May 30. Day 18. Walked 112 km (70 miles) since my last blog. Walked 458 of 771 km (285 of 479 miles) total.
I took a much needed rest day yesterday and did not walk at all. When I arrived in El Burgo Ranero two days ago, I was spent. I had been experiencing some mild stomach upset all day, the blisters on my left foot were really bothering me, and my hip was acting up off and on. Many people take rest days on the Camino, but I had it in my head that I would not need one. However, having hit my halfway mark already, and with the stomach thing as the straw that broke the camel´s back, I decided that a day of rest might help. So when I checked into the Albergue I chose a private room for two nights at 30€ per night. Pretty expensive, but I figured if I was going to take a rest I wanted to be able to sleep well and shower (among other things) privately. It was definitely the right decision. When I got up this morning and started walking again, I felt (almost) like a new person. My blisters no longer bothered me, my hip was fine, and my stomach issues were all but gone.
It occurred to me as I have read some of my past blogs that I might be focusing a bit too much on my physical challenges and not talking enough about the really incredible experience I am having. Everyone on the camino has some physical challenge or another and mine have really been comparatively minor. But it is hard to really explain what 6 plus hours per day walking alone and thinking is like. I guess I haven´t really gone there too much, because I am at a bit of a loss for words on how to describe it. The morning hours are really the best and most pure. From about 6:30 to 9:30 I am often able to cover close to 15km and it usually goes by very quickly. Sometimes it is like dreaming... I know I was thinking about something, but when I look back I can´t remember exactly what. Other times I remember very vividly what I was thinking about. I have not had any great revelations or spiritual experiences, as many people who walk the camino have. However, I have enjoyed the time alone without distractions (e.g. tv) to really think for maybe the first time in my life.
Talia asked me recently if this was a fun trip. The answer is somewhat nuanced. I would not necessarily use the word fun to describe this experience. I think playing tennis and going to the movies are fun. This experience has been very enjoyable. I thoroughly enjoy the walking. I have had great moments of community and warmth in the evenings with new friends that I seem to make almost daily. And I would definitely do this again and recommend it highly to anyone to whom the idea of it holds even the slightest appeal. I am also getting a great sense of accomplishment as I get closer and closer to my goal. I have no doubt now that I will walk to Santiago and that gives me a great feeling. However I do admit that since I now know that I can do it, I also feel that it must not be all that huge of an accomplishment. And I am starting to think I need to set my sights higher... maybe the Colorado Trail or the AT. To be honest, I was hoping to rid myself of some this circular and ridiculous "never good enough" thinking. But hey, I still have two more weeks!
I had intended for today´s blog to be mostly about my daily routine because (a) I think it might be somewhat entertaining for people who know me and (b) I think it will be a good way to help me remember this experience when I have returned home and have ready access to a washer/dryer again. But I am getting a little tired of writing, so it will have to wait until next time...
Buen Camino!!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
May 26. Day 14. Walked 108.4 km (67.35 miles) since my last blog. Walked 345.2 of 787 km (214.5 of 489 miles) total.
It has been a few days since my last blog. I started to get concerned that the walk was starting to be more about the blog, than the blog was about the walk, so I decided that I will blog when I feel the urge, or when something blogworthy happens. Today, both were true!
I started today in Boadilla del Camino and am writing this from Carrion de los Condes after a 26.1km (16.2) mile walk today. For the last two nights I have stayed in two really nice albergues. Both had a great community feel and served community dinners. Last night especially, there were people out in the courtyard for hours drinking wine, talking and singing. It had such a nice feeling. As many of us are going at approximately the same pace, I see many of the same faces night after night. I have become friends with one man (Nikos) in particular. Nikos is from Greece, but lives mainly in Germany now. This is his fourth time walking the Camino, and he has basically decided to make it his life. He has started a business in which he walks the Camino with clients who do not want to walk it alone. Since he knows the Camino so well, he is a great resource. Tonight he is staying in a different albergue from me, but I ran into him in a cafe and he invited me to come to his albergue tonight where he is making dinner for 6 or 7 other walkers (I can´t write pilgrims with a straight face, though that is what people call each other out here!).
Today was a very memorable day for me. I did not get a lot of sleep last night, and as usually happens when I don´t sleep, I was dragging a bit -- especially by the end of the day. I reached a town called Villacazar de Sirga at about noon and had to decide whether to go another 6 km to my real destination for the day, or stop there for the night. As I said, I was dragging more than usual and had already walked 20km, but I also felt it was important for me to reach Carrion tonight, because just past Carrion is a 17.5 km (10.9 mi) stretch with almost no facilities (including water and food). It is the longest such stretch on the Camino and I felt it was important to start it first thing in the morning, when I would be fresh. Just ahead of me I saw what looked to be about 100 school students starting to walk on the camino. As I caught up to them, a few of them started asking me questions. When they found out that I was from the US and that I did not speak Spanish, they were fascinated. They were completely surrounding me as we walked together, practicing their English (which was pretty good, actually!) by peppering me with questions like, "What is your favorite animal?" I felt a bit like the Pied Piper as the kids were laughing, singing, asking me questions, and trying to teach me a little Spanish. Every time I would get something right, one of the girls would yell "very good!", and they especially loved it when I was able to pronounce a new word correctly, rolling r and all. The 6km walking with them went more quickly than any 6km I have walked to date, and I soon found myself in Carrrion yelling "Adios" to my new little friends, and wishing I had 6km more to walk with them. What a great day... definitely blog worthy!
Quick update on my health... my hip still bothers me sometimes but I have found that if I take a break when it starts to hurt, I can usually avoid the kind of pain that makes me feel I have to stop. So I would say that while it is not completely behind me, I am more and more confident that it won´t be a huge issue going forward (knock on wood!). As for the nearly foot sized blister on my left foot, well, that is another story completely. While it does not stop me from walking, or even slow me down much at all, it is a constant reminder that I am in the process of walking 500 miles. By the way -- tomorrow marks the half-way point... right on schedule!
Buen Camino...
It has been a few days since my last blog. I started to get concerned that the walk was starting to be more about the blog, than the blog was about the walk, so I decided that I will blog when I feel the urge, or when something blogworthy happens. Today, both were true!
I started today in Boadilla del Camino and am writing this from Carrion de los Condes after a 26.1km (16.2) mile walk today. For the last two nights I have stayed in two really nice albergues. Both had a great community feel and served community dinners. Last night especially, there were people out in the courtyard for hours drinking wine, talking and singing. It had such a nice feeling. As many of us are going at approximately the same pace, I see many of the same faces night after night. I have become friends with one man (Nikos) in particular. Nikos is from Greece, but lives mainly in Germany now. This is his fourth time walking the Camino, and he has basically decided to make it his life. He has started a business in which he walks the Camino with clients who do not want to walk it alone. Since he knows the Camino so well, he is a great resource. Tonight he is staying in a different albergue from me, but I ran into him in a cafe and he invited me to come to his albergue tonight where he is making dinner for 6 or 7 other walkers (I can´t write pilgrims with a straight face, though that is what people call each other out here!).
Today was a very memorable day for me. I did not get a lot of sleep last night, and as usually happens when I don´t sleep, I was dragging a bit -- especially by the end of the day. I reached a town called Villacazar de Sirga at about noon and had to decide whether to go another 6 km to my real destination for the day, or stop there for the night. As I said, I was dragging more than usual and had already walked 20km, but I also felt it was important for me to reach Carrion tonight, because just past Carrion is a 17.5 km (10.9 mi) stretch with almost no facilities (including water and food). It is the longest such stretch on the Camino and I felt it was important to start it first thing in the morning, when I would be fresh. Just ahead of me I saw what looked to be about 100 school students starting to walk on the camino. As I caught up to them, a few of them started asking me questions. When they found out that I was from the US and that I did not speak Spanish, they were fascinated. They were completely surrounding me as we walked together, practicing their English (which was pretty good, actually!) by peppering me with questions like, "What is your favorite animal?" I felt a bit like the Pied Piper as the kids were laughing, singing, asking me questions, and trying to teach me a little Spanish. Every time I would get something right, one of the girls would yell "very good!", and they especially loved it when I was able to pronounce a new word correctly, rolling r and all. The 6km walking with them went more quickly than any 6km I have walked to date, and I soon found myself in Carrrion yelling "Adios" to my new little friends, and wishing I had 6km more to walk with them. What a great day... definitely blog worthy!
Quick update on my health... my hip still bothers me sometimes but I have found that if I take a break when it starts to hurt, I can usually avoid the kind of pain that makes me feel I have to stop. So I would say that while it is not completely behind me, I am more and more confident that it won´t be a huge issue going forward (knock on wood!). As for the nearly foot sized blister on my left foot, well, that is another story completely. While it does not stop me from walking, or even slow me down much at all, it is a constant reminder that I am in the process of walking 500 miles. By the way -- tomorrow marks the half-way point... right on schedule!
Buen Camino...
Monday, May 24, 2010
Taking a blog break
All - I am taking a little break from blogging. But everything is going well on the Camino!!
- Posted from my iPhone
- Posted from my iPhone
Saturday, May 22, 2010
May 22. 4:00 PM. Day 10. Walked 12.2 km (7.6) miles) today. Walked 236.8 of 787 km (149.1 of 478 miles) total.
Today was a scary day. As you can see, I walked less today by far than on any other day. And I felt every single step. For those of you who are reading along with me every day, you may remember that on day two I felt some pain in my right hip. But I kept walking and eventually the pain went away. Well, today I felt the same pain, but this time I could not walk through it. It was very painful and I am guessing that I walked at about half of my normal pace. The good news is that I am still a little ahead of my 32 day plan, because I had made some great gains over the last few days. However, the bad news is that, for the first time, I have had to think about the possibility that I might not be able to complete this. I am definitely not near that point yet, but it was quite disheartening to even entertain the thought.
In addition to the physical pain, or maybe because of it, I dont know, I found myself very homesick last night and today. I miss my kids terribly, more than I really expected to (and I expected to miss them a lot!). It occurred to me that I have already been gone for over a week, and I still have more than four left. I have never been away from them for this long and I would give anything to hug them right now.
It is a shame that I was feeling this way today, because the walk today was actually quite spectacular. It was the biggest climb of the walk so far (hopefully that had something to do with my hip pain, though truthfully it started in earnest last night) and the bulk of it was on a mountain road/path. There was literally not one cloud in the sky all day, and the sky was a deep blue color that I have rarely seen. Because of my physical discomfort, I stopped more frequently than usual. At one point I found a bench, laid down for about 45 minutes, and listened to And Then There Were Three (Genesis), one of my all time favorite albums. It was very relaxing and I might have even drifted off for a few minutes.
Right now I am in a little town called Ages, which is about 4km past the book's scheduled stopping point for today, which was San Juan de Ortega. As my hip started hurting more and more, I decided that I would have to stop in San Juan de Ortega, and in fact I did stop there and had lunch. However, thinking that the albergue was still a bit down the road, I put on my pack and continued walking. I had gone maybe 500 yards when I saw someone walking the other way. He told me that the albergue was actually in the church where I had just been, and he was walking back there. With as much pain as I was in, I could not bring myself to walk backwards even 500 yards. There is just no way... I already walked that 500 yards... I am NOT doing it again!! So, I decided to push on and walk the extra 4km (about 2.5 miles), just so I would not have to backtrack 500 yards. How is that for stubborn??!
One last thing before I go. Last night I stayed in a beautiful albergue. There was a man and a woman there who I thought were boyfriend and girlfriend. It turns out that he is 37 and she is 14. I figured them both for their mid twenties. I think I am losing it! Anyway, their story is pretty amazing. As a preface, I should tell you that the route I am walking is one of many Caminos de Santiago. There are many routes all through Europe. The one I am walking is the most popular and most heavily traveled. So, back to my story, these people I met had already walked the Camino from Sevilla to Santiago (1,000km) and were now walking my Camino backwards from Santiago to St. Jean (another 800km). They were only 10 days from their destination and had already been walking for three months! He works for an association in France that takes juveniles who have gotten in trouble and sends them on a three month walk rather than send them to jail. How is that for cool? I was just so impressed by both of them. I wish that I could have talked to her, but she did not speak English. He was incredible though. It made my night!
Guess what?? I just SAW my kids. This computer has Skype and they figured out how to Skype from Talia's laptop. I could see and talk to them as if they were here. What great timing... I really needed that!
Until tomorrow...
Today was a scary day. As you can see, I walked less today by far than on any other day. And I felt every single step. For those of you who are reading along with me every day, you may remember that on day two I felt some pain in my right hip. But I kept walking and eventually the pain went away. Well, today I felt the same pain, but this time I could not walk through it. It was very painful and I am guessing that I walked at about half of my normal pace. The good news is that I am still a little ahead of my 32 day plan, because I had made some great gains over the last few days. However, the bad news is that, for the first time, I have had to think about the possibility that I might not be able to complete this. I am definitely not near that point yet, but it was quite disheartening to even entertain the thought.
In addition to the physical pain, or maybe because of it, I dont know, I found myself very homesick last night and today. I miss my kids terribly, more than I really expected to (and I expected to miss them a lot!). It occurred to me that I have already been gone for over a week, and I still have more than four left. I have never been away from them for this long and I would give anything to hug them right now.
It is a shame that I was feeling this way today, because the walk today was actually quite spectacular. It was the biggest climb of the walk so far (hopefully that had something to do with my hip pain, though truthfully it started in earnest last night) and the bulk of it was on a mountain road/path. There was literally not one cloud in the sky all day, and the sky was a deep blue color that I have rarely seen. Because of my physical discomfort, I stopped more frequently than usual. At one point I found a bench, laid down for about 45 minutes, and listened to And Then There Were Three (Genesis), one of my all time favorite albums. It was very relaxing and I might have even drifted off for a few minutes.
Right now I am in a little town called Ages, which is about 4km past the book's scheduled stopping point for today, which was San Juan de Ortega. As my hip started hurting more and more, I decided that I would have to stop in San Juan de Ortega, and in fact I did stop there and had lunch. However, thinking that the albergue was still a bit down the road, I put on my pack and continued walking. I had gone maybe 500 yards when I saw someone walking the other way. He told me that the albergue was actually in the church where I had just been, and he was walking back there. With as much pain as I was in, I could not bring myself to walk backwards even 500 yards. There is just no way... I already walked that 500 yards... I am NOT doing it again!! So, I decided to push on and walk the extra 4km (about 2.5 miles), just so I would not have to backtrack 500 yards. How is that for stubborn??!
One last thing before I go. Last night I stayed in a beautiful albergue. There was a man and a woman there who I thought were boyfriend and girlfriend. It turns out that he is 37 and she is 14. I figured them both for their mid twenties. I think I am losing it! Anyway, their story is pretty amazing. As a preface, I should tell you that the route I am walking is one of many Caminos de Santiago. There are many routes all through Europe. The one I am walking is the most popular and most heavily traveled. So, back to my story, these people I met had already walked the Camino from Sevilla to Santiago (1,000km) and were now walking my Camino backwards from Santiago to St. Jean (another 800km). They were only 10 days from their destination and had already been walking for three months! He works for an association in France that takes juveniles who have gotten in trouble and sends them on a three month walk rather than send them to jail. How is that for cool? I was just so impressed by both of them. I wish that I could have talked to her, but she did not speak English. He was incredible though. It made my night!
Guess what?? I just SAW my kids. This computer has Skype and they figured out how to Skype from Talia's laptop. I could see and talk to them as if they were here. What great timing... I really needed that!
Until tomorrow...
Friday, May 21, 2010
May 21. 3:00 PM. Day 9. Walked 24.8 km (15.4) miles) today. Walked 224.6 of 787 km (139.5 of 478 miles) total.
Before I left Colorado I bought a great book called A Pilgrimś Guide to the Camino de Santiago, by John Brierley. It is an excellent book, and I have seen many other pilgrims carrying it as well. He breaks the walk into 33 stages (each stage is one day), and for each stage he describes the walk itself, the churches and other notable things to see, the albergues along with brief descriptions, plus other information about the towns, etc... It has been a fantastic resource and probably one of the things I am most afraid of losing!
As you may remember from yesterdayś entry, I went 11km farther than he suggested for that stage, so I ended yesterday in the middle of todayś stage. This was somewhat intentional, as I thought it might reduce the "traffic". Well, mission accomplished. For the entire 15 mile walk today, I saw probably 5 other walkers. It was almost spooky, but this is what I imagined the walk to be like when I first thought about doing this, so it feels quite good in a lot of ways. We shall see if it holds up or if today was just an anomoly.
Before I tell you about the incredible place in which I am staying tonight, I would be remiss if I did not share a little story from last night. After finishing my blog entry, I ate dinner early (6:00, which is very early to eat here!) so that I could be in bed as early as possible. By 6:30, I was climbing into my sleeping bed on the top bunk. There was a man in the bunk beneath me already asleep and a woman in the bottom bunk across from us, also already asleep. After about 10 minutes or so I was drifting off pretty nicely, when I felt the bed begin to move -- quite rhythmically. I immediately started praying that this was an earthquake, but alas, it was not. I just layed there in shock, coughing as loud as I could, wondering whether I should be laughing or throwing up (these were not attractive people and I found out later that they were most likely people who walk up and down the camino all year looking for cheap places to sleep, among other things), and thinking "hello!! (hola!!), you are not alone." Thankfully, Mr. Romance did not take long and she was soon back in her own bed. And, believe it or not, I was asleep again soon after. Mom and dad -- do you remember my Italian train story from 1986??
Now, a quick note for Talia and Zach, in case they are reading this: When a mommy pilgrim and a daddy pilgrim love each other very much...
Ok, enough of that. I am now in one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever stayed in in my life. It is in a little town called Villafranca Montes de Oca (population 200). The man who owns the hotel has done the camino a few times and when he built the hotel he added and albergue in the back. It is gorgeous. The hotel was only built last year, so it is not listed yet in many of the guide books; but it is in mine. And when I read about it, I planned my route specifically so I could be here. It has completely exceeded my expectations. Not only is it spectacularly beautiful, but since no one knows about it, there are only 2 other pilgrims here so far. The shower was incredible and the room is perfectly cool and comfortable. All this for... are you ready... 8€. I am in pilgrim heaven!
Until tomorrow...
Before I left Colorado I bought a great book called A Pilgrimś Guide to the Camino de Santiago, by John Brierley. It is an excellent book, and I have seen many other pilgrims carrying it as well. He breaks the walk into 33 stages (each stage is one day), and for each stage he describes the walk itself, the churches and other notable things to see, the albergues along with brief descriptions, plus other information about the towns, etc... It has been a fantastic resource and probably one of the things I am most afraid of losing!
As you may remember from yesterdayś entry, I went 11km farther than he suggested for that stage, so I ended yesterday in the middle of todayś stage. This was somewhat intentional, as I thought it might reduce the "traffic". Well, mission accomplished. For the entire 15 mile walk today, I saw probably 5 other walkers. It was almost spooky, but this is what I imagined the walk to be like when I first thought about doing this, so it feels quite good in a lot of ways. We shall see if it holds up or if today was just an anomoly.
Before I tell you about the incredible place in which I am staying tonight, I would be remiss if I did not share a little story from last night. After finishing my blog entry, I ate dinner early (6:00, which is very early to eat here!) so that I could be in bed as early as possible. By 6:30, I was climbing into my sleeping bed on the top bunk. There was a man in the bunk beneath me already asleep and a woman in the bottom bunk across from us, also already asleep. After about 10 minutes or so I was drifting off pretty nicely, when I felt the bed begin to move -- quite rhythmically. I immediately started praying that this was an earthquake, but alas, it was not. I just layed there in shock, coughing as loud as I could, wondering whether I should be laughing or throwing up (these were not attractive people and I found out later that they were most likely people who walk up and down the camino all year looking for cheap places to sleep, among other things), and thinking "hello!! (hola!!), you are not alone." Thankfully, Mr. Romance did not take long and she was soon back in her own bed. And, believe it or not, I was asleep again soon after. Mom and dad -- do you remember my Italian train story from 1986??
Now, a quick note for Talia and Zach, in case they are reading this: When a mommy pilgrim and a daddy pilgrim love each other very much...
Ok, enough of that. I am now in one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever stayed in in my life. It is in a little town called Villafranca Montes de Oca (population 200). The man who owns the hotel has done the camino a few times and when he built the hotel he added and albergue in the back. It is gorgeous. The hotel was only built last year, so it is not listed yet in many of the guide books; but it is in mine. And when I read about it, I planned my route specifically so I could be here. It has completely exceeded my expectations. Not only is it spectacularly beautiful, but since no one knows about it, there are only 2 other pilgrims here so far. The shower was incredible and the room is perfectly cool and comfortable. All this for... are you ready... 8€. I am in pilgrim heaven!
Until tomorrow...
Thursday, May 20, 2010
For those doing the math, I am now 25% of the way through. Not that I am focusing on the end or anything, but, well, I am 25% through!
Today´s destination was supposed to be Santo Domingo, but I was on the road by 6:30 and arrived there at 11:30. I was still feeling pretty good, and rather than try to find things to do in this fairly small town, I decided to press on. I walked an additional 11km (6.8mi) and found a nice albergue in this very beautiful little town. After a freezing cold shower, I washed my clothes and found a computer. This is starting to be my routine for most days, and I have to say I like it.
My body is holding up pretty well. The only real issues I have are the one blister, which has only gotten worse, and some general foot pain that I imagine is to be expected. Still in all, I seem to be in as good or better shape than many of my fellow walkers. I met a group of young men (kids, if you ask me!!) today and one of the them is going home tomorrow because of an achilles problem. I have to be careful not to get cocky though, because at this point injury is the only thing that could stop me from finishing this. I am totally committed and still having a great time.
I had what appeared to be a very interesting conversation with a local man in one of the towns I stopped in today. It went something like this...
Me: "No hablo Ingles, pero donde esta el albergue" (which means, "I don´t speak Spanish, but where is the albergue." I start every sentence off this way just to avoid, well, to avoid this:)
Him: El albergue es proximo a la iglesia ("the albergue is next to the church". This I understood!).
Then, after a thoughtful pause, he launched into about 30 seconds of extremely fast spanish, not one word of which I understood (because, as I thought I had made clear, I do not speak Spanish).
Me (Smiling): No hablo espanol. Solo Ingles. (I don´t speak Spanish. Only English)
Him: Ahhh... Ingles. Si. Si.
Me (Still smiling as if posing for a passport photo): Si
I have to say he looked quite satisfied, and I am pretty sure I resolved something for him. So I have that going for me.
Until tomorrow...
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
May 19. 6:00 PM. Day 7. Walked 29.4 km (18.3 miles) today. Walked 167.8 of 787 km (104.3 of 478 miles) total.
Whew! Today was a long and hot one. I started late this morning as I was luxuriating in my hotel room. After a shower and breakfast, I did not get moving until about 9:00 am. Considering that I had over 18 miles to walk today, that was very late. After walking for about an hour and a half, I came upon Grant, Bryan, Sara and Chris. They were stopping at a cafe so I stopped with them and had an early lunch. We stayed there for 30 or 45 minutes and the I started again alone.
Much of the morning I walked through the suburbs of Lagrona next to fairly major roads. It was not the highlight of the trip! However, by the afternoon, the road turned to paths and became beautiful once again. My pushishment for the late start was walking through the heat in the afternoon. I think I have learned a bit of a lesson. As it is getting hotter, it is more important to be walking early.
I arrived in Najera at about 4:00 this afternoon, very tired! The albergue here is one big room with three rows of bunk beds. Every two sets of bunk beds are pushed together, which essentially means I am sharing a bed with a stranger. My bed neighbor is from Germany and seems very nice. We will see if she is as nice in the morning after spending the night with the famous American snorer.
Good news... I am able to upload photos here and am doing so now. You can see them all at
Talia and Zach -- are you paying attention to the blog? Post a comment or send me an e-mail and tell me the name of the person that I started my walk with!
Until tomorrow...
Whew! Today was a long and hot one. I started late this morning as I was luxuriating in my hotel room. After a shower and breakfast, I did not get moving until about 9:00 am. Considering that I had over 18 miles to walk today, that was very late. After walking for about an hour and a half, I came upon Grant, Bryan, Sara and Chris. They were stopping at a cafe so I stopped with them and had an early lunch. We stayed there for 30 or 45 minutes and the I started again alone.
Much of the morning I walked through the suburbs of Lagrona next to fairly major roads. It was not the highlight of the trip! However, by the afternoon, the road turned to paths and became beautiful once again. My pushishment for the late start was walking through the heat in the afternoon. I think I have learned a bit of a lesson. As it is getting hotter, it is more important to be walking early.
Good news... I am able to upload photos here and am doing so now. You can see them all at
Talia and Zach -- are you paying attention to the blog? Post a comment or send me an e-mail and tell me the name of the person that I started my walk with!
Until tomorrow...
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Today was the longest day so far. However, I am totally back in form and very happy! Last night I paid 10€ for a room in the albergue with only four beds. The bad news is that someone in the room snored very loudly all night. The good news is... it was me and I slept like a (snoring) baby. After eating a pretty quick meal, I went to sleep at 6:30 and slept almost straight through the night until 6:30 this morning. I did not realize how tired I had been until I started walking this morning and felt fantastic. The extra hours of sleep really helped, and the 7:30 dinners / 11:00 bedtimes are now officially history. As I write this it is almost 8:00 and I am am feeling the need to hurry so that I can get to bed quickly.
Why am I writing so late you ask? I arrived in Logrono at about 4:00 and decided to treat myself to a hotel room. Logrono is a fairly big city and I thought that (a) they will have decent hotels here and (b) the big city albergues are generally hot, crowded, and filled with inconsiderate snorers (don´t you just hate them??!!). Upon entering the city, I found a pilgrim information office (no joke!) and asked the man there where a good hotel was. He recommended a place in the newer part of town where he said it was very nice but not too expensive. I asked him how far away it was, and without a twinge of irony or humor in his voice, he said: ït is walking distance from here.¨ You can´t make this stuff up folks!
The hotel is OK (nothing fabulous) but it did have free wifi in the lobby and -- are you sitting down? -- a bathtub in the room! So, after making a few skype calls from the lobby, I went upstairs, peeled off my clothes, and took a very appreciated hot bath.
I should tell you a little about the walk today. Like I said, it started out fabulously. I felt great and had a pep in my step that had been somewhat rare for a couple days. I was feeling great mentally as well and was back to flying by most walkers. At one point I passed an older german couple (they are probaly in their 60´s or maybe 70´s!) who recognized me and yelled ¨Coloradö!¨ I turned and smiled and they exclaimed ¨jannakosh¨ and looked at me as if I should absolutely understand them. ¨Jannakosh from Colorado¨they insisted. After a few more times I finally understood and said, ¨No, I don´t think Jonny Cash was from Colorado!¨
After walking about 19km (12mi) I arrived in Viana at around 1:00. On previous days, this would have been the end of the walk. However, today´s destination was still another 9km (5.5mi) away. I stopped in a grocery and bought some bread, salami and cheese, and made myself a great lunch. And at about 1:45 I set off again for Logrona. Today was the first hot day since I got here, and I think that many of the other walkers must have stayed in Viana, because for the first time since I started this walk, I did not see anyone else for the entire rest of the afternoon. At one point it was actually a bit scary, as I walked through a not so wonderful looking neighborhood and it occured to me that I was basically a sitting duck for anyone who wanted to make trouble. However, my fears were completely unfounded, and I made it to Logrona with no incidents.
So, where is Pablo you ask? The answer is, I don´t know! Remember I told you that I ALMOST slept through the night last night? Well, at about 10:30 I was woken up by a loud crash. Pablo had apparently decided that he couldn´t sleep and was getting down from the bunk above me when he accidently stepped on a wooden chair that was right by my head and came crashing down onto the floor. I jumped about a foot and looked down at him laying on the floor (it was dark, but I am pretty sure he was still sweating!). He looked up at me sheepishly and said ¨sorry Jon.¨ When I awoke this morning, there was a note that started ¨Dear Jonh¨, and went on to explain that he could not sleep and, though he did not know where he was going, he had decided to leave the alburgue. It was 10:30 pm. I have absolutely no idea where he could have gone or what he was thinking. However, I have no doubt that he will appear again when the camino decides the time is right.
Until tomorrow...
Monday, May 17, 2010
May 17. 3:00 PM. Day 5. Walked 21.1 km (13.1 miles) today. Walked 110.3 of 787 km (68.5 of 478 miles) total.
Today, as all days seem to be, was quite a day on the Camino. It was an exceptionally beautiful walk (I wish I could upload pictures -- hopefully soon!!), especially the last few kilometers as we walked through beautiful green fields directly towards the mountains. As beautiful as the walk was, I struggled quite a bit this morning. The first few days had been relatively easy and mostly pain free for me, and I think I was getting a bit overconfident. This morning, right from the beginning, I was thinking about how tired I was. I realized a little bit into the walk that a big part of the problem is that I may not be sleeping enough. I went to sleep after 10:00 last night, and was up at 5:30. Early starts are definitely key to success out here, so I really need to start going to sleep earlier. In fact, it is a struggle right now just to keep my eyes open while typing this.
Having said all that, I did get a second wind with about 5 km to go this afternoon and was feeling great as I walked into Los Arcos, our destination for today. And there were definitely some great moments today as well. It started with a stop right outside of Estella this morning at a free ¨wine fountain.¨ Much of the walk today was through vineyards, and outside of Estella there is a wine fountain from which you can fill a container with free wine. Many people use the shells that we carry (the shell is the symbol of the camino and we all have one attached to our backpacks)to drink the wine. I started the walk this morning with Bryan (Irish), Sara (Swedish), Grant (Australian) and Ricardo (Mexican), all of whom I ate dinner and slept with last night. We stopped at the wine fountain and were there for a few minutes when all of a sudden... ¨Hola Pablo!¨ Pablo came limping into the fountain area (he hurt his ankle a few days ago and has been hobbling quite a bit since)and filled his water bottle with wine. We all talked there for a while and then started walking again. As usual, I walked ahead of the group and after about an hour I came to a little shop that was selling food and drinks. I stopped there and had two of the best ham and cheese sandwiches (kosher for camino) of my life. As I was finishing the first sandwich, Grant, Brian, Ricardo and Sarah came in and ordered some food as well. We were having a nice rest and chat when in walks Pablo and everyone turned and said in unison -- ¨Hola Pablo!¨ It was at that moment that I realized I was walking across Spain with Norm from Cheers. Pablo was in rare form and showed me his now empty water bottle. ¨My ankle no more hurt!!¨ he exclaimed. As we started walking out of the town and I began pulling away from the group, Pablo said ¨Jon is my best friend in the world!!¨ I didn´t have any, but I am pretty confident that that was pretty damn good wine!
If Pablo is Norm, Grant is Cliff Claven. He is a very nice guy (as literally everyone I have met has been), and I have spent the last three nights with him and the others from that group. Grant is experiencing the Camino moment by moment. I told him recently that, if I have time, I might like to continue walking past Santiago to the beach in Finnesterre (three days walk from Santiago), and he scolded me for planning too far ahead and not living just in the moment. The first day we walked together he explained to me that, at that moment, he was experiencing the camino by noticing the contact of his foot with the road on each step. Last night at dinner he told me that the Camino gives us what it gives us. I am pretty sure that is deep, though I don´t have any idea what it means. Maybe soon the Camino will explain it to me through my shoes.
I arrived in Los Arcos a couple hours ago and found a great little Albergue. The room I have has only four beds in it. One of beds was taken by a German guy with whom I had already spoken a few times, and another was taken by a Japanese woman whom I had seen but never spoken to. There was one bed still open as I was preparing to walk down to post today´s blog. Can you see where this is going? Just as I was gathering my things together... ¨Hola Pablo!!¨ The camino, as is the world, is small my friends; and it gives you what it gives you.
Until tomorrow...
Today, as all days seem to be, was quite a day on the Camino. It was an exceptionally beautiful walk (I wish I could upload pictures -- hopefully soon!!), especially the last few kilometers as we walked through beautiful green fields directly towards the mountains. As beautiful as the walk was, I struggled quite a bit this morning. The first few days had been relatively easy and mostly pain free for me, and I think I was getting a bit overconfident. This morning, right from the beginning, I was thinking about how tired I was. I realized a little bit into the walk that a big part of the problem is that I may not be sleeping enough. I went to sleep after 10:00 last night, and was up at 5:30. Early starts are definitely key to success out here, so I really need to start going to sleep earlier. In fact, it is a struggle right now just to keep my eyes open while typing this.
Having said all that, I did get a second wind with about 5 km to go this afternoon and was feeling great as I walked into Los Arcos, our destination for today. And there were definitely some great moments today as well. It started with a stop right outside of Estella this morning at a free ¨wine fountain.¨ Much of the walk today was through vineyards, and outside of Estella there is a wine fountain from which you can fill a container with free wine. Many people use the shells that we carry (the shell is the symbol of the camino and we all have one attached to our backpacks)to drink the wine. I started the walk this morning with Bryan (Irish), Sara (Swedish), Grant (Australian) and Ricardo (Mexican), all of whom I ate dinner and slept with last night. We stopped at the wine fountain and were there for a few minutes when all of a sudden... ¨Hola Pablo!¨ Pablo came limping into the fountain area (he hurt his ankle a few days ago and has been hobbling quite a bit since)and filled his water bottle with wine. We all talked there for a while and then started walking again. As usual, I walked ahead of the group and after about an hour I came to a little shop that was selling food and drinks. I stopped there and had two of the best ham and cheese sandwiches (kosher for camino) of my life. As I was finishing the first sandwich, Grant, Brian, Ricardo and Sarah came in and ordered some food as well. We were having a nice rest and chat when in walks Pablo and everyone turned and said in unison -- ¨Hola Pablo!¨ It was at that moment that I realized I was walking across Spain with Norm from Cheers. Pablo was in rare form and showed me his now empty water bottle. ¨My ankle no more hurt!!¨ he exclaimed. As we started walking out of the town and I began pulling away from the group, Pablo said ¨Jon is my best friend in the world!!¨ I didn´t have any, but I am pretty confident that that was pretty damn good wine!
If Pablo is Norm, Grant is Cliff Claven. He is a very nice guy (as literally everyone I have met has been), and I have spent the last three nights with him and the others from that group. Grant is experiencing the Camino moment by moment. I told him recently that, if I have time, I might like to continue walking past Santiago to the beach in Finnesterre (three days walk from Santiago), and he scolded me for planning too far ahead and not living just in the moment. The first day we walked together he explained to me that, at that moment, he was experiencing the camino by noticing the contact of his foot with the road on each step. Last night at dinner he told me that the Camino gives us what it gives us. I am pretty sure that is deep, though I don´t have any idea what it means. Maybe soon the Camino will explain it to me through my shoes.
I arrived in Los Arcos a couple hours ago and found a great little Albergue. The room I have has only four beds in it. One of beds was taken by a German guy with whom I had already spoken a few times, and another was taken by a Japanese woman whom I had seen but never spoken to. There was one bed still open as I was preparing to walk down to post today´s blog. Can you see where this is going? Just as I was gathering my things together... ¨Hola Pablo!!¨ The camino, as is the world, is small my friends; and it gives you what it gives you.
Until tomorrow...
Sunday, May 16, 2010
May 16. 4:00 PM. Day 4 (Blister 1): Walked 21.9 km (13.6 miles) today. Walked 89.2 of 787 km (55.4 of 478 miles) total.
By my math, I have now crossed the 10% mark with regard to miles. Not bad!! I should start by saying that I am writing this blog on my iPhone today, because Spain closes on Sunday. So after walking around the entire city of Estella looking for an Internet cafe / piano bar, I gave up and found a place to sit and write.
When I last left you I had just checked into a beautiful private albergue in Puente La Reina. I stayed there in what ended up being a semi-private room for the seven of us. We arrived at the albergue early and had a lot of time to kill, which we used to shower, do laundry and (for me) make some skype phone calls. We then went out for a few drinks, and then dinner. We ended up doing quite a bit of walking from place to place, and I made the mistake of wearing my "comfortable" shoes -- crocs. So, after walking nearly 50 blister free miles, I arrived back at the albergue after dinner with a very nice one developing on my left foot. It has now grown in both size and importance, so much so that I am considering naming it. I am open to suggestions, but I think "Pablo" has got to be near the top of the list.
Speaking of Pablo... I started this morning walking on my own but after a few km I saw a familiar figure walking ahead of me. I caught him pretty quickly and yelled my now familiar call of "Hola Pablo!!". The first thing I noticed was that he was sweating as if in mid-heart attack. It was literally beading off of his neck and dripping into his shirt (mind you it was about 8 am and 45 degrees or so). I noticed tha he was wearing the same 20 pound camouflage pants that he always wears. To understand why I find this funny you need to understand that I started packing for this trip in February. I must have spent 10 hours at REI, many of those looking at 15 different "candidate pants." I finally selected the perfect mix of light weight, quick drying pants whose bottoms zip off to make shorts. I bought two of them. They are perfect. Compare this with Pablo who, by the look of it, managed to find the heaviest pants in Spain -- when they are dry. I don't even want to think about what they must be like wet (it has rained every day since we got here. Thankfully I have my super light weight rain pants to go over my quick dry zipper pants lest I experience a milisecond of discomfort!). So Pablo and I take start walking and talking. I have not now, nor did I have then, any idea what we were talking about. In fact, I am pretty sure we were having two completely different and unrelated conversations. I really just said whatever random thought entered my mind whenever I noticed that he had stopped talking. He did not seem to notice and just kept talking and sweating happily for a few km (can elbows sweat??!). However, this does lead me to my Pablo Adorable Of The Day. We were approaching a tunnel and there was some graffiti on the wall. It was a Star of David with an Equal Sign and then a Swastika. It was more than a little disturbing and Pablo noticed me looking at it, so he patted me comfortingly on the shoulder and said "no worry Jon. There ees no Nayzzeees in Spain."
I did the rest of the walk alone and it was another beautiful one. Even with the blister, I enjoyed every step, and collapsed happily in a beautiful park upon arriving in Estella at around 1:30. I took off my shoes, laid in the sun, and ate some bread I had left over from lunch. After about 45 minutes there must have been 7 or 8 other barefoot pilgrims also laying there. It is really quite a nice feeling to be both alone and part of such a close community all at the same time. As I began to put on my shoes to find a place to stay for the night, I heard some squishing behind me, looked up and... say it with me... "Hola Pablo!!" we found a nice Albergue for the night and I then went on my hour long internet search. And that pretty much brings us up to speed. It is off to find some dinner for me now. So,
Until tomorrow...
- Posted from my iPhone
By my math, I have now crossed the 10% mark with regard to miles. Not bad!! I should start by saying that I am writing this blog on my iPhone today, because Spain closes on Sunday. So after walking around the entire city of Estella looking for an Internet cafe / piano bar, I gave up and found a place to sit and write.
When I last left you I had just checked into a beautiful private albergue in Puente La Reina. I stayed there in what ended up being a semi-private room for the seven of us. We arrived at the albergue early and had a lot of time to kill, which we used to shower, do laundry and (for me) make some skype phone calls. We then went out for a few drinks, and then dinner. We ended up doing quite a bit of walking from place to place, and I made the mistake of wearing my "comfortable" shoes -- crocs. So, after walking nearly 50 blister free miles, I arrived back at the albergue after dinner with a very nice one developing on my left foot. It has now grown in both size and importance, so much so that I am considering naming it. I am open to suggestions, but I think "Pablo" has got to be near the top of the list.
Speaking of Pablo... I started this morning walking on my own but after a few km I saw a familiar figure walking ahead of me. I caught him pretty quickly and yelled my now familiar call of "Hola Pablo!!". The first thing I noticed was that he was sweating as if in mid-heart attack. It was literally beading off of his neck and dripping into his shirt (mind you it was about 8 am and 45 degrees or so). I noticed tha he was wearing the same 20 pound camouflage pants that he always wears. To understand why I find this funny you need to understand that I started packing for this trip in February. I must have spent 10 hours at REI, many of those looking at 15 different "candidate pants." I finally selected the perfect mix of light weight, quick drying pants whose bottoms zip off to make shorts. I bought two of them. They are perfect. Compare this with Pablo who, by the look of it, managed to find the heaviest pants in Spain -- when they are dry. I don't even want to think about what they must be like wet (it has rained every day since we got here. Thankfully I have my super light weight rain pants to go over my quick dry zipper pants lest I experience a milisecond of discomfort!). So Pablo and I take start walking and talking. I have not now, nor did I have then, any idea what we were talking about. In fact, I am pretty sure we were having two completely different and unrelated conversations. I really just said whatever random thought entered my mind whenever I noticed that he had stopped talking. He did not seem to notice and just kept talking and sweating happily for a few km (can elbows sweat??!). However, this does lead me to my Pablo Adorable Of The Day. We were approaching a tunnel and there was some graffiti on the wall. It was a Star of David with an Equal Sign and then a Swastika. It was more than a little disturbing and Pablo noticed me looking at it, so he patted me comfortingly on the shoulder and said "no worry Jon. There ees no Nayzzeees in Spain."
I did the rest of the walk alone and it was another beautiful one. Even with the blister, I enjoyed every step, and collapsed happily in a beautiful park upon arriving in Estella at around 1:30. I took off my shoes, laid in the sun, and ate some bread I had left over from lunch. After about 45 minutes there must have been 7 or 8 other barefoot pilgrims also laying there. It is really quite a nice feeling to be both alone and part of such a close community all at the same time. As I began to put on my shoes to find a place to stay for the night, I heard some squishing behind me, looked up and... say it with me... "Hola Pablo!!" we found a nice Albergue for the night and I then went on my hour long internet search. And that pretty much brings us up to speed. It is off to find some dinner for me now. So,
Until tomorrow...
- Posted from my iPhone
Saturday, May 15, 2010
May 15. 4:00 PM. Day 3: Walked 19.0 km (11.8 miles) today. Walked 67.3km of 787km (41.8 miles of 478 miles) total.
Last night I met 4 fellow walkers in the Albergue -- three men (one from Australia, one from Holland and one from Ireland) and one woman (also from Ireland). They had all met on their first night in Roncesvalles but were very welcoming and invited me to dinner with them. It was great spending time with some English speakers and we had a good conversation at dinner. This morning we all got up and started our walk together. Today´s goal was a 19 km stroll from Cizur Menor to Puente La Reina. It is one of the shorter walks from a distance perspective, but it featured a nice 1000 ft climb in the morning. I should say that much of the camino is relatively flat (this is definitely not the Appalachian Trail), but there are a few elevation changes and this was one of the bigger ones. So I do not want to brag too much, but I had absolutely no problem with the climb today, nor with any other part of the walk, for that matter. I say this only because I seem to be a bit in the minority on that one. No one is having huge problems, but almost everyone is complaining about one ache or another, and all seem to be very glad when the day is over. I also end up walking alone much of the time because (a) I like walking alone better and (b) I like walking quite a bit faster than everyone else. I have to say, I am really impressed with my 45 year old self. I felt great at the end of the day and would have continued farther, except that for logistical reasons it really made more sense to stay in Puente La Reina.
The walk today was another absolutely gorgeous one. The mountains here are really spectacular, though not in the same way as the Colorado mountains. They are much smaller, but they are also all green and we walked through incredibly beautiful wheat fields today. It was quite breathtaking to watch the wind blowing through the green wheat and making fantastic and flowing patterns in the fields. As you can see, I am having difficulty finding words to describe the beauty of the walk itself, and my feelings as I am walking. It is a perfect combination of exertion and reflection. As anyone who knows me knows, I have spent a lifetime hating exercise. Going to the gym is an exercise in counting down until the workout is over. For the first time in my life I am not thinking about how much I hate this or when it will end. Rather, there are times like today when I am disappointed that I have reached the end and will not be able to walk again until tomorrow. I hope this feeling continues (I have to keep reminding myself that this is only day 3 of 32), but for now, I could not be happier with the way this is all going.
When I got to the top of the mountain today, we crossed a mountain pass and there was a man there selling coffe and snacks out of a little truck. I noticed that he had a picture of himself and Martin Sheen displayed on the truck, and I asked him about it. Apparently Mr. Sheen was here some time ago making a film about the Camino. The film is called ¨The Way¨and will be released in July. How is that for timing??! I can´t wait to see it!
We arrived a few hours ago in Puente La Reina and found a beautiful Albergue in which we could get a room with only 8 beds. When we got here we met up with another man and woman that my new friends had met a few days ago, so we basically have a private room for the seven of us. At 10€ each, that is not bad. Plus, since the Albergue has free wifi, I was able to call my kids using Skype... very cool!
I do have some nice pictures from today, and it looks like the pictures from yesterday were not erased as I had previously thought. However, I am having a lot of trouble uploading them to Picasa. Hopefully I will be able to do that soon, or possibly find some other way to post them.
One quick Pablo update... I did see him again on the walk today but we did not end up walking anymore together. One of the great things about this walk is that I keep seeing the same people over and over again.
Thanks to everyone who left comments on the blog. It is quickly becoming a highlight of my day to read your comments, and that is one thing I do look forward to. Another suprise for me is that I am enjoying writing this blog as well, which begs the question... who the hell have I become??
Until tomorrow...
Last night I met 4 fellow walkers in the Albergue -- three men (one from Australia, one from Holland and one from Ireland) and one woman (also from Ireland). They had all met on their first night in Roncesvalles but were very welcoming and invited me to dinner with them. It was great spending time with some English speakers and we had a good conversation at dinner. This morning we all got up and started our walk together. Today´s goal was a 19 km stroll from Cizur Menor to Puente La Reina. It is one of the shorter walks from a distance perspective, but it featured a nice 1000 ft climb in the morning. I should say that much of the camino is relatively flat (this is definitely not the Appalachian Trail), but there are a few elevation changes and this was one of the bigger ones. So I do not want to brag too much, but I had absolutely no problem with the climb today, nor with any other part of the walk, for that matter. I say this only because I seem to be a bit in the minority on that one. No one is having huge problems, but almost everyone is complaining about one ache or another, and all seem to be very glad when the day is over. I also end up walking alone much of the time because (a) I like walking alone better and (b) I like walking quite a bit faster than everyone else. I have to say, I am really impressed with my 45 year old self. I felt great at the end of the day and would have continued farther, except that for logistical reasons it really made more sense to stay in Puente La Reina.
The walk today was another absolutely gorgeous one. The mountains here are really spectacular, though not in the same way as the Colorado mountains. They are much smaller, but they are also all green and we walked through incredibly beautiful wheat fields today. It was quite breathtaking to watch the wind blowing through the green wheat and making fantastic and flowing patterns in the fields. As you can see, I am having difficulty finding words to describe the beauty of the walk itself, and my feelings as I am walking. It is a perfect combination of exertion and reflection. As anyone who knows me knows, I have spent a lifetime hating exercise. Going to the gym is an exercise in counting down until the workout is over. For the first time in my life I am not thinking about how much I hate this or when it will end. Rather, there are times like today when I am disappointed that I have reached the end and will not be able to walk again until tomorrow. I hope this feeling continues (I have to keep reminding myself that this is only day 3 of 32), but for now, I could not be happier with the way this is all going.
When I got to the top of the mountain today, we crossed a mountain pass and there was a man there selling coffe and snacks out of a little truck. I noticed that he had a picture of himself and Martin Sheen displayed on the truck, and I asked him about it. Apparently Mr. Sheen was here some time ago making a film about the Camino. The film is called ¨The Way¨and will be released in July. How is that for timing??! I can´t wait to see it!
We arrived a few hours ago in Puente La Reina and found a beautiful Albergue in which we could get a room with only 8 beds. When we got here we met up with another man and woman that my new friends had met a few days ago, so we basically have a private room for the seven of us. At 10€ each, that is not bad. Plus, since the Albergue has free wifi, I was able to call my kids using Skype... very cool!
I do have some nice pictures from today, and it looks like the pictures from yesterday were not erased as I had previously thought. However, I am having a lot of trouble uploading them to Picasa. Hopefully I will be able to do that soon, or possibly find some other way to post them.
One quick Pablo update... I did see him again on the walk today but we did not end up walking anymore together. One of the great things about this walk is that I keep seeing the same people over and over again.
Thanks to everyone who left comments on the blog. It is quickly becoming a highlight of my day to read your comments, and that is one thing I do look forward to. Another suprise for me is that I am enjoying writing this blog as well, which begs the question... who the hell have I become??
Until tomorrow...
Friday, May 14, 2010
May 14. 3:30 PM. Day 2: Walked 26.6km (16.5 miles) today. Walked 48.3km (30 miles) total.
Back on track!! I woke up this morning at around 6:30 in Zubiri, which was about 5km short of yesterday´s goal. My goal today was to make up that 5km and walk all the way to Cizur Menor, which is a few km past Pamplona. Spoiler alert: I made it!
The morning started with a salami sandwich (I had extra from last night). And then... hello... there was Pablo! He had mailed his second pack home and was ready to walk. And, as it soon became clear, he was ready to walk with me. Fortunately, even with only one pack, he could not keep up. I realize more and more that part of the appeal of this for me is being alone. Even for the 1 or 2 km we were together this morning, all I wanted was to be alone.
I started today in quite a bit of pain. My right leg/hip was hurting enough that I was concerned I would not be able to continue. However, I decided to just try to walk through it and, after about 2 or 3 km, it got quite a bit better. I guess I just needed to warm up, because soon I was cooking again! I had to keep reminding myself to slow down so as to avoid a repeat of yesterday afternoon.
The walk this morning was absolutely beautiful. Much of the walk was next to a river and it was really peaceful watching and listening to the water. This area is near the mountains and reminds me a lot of Colorado. Once again I found myself truly enjoying the walking. It got warm enough this morning to take off my rain gear and that felt great too. However, it was not long before it started to drizzle again and the rain gear went back on.
One thing I am grateful for is the excellent job I did of packing. I am really well prepared. Everything I read about the trip said that people inevitably pack too much. I think I may have a few things I won´t need, but for the most part, I did a pretty good job. The best thing I brought was a last minute purchase, and something I could not imagine that I would need -- walking poles. However, I am REALLY glad I have them. It has made a huge difference.
At about 11:00 this morning I arrived in Pamplona and walked right by the Albergue I stayed in two nights ago. It was a great feeling! Pamplona is a very vibrant city, but I really just walked right through. I had this fantasy that I would stop and do the tourist things in the cities I walked through, but the truth is I get so tired I just want to keep going to get to my destination. Plus, the thing I like doing most is walking, so taking the time to look at some church seems not to be a good use of time.
After walking through Pamplona, it was only a few more km to Cizur Menor, my destination for today. After checking into the Albergue, I found a little cafe and had a nice lunch/dinner. I ordered ¨carne¨and hoped for the best. It was actually really good! Then I asked for directions to an internet cafe and learned that the nearest one was 1 km away in the next town of Cizur Major. Ouch!! But I sucked it up and started walking (I have resolved not to take any buses or taxis at all until the walk is complete). Once I got to Cizur Mayor, I could not find the internet cafe and, I swear to god, in the 15 minutes I wandered the streets I did not see one person. Lots of houses and lots of cars whizzing by, but not a human being in sight -- except for one old lady standing in her doorway. With not a lot of hope I said to her ¨no hablo espanol, pero donde esta internet?¨. As I said ïnternet, I moved my fingers as if I was typing in the air, hoping she would understand what I was looking for. She looked at me like I was from venus and said ¨piano?¨
I kept walking and came upon a hotel. I walked in and asked at the front desk if they knew where an internet cafe was, and she pointed upstairs and said I could use their computer. Very nice!!! And that basically brings us up to date.
One last thing... I am uploading pictures every day that I can to my Picassa account (http://picasaweb.google.com/zalesne). I will create a new album for each day. There is one there from yesterday called Camino Day 1. I went to upload today´s pictures, but it looks like they somehow got deleted from my camera. Bummer, but oh well. Look for another batch tomorrow.
And, one last plea... If you are reading this blog, please take a minute and leave a comment. If you have any questions, ask them and I will try to answer on my next entry.
Until tomorrow ...
Back on track!! I woke up this morning at around 6:30 in Zubiri, which was about 5km short of yesterday´s goal. My goal today was to make up that 5km and walk all the way to Cizur Menor, which is a few km past Pamplona. Spoiler alert: I made it!
The morning started with a salami sandwich (I had extra from last night). And then... hello... there was Pablo! He had mailed his second pack home and was ready to walk. And, as it soon became clear, he was ready to walk with me. Fortunately, even with only one pack, he could not keep up. I realize more and more that part of the appeal of this for me is being alone. Even for the 1 or 2 km we were together this morning, all I wanted was to be alone.
I started today in quite a bit of pain. My right leg/hip was hurting enough that I was concerned I would not be able to continue. However, I decided to just try to walk through it and, after about 2 or 3 km, it got quite a bit better. I guess I just needed to warm up, because soon I was cooking again! I had to keep reminding myself to slow down so as to avoid a repeat of yesterday afternoon.
The walk this morning was absolutely beautiful. Much of the walk was next to a river and it was really peaceful watching and listening to the water. This area is near the mountains and reminds me a lot of Colorado. Once again I found myself truly enjoying the walking. It got warm enough this morning to take off my rain gear and that felt great too. However, it was not long before it started to drizzle again and the rain gear went back on.
One thing I am grateful for is the excellent job I did of packing. I am really well prepared. Everything I read about the trip said that people inevitably pack too much. I think I may have a few things I won´t need, but for the most part, I did a pretty good job. The best thing I brought was a last minute purchase, and something I could not imagine that I would need -- walking poles. However, I am REALLY glad I have them. It has made a huge difference.
At about 11:00 this morning I arrived in Pamplona and walked right by the Albergue I stayed in two nights ago. It was a great feeling! Pamplona is a very vibrant city, but I really just walked right through. I had this fantasy that I would stop and do the tourist things in the cities I walked through, but the truth is I get so tired I just want to keep going to get to my destination. Plus, the thing I like doing most is walking, so taking the time to look at some church seems not to be a good use of time.
After walking through Pamplona, it was only a few more km to Cizur Menor, my destination for today. After checking into the Albergue, I found a little cafe and had a nice lunch/dinner. I ordered ¨carne¨and hoped for the best. It was actually really good! Then I asked for directions to an internet cafe and learned that the nearest one was 1 km away in the next town of Cizur Major. Ouch!! But I sucked it up and started walking (I have resolved not to take any buses or taxis at all until the walk is complete). Once I got to Cizur Mayor, I could not find the internet cafe and, I swear to god, in the 15 minutes I wandered the streets I did not see one person. Lots of houses and lots of cars whizzing by, but not a human being in sight -- except for one old lady standing in her doorway. With not a lot of hope I said to her ¨no hablo espanol, pero donde esta internet?¨. As I said ïnternet, I moved my fingers as if I was typing in the air, hoping she would understand what I was looking for. She looked at me like I was from venus and said ¨piano?¨
I kept walking and came upon a hotel. I walked in and asked at the front desk if they knew where an internet cafe was, and she pointed upstairs and said I could use their computer. Very nice!!! And that basically brings us up to date.
One last thing... I am uploading pictures every day that I can to my Picassa account (http://picasaweb.google.com/zalesne). I will create a new album for each day. There is one there from yesterday called Camino Day 1. I went to upload today´s pictures, but it looks like they somehow got deleted from my camera. Bummer, but oh well. Look for another batch tomorrow.
And, one last plea... If you are reading this blog, please take a minute and leave a comment. If you have any questions, ask them and I will try to answer on my next entry.
Until tomorrow ...
Thursday, May 13, 2010
May 13
May 13 3:00 PM Day one is officially under my belt! Well... almost. But let´s not get ahead of ourselves. I believe when we left off, our hero had arrived in Pamplona a few hours late and had missed the bus to Roncesvalles. After walking in circles around Pamplona, we finally found the Albergue and after a quick Salami like sandwich (thanks Pablo!!), we went to bed. I took the top bunk (rookie mistake!!) in a room of probably 100 pilgrims. It was hot and loud and since the thing I am most paranoid about (though nobody else seems to think about it) is getting my pack stolen, I slept with it in my bed. Needless to say, I did not get much sleep. I was out of bed by 6:00 and ready to go. Pablo, on the other hand, needed a coffee and a cigarette. We finally found a cab at about 7:00 and made it to Roncesvalles at about 8:00. Roncesvalles is incredibly beautiful. It is a tiny little mountain town right near the French border. I was champing at the bit to get moving though, so we found someone to stamp our pilgrim passport and started walking.
Before I go much farther, I should probably tell you a little about Pablo. He is a very nice guy, but from the time we got together, he basically never stopped talking, and I understand about 40% of what he says (he wanted to practice his English so that he could talk to American girls). Mostly he liked telling me what Spaniards (not necessarily HIM mind you... but Spaniards in general) think about Americans. That leads me to my:
Pablo funny of the day -- Americans keep their doors unlocked because they all have guns so they are not worried about people breaking in.
That was the best of the bunch, but there were other notables:
- ¨Why are Americans afraid of Jews?¨ Note: he asked this before we had talked at all about religion, and before he had any clue that I was Jewish. My answer: Good Question. Of course, he went on to provide his own theory on why Americans were afraid of Jews... apparently it is because the Jews have all the money and power.
- Things he likes about America (he had to think long and hard on this)... The Simpsons.
So... Pablo and I started off together at about 8:30. I was cooking! Pablo, on the other hand, was quite a bit slower. Though he is only in his early twenties, he is a smoker (actually -- to be accurate -- I should say that he WAS a smoker. When we got to Roncesvalles he declared that he was quitting, smoked one last one for good measure, and gave the rest of his cigarettes to a very grateful woman) and he was carrying two packs, one on his back and one in front, and it was not long before I was pulling away. We decided we would meet again in he next town, and as of yet, I have not seen him again. I do not expect to see him for a while... if ever!
As for me... did I mention that I was cooking?! Well... I was. I was FLYING!! Uphill. Downhill. No one passed me, and I passed quite a lot of people. I stopped for lunch after a few hours (I was there a half hour -- still no Pablo!) and then started cooking again. This was going to be no problem!! I could easily do 30 days of this. No pain. No blisters. No heavy breathing. The entire time I was composing my blog in my head... ready to tell you all how amazing I am. Then -- about 13 km or so into the day, I came upon a hill. This hill... as hills often do... started by going up quite quickly, and then back down even more quickly. For the up part, I was still cooking. Still flying. Feeling GREAT. Then came about a 3 km down (literally and otherwise). My legs were burning. My knees were starting to buckle. And by the time I arrived in Zubiri, I was pretty spent. The good news is that, though I am very tired, it is a good tired! The bad news is that I did not make it to my final destination for the day which was another 5 km down the road. At the end of the day, I had walked 22 km (almost 14 miles) in around 5 hours or so. Not bad for a first day, but I did learn that I need to pace myself if I have any hope of finishing this in the 32 days I have allotted myself.
Here in Zubiri I walked into the first Albergue I found (actually, it is the second -- the first was already full) and realized that it is a private Albergue, not a public one. The good news is that it is really gorgeous. There are only ten people in my room and I get free internet (thus the very long blog today!). I am looking forward to a great night sleep (sans pack!) and getting up early tomorrow to start walking.
I am completely loving every minute of this trip. I can´t believe how beautiful it is here and how lucky I am to be doing this. On the one hand, I wish that everyone could share in this incredible experience with me. On the other hand, I love being alone with my thoughts and having no one to answer to. I miss my kids though and I hope they will take the time to read this. Talia and Zach -- if you are reading this... As much as I am loving this... I love you even more. I wish you could both be here to share this with me, and I can´t wait to get home and see you.
Until tomorrow...
Before I go much farther, I should probably tell you a little about Pablo. He is a very nice guy, but from the time we got together, he basically never stopped talking, and I understand about 40% of what he says (he wanted to practice his English so that he could talk to American girls). Mostly he liked telling me what Spaniards (not necessarily HIM mind you... but Spaniards in general) think about Americans. That leads me to my:
Pablo funny of the day -- Americans keep their doors unlocked because they all have guns so they are not worried about people breaking in.
That was the best of the bunch, but there were other notables:
- ¨Why are Americans afraid of Jews?¨ Note: he asked this before we had talked at all about religion, and before he had any clue that I was Jewish. My answer: Good Question. Of course, he went on to provide his own theory on why Americans were afraid of Jews... apparently it is because the Jews have all the money and power.
- Things he likes about America (he had to think long and hard on this)... The Simpsons.
So... Pablo and I started off together at about 8:30. I was cooking! Pablo, on the other hand, was quite a bit slower. Though he is only in his early twenties, he is a smoker (actually -- to be accurate -- I should say that he WAS a smoker. When we got to Roncesvalles he declared that he was quitting, smoked one last one for good measure, and gave the rest of his cigarettes to a very grateful woman) and he was carrying two packs, one on his back and one in front, and it was not long before I was pulling away. We decided we would meet again in he next town, and as of yet, I have not seen him again. I do not expect to see him for a while... if ever!
As for me... did I mention that I was cooking?! Well... I was. I was FLYING!! Uphill. Downhill. No one passed me, and I passed quite a lot of people. I stopped for lunch after a few hours (I was there a half hour -- still no Pablo!) and then started cooking again. This was going to be no problem!! I could easily do 30 days of this. No pain. No blisters. No heavy breathing. The entire time I was composing my blog in my head... ready to tell you all how amazing I am. Then -- about 13 km or so into the day, I came upon a hill. This hill... as hills often do... started by going up quite quickly, and then back down even more quickly. For the up part, I was still cooking. Still flying. Feeling GREAT. Then came about a 3 km down (literally and otherwise). My legs were burning. My knees were starting to buckle. And by the time I arrived in Zubiri, I was pretty spent. The good news is that, though I am very tired, it is a good tired! The bad news is that I did not make it to my final destination for the day which was another 5 km down the road. At the end of the day, I had walked 22 km (almost 14 miles) in around 5 hours or so. Not bad for a first day, but I did learn that I need to pace myself if I have any hope of finishing this in the 32 days I have allotted myself.
Here in Zubiri I walked into the first Albergue I found (actually, it is the second -- the first was already full) and realized that it is a private Albergue, not a public one. The good news is that it is really gorgeous. There are only ten people in my room and I get free internet (thus the very long blog today!). I am looking forward to a great night sleep (sans pack!) and getting up early tomorrow to start walking.
I am completely loving every minute of this trip. I can´t believe how beautiful it is here and how lucky I am to be doing this. On the one hand, I wish that everyone could share in this incredible experience with me. On the other hand, I love being alone with my thoughts and having no one to answer to. I miss my kids though and I hope they will take the time to read this. Talia and Zach -- if you are reading this... As much as I am loving this... I love you even more. I wish you could both be here to share this with me, and I can´t wait to get home and see you.
Until tomorrow...
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
May 12
May 12 7:00 PM I did not make it to Roncesvalles. The bus left at 6:00 and we did not get here until 7:00. Who is "we" you ask? When I got off the train I had no clue where I was going and all I can say in Spanish is "si" (thanks dad!). So, I spotted someone who was wearing a backpack and asked him if he spoke English. His answer was "barely" and he was not kidding. His name is Pablo and he is from southern Spain. He does not know Pamplona so we ended up taking a very long walk to get to the Albergue. Nice city though, so I did not mind.
So... This Albergue is basically a multiple floor building with rows of bunk beds. I think this is the kind of place I will be staying most nights. it cost 6€, but to stay here you must have your pilgrim credentials (you thought I was kidding??!!).
I am hoping to find some people to share a cab in the morning so I can get there early enough to start walking. We shall see.
'till then...
- Posted from my iPhone
So... This Albergue is basically a multiple floor building with rows of bunk beds. I think this is the kind of place I will be staying most nights. it cost 6€, but to stay here you must have your pilgrim credentials (you thought I was kidding??!!).
I am hoping to find some people to share a cab in the morning so I can get there early enough to start walking. We shall see.
'till then...
- Posted from my iPhone
Location:Pomplona
Arrived in Madrid
May 12. 5:00 PM. I arrived in Madrid this morning. The flight was 4 hours late, but we pilgrims scoff at time. That's right. As of today I am a pilgrim, which could explain my sudden craving for turkey and stuffing.
The flight was long but comfortable. I highly recommend business class. They handed out socks and a toothbrush. That is some styling travel, if you ask me!
I write this from the train to Pamplona. I will arrive there at about 6:30 and then have to make my way to the starting point of my walk -- Roncesvalles. The goal is to start walking tomorrow, which means getting there tonight. My original plan was to take a bus, but I have a feeling that I will miss the last one. Do pilgrims take cabs?? If all goes as planned I will be back in Pamplona on Thursday --this time on foot.
I just looked out the window. It is pouring. I hope my pilgrim hat doesn't get ruined. Looks like we are arriving... I think that is Plymouth Rock in the distance. Gotta go shoot me an injun.
- Posted from my iPhone
The flight was long but comfortable. I highly recommend business class. They handed out socks and a toothbrush. That is some styling travel, if you ask me!
I write this from the train to Pamplona. I will arrive there at about 6:30 and then have to make my way to the starting point of my walk -- Roncesvalles. The goal is to start walking tomorrow, which means getting there tonight. My original plan was to take a bus, but I have a feeling that I will miss the last one. Do pilgrims take cabs?? If all goes as planned I will be back in Pamplona on Thursday --this time on foot.
I just looked out the window. It is pouring. I hope my pilgrim hat doesn't get ruined. Looks like we are arriving... I think that is Plymouth Rock in the distance. Gotta go shoot me an injun.
- Posted from my iPhone
Location:Madrid, Spain
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Goodbyes are hard
May 11. 9:45 am. Sitting on the plane to DC. From there to Madrid tonight. For all the hundreds of thousands of miles I have flown, I feel like a first time flyer. Everything feels a bit different and strange. I don't think I realized how big a deal this was for me until zachy and Talia cried this morning when we said goodbye. I might have shed a tear as well... we will have to check the tape.
I hope I can do this. I can do this, right??!
Excited with a tinge of sadness and wondering what I forgot.
- Posted from my iPhone
I hope I can do this. I can do this, right??!
Excited with a tinge of sadness and wondering what I forgot.
- Posted from my iPhone
Sunday, May 09, 2010
On Tuesday, May 11, I will be starting my trip to Spain to walk the ancient pilgrimage route called the Camino de Santiago. My plan is to walk from Roncasvalles to Santiago de Compostela. The trip is about 485 miles and I expect it to take about 30 days. If all goes as planned, I should be home by June 15th.
I will update this blog when I am able, though it may be quite a bit less than I would like since internet access is somewhat rare along the route. However, if you are interested in my progress, feel free to subscribe to the blog and you will get updates as I post them.
If you are curious, you can google Camino de Santiago, or follow this link: http://www.caminodesantiago.me.uk/camino-frances/. I am walking the Camino Frances route.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)