They say the first 10 days of the Camino de Santiago are for the body.

They say in 10 days your body adapts to the walking. You no longer feel the pain at the end of the day. The physical hardship ends and the mental struggle begins…

Great.

It was day 1o.

My 10th day of walking started with a small hill climb before descending into the bigger city of Burgos.

I was still within the ’10 day body section’ of the Camino de Santiago so my legs were still aching as I climbed up and down that morning (I supposed that tomorrow I would be frolicking around painlessly).

Like all days that brought be through a city I spent most of my day walking through Spanish suburbs – which were always less serene and made me feel a bit more self conscious of my current ‘pilgrim’ persona. Old ladies would giggle ‘Buen Camino’ on you as I passed by their houses in suburbia and I proudly thanked them and hiked right on – proudly using my lame hiking pole even on regular footpaths.

Eventually I entered the city of Burgos, where I was greeted by the beautiful town walls protected by some pretty lion statues. (The city is actually named after the towns defensive town towers burgos).

Burgos is a stunning city in Northern Spain, and the architecture and monuments adorning the city were simply breathtaking – especially after so many days of walking through small towns.

The real jewel of the town is The Cathedral of Saint Mary, a Catholic church that has towered over the town for centuries. The Cathedral construction began in 1221 and was completed in 1567 and showcases the evolution of Gothic style throughout that period. I was lucky enough to walk into town just at the Sunday services bells were chiming their songs for miles. It was a wonderful welcome to the city.

I decided to have linch on one of the overpriced restaurants with a direct view of the gorgeous Cathedral. I suddenly realised that for the first time in days I wasn’t surrounded by fellow lame-looking pilgrims but actually just ordinary tourists. Glamorous Spanish families posed gracefully in front of the Cathedral and younger tourists used selfie sticks for cute snapping around town.

It was all very normal… A bit too normal.

I watched the small touristy train taking people around town at a snails pace and was in awe of the speed. I had only been moving by my own two feet and even the idea of that tiny train seemed amazing to me right now….

I was obviously transitioning from the ‘first 10 days for the body’ to the ‘second 10 days for the mind’ part of the Camino de Santiago.

I decided the whole city was a bit overwhelming and after finishing my amazing picture-perfect seated lunch I started to make my way out of town… While searching for somewhere to buy some sunscreen for the afternoon.

In Spain Sundays are dead. Absolutely everything closes and you feel like you are walking through a ghost town. Sunscreen purchasing was definitely going to be a challenge.

I walked into every small grocery store I saw with an open door and mimicked my issue to many little old Spanish ladies.

But little old Spanish ladies owning small grocery stores don’t stock sunscreen. I was going to have to risk it.

I desperately hoped to run into another sun-smart pilgrim but it looked as if my fellow Camino de Santiago walkers had all ended their day in Burgos.

Eventually I found a kind Australian who was able to spare a squeeze of sunscreen to get me through a couple of very, very hot and sunny hours.

I was now in the wilderness of the Meseta, which was the start of days and days of earth tracks,endless fields of crops and very limited shade.

My first day in the Maseta ended in Rabe, where I finally found a bed in a tiny albergue with a room full of Swedes and assessed my sun kissed situation.

It wasn’t as bad as I expected and I was optimistic that the next 10 days on the Camino de Santiago would be pain-free – as promised bt my guide book (even if I did start to lose my mind instead).