’t very far behind.

As soon as the last racer had passed they started tearing down the barriers and everyone, as usual, started to leave.  Back at the campervan they couldn’t watch the tv because the fog had rolled back in and there was no reception. We took our time packing up then headed down the mountain.

I was hoping to get an arrow as a momento, but they were already removing them – we saw the official van ahead of us so we stopped.  I jumped out and begged for one but one guy said he couldn’t give me any as they use them over and over. It happened to be the same three fellows we’d stopped and asked for a map from yesterday and we all recognized each other.  One of the other guys said wait – this one’s damaged so we can’t use it again anyway and gave it to me!

Relaxed back at the campground for a bit, then went back to the tapas bar in Getaria for dinner.  

It was even more crowded than two days ago – you could barely walk in the street – no cars, thank goodness.  The tapas bar was crowded too, but we managed to get seats.

The food was just as good as the first time, and I really noticed how the three staff members worked together – one young fellow that was there on Thursday, a young lady and an adult man.  They did – as Dominic would say – the kitchen dance. They were so efficient and fast and always had a smile – it was actually great to watch. There we so many people talking and laughing that we almost had to shout to hear each other, but it was fun.  A really good end to a really good day!  

We needed a map and schedule for the race tomorrow so headed towards Hernani to get some groceries and try to find a map.  We passed a van with guys putting up the yellow arrows for the route so stopped and asked them if they had a map, but they didn’t so we continued on.

Hernani is larger than we thought it would be, and is full of narrow one-way streets with weird sharp turns.  We managed to find a parking space in front of a fairly rough-looking taverna, and walked up the hill a bit to a bank.  I saw a sign for a tourist info place so while Colin was in the bank I took Mo up to see what they had.

I walked into the large building that had the info sign on it and didn’t know which way to turn – it looked like it had some offices, and a large hall of some sort but no info desk that I could see.  I went into one of the small offices that had its door open and as soon as I asked the lady at the desk if she spoke English she indicated to follow her. She took me out the front door and pointed across the square to a small booth – that was where I was meant to go.

The girl at the booth was extremely helpful – I told her I needed a detailed map of northern Spain, as well as info on the race.  She was super happy to help – she had a really good map of the local area – not all of Spain, but it covers Pai Vasco which is just what we need right now.  Then she said she would check something on the computer about the race – Colin arrived just before she said she was printing something for us and would be right back.  She went inside the big building and came out shortly with a paper for us – it had the list of places, including the road numbers that the race was passing through, the estimated time of arrival at each place, and the elevation chart.  It was exactly what we were looking for.

We had a look at what she’d given us, and decided to drive along the last part of the route, as it had a couple of good climbs and the riders actually go around it twice so we’d get to see them two times.  We navigated to the road we had chosen and drove in the opposite direction that the race would be taking. We came upon a church that had some parking so pulled in to have lunch in a small park across the road.  There are fantastic views of Irun and Hondarribia and part of the ocean below.

Once again it’s right on the Camino trail – there are scallop shells (not clam shells – ha ha) on the church itself, as well as on route markers for the hikers.  There’s a much larger parking lot beyond the church and we considered if that might be a good place to plant ourselves tomorrow.

As we drove down towards San Sebastian we saw several more possible places to watch from, and figured that if we arrived early enough in the morning we could likely have our choice of spots.

We took a very circuitous route back to Zarautz, but eventually got there.  We relaxed and read outside the tents for a couple of hours, then headed down into the town to have another look around.

We found some underground parking at the far end of the beach then started walking along the nice wide boardwalk.  The beach is great, and along the boardwalk are lots and lots of cafes and tavernas. There are hundreds of sunbathers, swimmers and surfers and the general atmosphere is just great.

We stopped at a cafe on the boardwalk and had a drink, then decided to stay there and have dinner.  It was very nice – we stayed until the sun was starting to go down – most of the beach-goers had left by then but the boardwalk was still busy.  We walked down it almost the end other end, then back – there are art displays/sculptures here and there.

As we drove back thru the town we saw that the main street and all of the side streets were packed with people – cafes and bars all had tables outside and it was bustling.

 

After a very hazy morning the sky cleared and it got hot again.  We spent most of the day reading in the shade at the camp – took Mo for a little walk at one point but mostly did very little.

Early in the evening we went out to the little town just west of here – Getaria.  It also has a very popular beach, and a small but thriving-looking fishing fleet.

The parking meter was a bit challenging, but once that was mastered we headed past the beach and harbour and towards the town.  

In the harbour was a replica of an old sailing ship.  There were folks on it that seemed to be cleaning it up and getting it ready for something.  It smelled quite bad – like tar or oil.

We stopped first at a cafe/bar overlooking the water – it was a lovely spot but was marred by the motorcycles that drove right past between the tables where the pedestrians walk over to the next bar or two – it was a dead end and they all ended up coming back sooner or later – very unfortunate.  When I went inside the cafe/bar I saw that they also sold things – wine, cheese, dried meat (pork?) and jellies.

To get to the town you had to walk thru a small pedestrian tunnel, which was full of young black men selling shoes – the shoes were set up all over the stone path on both sides, but at least the young guys selling them weren’t aggressive.

The town is very pretty, but seems quite touristy – it’s on the Camino trail, and obviously attracts lots of other tourists.  We went up what seemed to be the main street, and down the next, cutting back over to the first one to try a tapas bar we’d passed.  Luckily these streets are car-free and there were lots of people strolling around – it was very pleasant.

The bar we went into had cycling on tv – European indoor track championships, I believe.  They had many different tapas out on trays, and when you ordered they gave you a little plate – you just went along the bar and picked what you wanted, and they counted the wooden skewers after to see what you owed.  The things I tried were delicious, and Colin said he really liked what he’d chosen as well.

At one point a little girl came in – she couldn’t have been more than two and her parents were at a table outside – and held up a coin.  I thought she said she wanted a donut, so picked her up and let her ask the bartender. She actually wanted some olives so he gave her a small bowl of them and she was so happy!  I gingerly put her down so she wouldn’t spill them and she toddled off with her prize. She was just adorable – she came back in a bit later with her father and walked over to me – I crouched down to her level and she touched my earings and white shirt saying they were pretty.  She made up for all of the screaming brats so far!

 

It had rained off and on during the night, and the morning was completely overcast and bordering on cool.  Had a good shower – the water only stays on for about 5 seconds with one push, but it got nice and hot and you just had to keep hitting the button until you’re done.

After a nice breakfast – mine was leftover pork filets – at the tent we read for a bit before picking a town to go to for groceries.  We wanted to make sure we were there before they closed for the the entire afternoon for lunch. On the way back from shopping we tried to get to the beach from main road that goes thru Zarautz, but there’s no parking anywhere near it so we just went back to the campground instead.

The clouds were eventually replaced by blue sky, and after lunch I took Mo for a walk partway down the path towards the beach.  The views are spectacular, and the beach below looks fantastic.

It’s a really popular surfing beach in the area – there are signs in the washrooms at the campground that you can’t bring your surfboards inside – a lot of the campground’s visitors have come for the surfing.  There are also signs that you shouldn’t dump your campervan’s chemical toilet into the washbasins – are some people really that stupid?

I met a fellow from Manchester along the trail – he had what I call a ‘real’ camera also – and we chatted for a bit.  The trail is very good – the first part was sloped pavement, and the next part was very well-made stairs.

Mo and I stopped about halfway down and turned around – the walk back up wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be.  The trail down to Wreck Beach in Vancouver is much tougher.

After a leisurely afternoon we went to the same bar/restaurant as last night to get dinner but it was closed so we went to the other restaurant.  The outdoor area was full so we had to go inside – again taking Mo in wasn’t a problem. This time I opted for croquettes, which were delicious – ham and nice creamy cheese.  I topped it up with some of Colin’s fries and we each had two glasses of really nice red wine.

Once again the campground quieted down nice and early – read for a bit then fell quickly asleep.

 

Had a leisurely breakfast, then packed all our stuff up, followed by a nice cappuccino at the restaurant.  Got on the way north by about 11:30.

It wasn’t far to Irun, where we turned west along the coast thru San Sebastian – which is also known as Donostia, its Basque name I believe.  The GPS led us on a very picturesque route all along the coast heading west.

Once again we’re near one of the Camino trails – we’ve seen a couple of signs and some of the hikers have large (fake) clam shells hanging from their backpacks.  

The campground is just outside the town of Zarautz and high up on a hill overlooking the Atlantic.  It’s fairly large and completely different from the last two places we’ve stayed. When you arrive there’s a young lady that intercepts you and tells you where to park before you go in to register.  Once you come out she tells you where to wait for another staff member on a scooter to come and lead you to your little plot. The area we’re in is very crowded – we’re squished in like sardines in a can, but it’s alright since our neighbours on both sides are really nice.  Despite the number of people it’s pretty quiet – no traffic noises and lots of trees and birds. There’s a path down to the beach that we’ll have to investigate at some point.

We setup camp, then drove down to the town to look for a store – no luck finding one open.  Again – the extremely annoying 4 or 5 hour lunch! We stopped for a quick drink at a bar – and I was once again bothered by screaming kids.  There was a group at the next bar to us that had several small children at one table and the adults at another, and no matter how much the kids screamed they were generally ignored by the parents, who were relaxing with drinks and chatting with their friends.

I’m not advocating stuffing a socks in the kids’ mouths or hitting them with a stick to get them to be quiet – but the parents could at least not just ignore them.  Patience with screaming kids is a virtue that I’m still working on, I guess.

Back at camp we read for a bit – discovered that we could actually get electricity, and are very fortunately right near the wi-fi tower.  A little later we went down to the restaurant/bar to eat – we picked a table outside, as we had Mo with us, but the waitress said that we would have to go around the corner to another outside area.  It was a large, rather dismal place of concrete and not much else.

I ordered the pork filets – presented much like the chicken I had the other night – three very thin pieces pounded down and lightly breaded, with a bunch of fries.  It wasn’t bad, but not exactly what I think of as ‘local specialities’.

Partway thru our meal we were invaded by – guess what? – screaming kids.  Several families had arrived together and were all sitting in the area we had originally been in and told to move from.  All of their kids swarmed around the corner to our area and were running, jumping and screaming at the top of their lungs – we moved inside, telling the young waitress that it was because of the kids – she didn’t stop us even with Mo.

I was actually surprised later that it went quiet so early at the area where our tents are – no loud music or late, loud conversations – or even screaming children!  Everything basically shut down and was peaceful at a very reasonable time.

 

After a decent sleep and nice hot shower I did a bit of yoga, followed by fried egg and bacon on a baguette for breakfast.  Before it got too hot I headed out for a bike ride – there’s a small paved road that goes up, and one that goes down just beyond the end of the campground.

I first followed the one that goes up, although I must admit that I pushed the bike as much as I rode it.  It was what I can only describe it as – caterpillar hell. They were coming down from the trees by the hundreds – at times there were so many ‘lines’ dropping that it looked like a web or cocoon – it was just gross.  I met a couple of Spanish guys that were walking down the road and they said it turned to dirt in about 1 km, and that the caterpillars didn’t end.

I rode up to almost where it turned to dirt, then gave up and headed back down the hill – trying to dodge the hanging caterpillars the whole way, in addition to watching the road ahead for the frequent ‘water drains/troughs’ that cross it.

When I got to the fork that goes down from the campground I took it – it actually only went about 1 km, then ended up right across from the town of Sunbilla.

I turned around again and went back up to the campground – totally sweaty and probably covered with caterpillars.  As I coasted the bike to where the tent was I saw a caterpillar right in front of my nose – it must have landed on my helmet and was spinning a web down from the front.  I found at least three more on my shirt – various sizes from about an inch long down to around a quarter inch.

After my second shower of the day Colin and I went for a little drive.  We went back to Santesteban looking for a supermarket, but nothing was open – they are worse here than Italy or France – lunchtime closing is until 5:00!  We gave up and went back to Sunbilla, where we parked and walked around for a bit.

It’s a very lovely village, right on the river and very hilly.  At one small farm there were a bunch of sheep and they were all tucked up against the stone wall where there was a tiny bit of shade – they looked like rocks, only with heads.

They’re some sort of log-cutting thing around here – there’s a statue of a guy cutting a log that he’s standing on, and a poster on a building of a bunch of other guys that are apparently champions/former champions or something.

Back at the campground we sat around and read for a bit, then went for dinner at the restaurant.  We both got the ‘menu of the day’ – I had a mixed salad for a starter (it was really nice to have fresh greens for the first time in days) and Colin had the mushroom omelette.  Then for the main course I had chicken filets and Colin had the veal, both came with fries.

After our meal we talked for awhile with the folks at the next table – they were an older couple from England on their way to southern Spain to see one of their daughters who lives there.

I had enough of the chicken left over to do me for breakfast tomorrow.  Back at the tents we didn’t stay up too long, except that the campers above us were talking loudly until very late – they weren’t drunk or belligerent or anything – just very loud.

Had another good sleep followed by another wonderful outdoor shower.  Ate a leisurely breakfast while drying out the tent, fly and ground-cover as they were soaked with dew.

Just before we were ready to leave the frenchman next door came over and gave us both a gift – I got a bookmark that was white cardboard on red, and the white was cut thru in the shape of a flower, with a kind of 3-D effect.

Colin got a small black card that unfolded with a cut-out white cat on a table.  They were so cute, and he had just made them while he was at his table next door – it was very sweet.

We left the campground and went south, crossing the border into Spain just the other side of Ainhoa.  That town makes a lot of its money, apparently, with car-parks. Folks park there and walk into Spain, with the town on the Spanish side of the ‘border’ full of stores and casinos.  Many things are much cheaper in Spain, and I guess it makes for a profitable day-trip for french people looking for a deal.

As soon as we were descending on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees the weather and the vegetation changed.  It was almost immediately sunnier and warmer. We headed southwest, going on a smaller road and thru several small towns – nothing open, as it was noon on a Sunday.  We are on, or at least have crossed one of the Camino de Santiago routes – we have passed several markers.

We pulled over at one point and decided to check out campgrounds in one of the books Colin has – ended up back-tracking a bit to Santesteban, then north to the village of Sunbilla.  Just outside the village there was a marker for the campground, which seems to have a very popular restaurant/bar. They also have four very cute donkeys, that have a moveable fence/coral.

We chose our own camping spot, in a fairly secluded area ringed by six large oak trees.  After we setup we went and sat at an outside table at the restaurant and had a late lunch of battered and fried calamari rings, breaded calamari fingers and fries – all very tasty.

Music, other campers, and screaming children kept me from going to sleep very early, although I really didn’t mind sipping a bit of red wine and reading a book for awhile.  Children here seem to be up much later at night than I ever was at their age, and I’m sure if I ever shreaked the way some of them do I’d have been told to tone it down in no uncertain terms.

 

It rained almost all night long and my tent got a bit wet inside because I hadn’t pegged the vestibules down completely.  After a quick shower we left the campsite for our ITT watching spot a little after 7 – they close the roads off at 9 and we didn’t want to risk getting stuck on the wrong side of a barricade.

A bus came along and discharged two gendarmes and they set up a barricade along the small side road that we’re across from – the cows in a nearby field were unimpressed.  Only official cars were allowed on the ‘main’ road after that, and even cyclists were told to get off and walk their bikes.Many of the team cars drove by – scouting out the route, I guess – and some of the racers did a trial run.  More and more people arrived, many without chairs – we thought ‘boy, are they going to be standing for a long time’, but….

The cavalcade came by about 1 or 1 ½ hours after the gendarmes arrived.  It is so much more impressive that the Giro’s – it took over ½ hour for the whole thing to go past and I collected a pile of goodies, part of which I gave to the mother of some little girls.  We found out soon enough why so many people hadn’t brought chairs – they left as soon as the cavalcade had passed – they were only there for the loot!

The ITT is only 32 km today, but it’s almost non-stop up and down and there are some very sharp corners.  It had rained lightly most of the night, and continued for part of the morning so the roads, in places, could be challenging.  We could see several different parts of the course from where we were, so we always knew ahead of time when someone was coming – and especially if the rider was French, as the crowds before us would go nuts.

We knew the start order so had a good idea when certain riders would be coming by – everyone was waiting for Sagan, of course.  I got seven photos of the top of his helmet as he was looking down almost the whole time, but one shot isn’t too bad.

There was a group of three men and two boys that had been patiently watching and waiting for hours – one of the boys had a ‘king of the mountains polka dot jersey on, just like his hero – and it was quite funny because as soon as Alaphillipe passed they left!  Didn’t even wait for the top 10 to come by.

 

Froome got booed as he passed – he’s not getting a very good reception here in France, and others on the team aren’t being that well received either.  Dumoulin did well – he won the day, but still only placed second overall to Gerrant Thomas, Froome’s team mate on team Sky.

We headed back to the campground, then decided to go out for dinner.  The road into Souraide was still closed from the race so we went north instead to Ustaritz, and was the going ever slow.  Many people were leaving, although a surprising number stayed where they were – they were having parties on the side of the road here and there almost the whole way to the town.  

We had a wonderful seafood-of-the-day dinner at Restaurant Du Labourd in Ustaritz.  It was a lovely place – we arrived just after 7:00 and were told that dinner service didn’t start until 7:30 so we sat outside and had a drink first.  The chef and some of the staff were at another table having their dinner before they got to work.