Spain Day 5: Logroño and Burgos

From San Sebastian we decided to head back in the direction of Pamplona and follow by car part of the El Camino trail that Simo was walking so as to get an idea of the sights he would be seeing and terrain he would be covering. So we set our navigation for Logroño and soon found ourselves driving past some pretty spectacular scenery and then spotted a sign that suggested we weren't far from the trail itself.

The front windscreen was getting a bit dirty by this stage of the drive...

Like all good roads trips there was a lot of music as well as chatting in the car. As we reflected about the trip so far we remembered Simo telling us about a "fountain of wine" he would encounter along the trail between Pamplona and Logroño. We thought surely it was a myth... But with a quick (ok, a it actually took awhile!) internet search, we started finding more and more reference to it and finally figured out where to find it. By the time we figured it out, we weren't far from the right exit, so off we decided to detour. Once we found the little town of Estella, to which Mr Google had pointed us to, the next challenge was to find the exact monastery behind which the fountain was located. Clearly this place is supposed to be difficult to find... but finally we found it! We parked the car and wandered around the old monastery until we were right there, standing in front of this wall with two taps: one marked water and the other marked red wine. Not quite what I had pictured but it was there! And it actually had wine! Turns out the fountain is filled with 100 litres per day for pilgrims to be able to stop by and have a small drink on the way through. After all our efforts of finding the place, we had to have a quick taster before continuing on our journey. What a great find!

We finally arrived in Logroño, eager to find a spot for a late lunch. We decided to give the Spanish notion of a large three-course meal a go... the food we had was homely, delicious, and very filling! And given we were eating at 3pm, dinner looked unlikely anytime soon. To try and walk off lunch , and eager to get to Burgos, we wandered back to where we had parked the car, choosing a slightly different route and hoping we didn't get lost. Along the way, we encountered the rather grand Logroño water fountain. Along the trip we had already figured out that in Spain, when you've found the water fountain, you've found the centre of the town or city.

By late afternoon we finally arrived in Burgos and were eager to do some sightseeing. After checking in to the hotel, we grabbed the camera and our jackets and headed into the town centre. Being further to the north and also in-land, our evening in Burgos was definitely the coolest—I just had to hit the shops before sight-seeing to find myself a scarf... a momento of our trip you see ;)

And then onto the sightseeing... and what a sight. The Burgos Cathedral had us absolutely fascinated with its gothic architecture, with the construction dating back to 1221. The detail of the building was incredible, so intricate. We walked around the building for quite some time and then found the sign with opening hours to be able to admire the cathedral from the inside... closed until the 9:30am the following day. We knew our first stop for the morning!

It was time for a glass of sangria, and possibly a couple of tapas (although we still weren't hungry after the big lunch!).

Day 6 next time x