1 may

I figured I might be in Burgos towards the end of the evening, but thanks to the help of two guests, priests from Don Quichote country La Mancha – one is contemplating to enter Silos, the other is here with his younger brother (40) who’s also a priest and will be entering the monastery in september – I was in Burgos by eleven.
Probably it was a good thing I was so early. The Camino has changed from the time I passed Burgos a month ago. It was always busy I thought, but now it has become a mass event. The giant albergue close to the cathedral, with at least a hundred beds, filled up fast and I would have missed out on my pilgrims bed if I would have arrived in the evening.
What to do all day long when the day is not broken up by services all the time? I went to see the Museum of Human Evolution. A splendid overview of human life on earth. I remember passing the sign that around Burgos some remains of the oldest European human beings had been found. 1,3 mln years old. This was far before Homo Sapiens. I started reading Richard Dawkins The greatest show on earth one of these past months. The battle of the genes just dazzled me. Very eloquently told, but too much information. In this museum with all its movies, 3D fun and great access for english speakers all the little pieces of information I had gathered about human life through the years fell into place.
I had plenty of time to see the rest of Burgos. No churches today. No shops too, because Labor Day is an official holiday. I listened to some speeches of the Labor Union UCT, which was also one of the main drivers in the Revolutionary government that Franco opposed in the Civil War. Couldn’t make any sense of what was said, but it sounded like a new revolution was about to happen. Except for the fact that it was hardly a mass demonstration. There were a hundred people watching the fist pumping and longs stretching on the podium. And then there were about 400 people on the surrounding terraces just getting on with life.
On my strolls I had seen a nice looking Italian restaurant. I suddenly felt like eating some pasta and tiramisu, but when I returned towards the evening the restaurant was still closed. Settled for some duck foie gras and a splendidly cooked pigs foot. I have found out that one can hardly go wrong with dishes that require a lot of cooking time.
Then watched some football in a restaurant. Watching sports is still a public event in Spain. Every restaurant that charges reasonable prices has a television. People are eating, having lively conversations, slap their unruly children and don’t miss a second of the game. The football (Valencia-Seville) was pretty good, but I could easily just watch the behaviour of the people all evening long.