Day 23: Burgos

"Come clean, come good,
repeat with me the punch-line 'Just Like Blood'
when those at the back rush forward to say
how a little love goes a long long long way. "
-Simon Armitage from "I say, I say, I say"

Morcillas...I had been told back in Grañon to try Morcillas when I get to Burgos. It's a local specialty apparently. Now, I'm no neophyte when it comes to Spanish food; I knew perfectly well what morcillas are...they're sausages made from a bit of onion, a bit of pork, and a lot of blood. When he told me that I had to try them, I nodded so as to humor him, but I never had any intention of trying it. Well, after my second night in Burgos, fresh from taking stock of the condition of my feet (they're fine, but they won't be winning any beauty contests anytime soon), the thought of foodstuffs made from blood sounded much less disgusting. So I headed down to my favorite bar and ordered me up some. Realistically, they eat so much meat here in Burgos, I probably could have picked up morcillas from a fruit stand, but I wanted the real experience. So there I was, on the terrace of the bar in Burgos' Plaza Mayor with a plate of blood sausage in front of me, thinking "well, this is it - if I eat this, I'll never be able to become a vegetarian. Just as well". I'm a little embarrased to say that they were absolutely delicious. Spectacular. Had some more for lunch today. Washed it down that night with a Pastel de San Marcos (the local specialty cake), which was freakin' sublime. Small meal, but unbelievably satisfying, although it did give me a bit of stomach trouble later. Might have just been my mind saying "do you realize what you just ate???".

Went to see the cathedral and the castle on top of this city today. The cathedral was stunning...it's the medeival version of shock and awe. I can just imagine medieval peasants walking in there for the first time. Would have been the acid trip of the era. The thing about the cathedral is that from the outside, it's impossible to take it all in. The city is built so tightly around it that you can only see bits of it at a time. Shame, 'cause it would be that much more spectacular if you could take it in as a whole. The castle was cool, but not overwhelming...kind of boring actually. Nice views of the city, but otherwise nothing special. Then again, I suppose not every city can have an Alhambra. And let's face it, you probably can't get very good morcillas in Granada. My overall impression of Burgos is that this city rocks.

That being said, I'm heading out first thing-ish tomorrow, and will try to make the 28km into Hontanas before I drop. Broke down and bought a walking stick today; so many people say it makes a world of difference. Just guessing, but I'm pretty sure that I'll be using it as much for practicing my kung-fu as I will for walking (have to imagine Neo from 'The Matrix: Reloaded' for that to be funny. Too difficult? Well, then imagine Chris Farley from 'American Ninja').

That's just about enough for now. Must go out and see what else they can make from blood around here.