Category: 2017 El Camino de Santiago

We got a lousy night’s sleep to compliment our cold supper. There was one woman to thank for the entire room not sleeping. I would gladly have Richard snore away in the room–at least when he snores, it’s only in one direction of breath. This woman snored in and out. It’s a good thing the Camino is not in the Southern USA or she would have been shot at about 3:30a when a bunch of drunk, sleep deprived rednecks had had enough.

On the bright side, we got our earliest start ever. We were on the trail by 6:15 AM. That’s AM. It was a little cold and we are going with the 30 minute rule from here on out of only wearing what we think we are going to need in the afternoon. It’s a good motivator to walk fast. We covered the little over 2 miles to Ages in just 45 minutes only to find Rob and Michele already ahead of us in line for breakfast. While we were eating, snore monster lady showed up and sat next to my pack. I was ready to head out to get as much distance from her as possible. I hope to never sleep in the same town with her again.

We were booking. We came to Atapuerca in about another half hour. This is an UNESCO World Heritage site and is considered the birthplace of our current species over 900,000 years ago. In fact, the area has been occupied for well over a million years because of it’s proximity to migration paths. There is evidence of 5 different humanoid species living on top of each other over the millennia. There’s also evidence of canibalism but we don’t want to go there after George’s close brush on the Pembrokeshire.

We stopped for an Orange juice in town and some minor adjustments before resuming our hike. We passed Rob and Michele again on the way up Cruceiro/Punto de Vista, which has a cross (not to be confused with where we drop our stones, which we almost did). While climbing up, Fanny (a Taiwanese woman we hiked with over the Pyrenees and have been leapfrogging with ever since) walked with us for a while before passing us.

We also met and walked with Alejandra from San Francisco/El Paso. She initially came up to us because of Pam’s bunny. She was hiking with her dad, but he had a case of tendinitis and had to take a few days off. We enjoyed walking and talking with her until we got to a cafe at Cardenuela. Shaun and Rob were already there.

Shaun walked with us out of Cardenuela and the first 2.5 miles was road in the hot sun (and it was only 10a). We’re beginning to understand the tradition of siesta in Spain if it’s already this miserable at 10a. It didn’t get much better once we got off the road onto a gravel path running past the Burgos Airport. Pam nearly collapsed from the heat and pain in her hips.

We did survive the crossing to Catanares where we found another cafe and shade. We sat in the grass and drank an “Aquarius” with Shaun. We got a text from George that he was already in Burgos and had gotten us a room for the next 2 nights–we were pleasantly surprised. We thought we might not see him again until December.

There was just another 4 miles to go into Burgos. We had hiked 12 miles before lunch. We chose to hike an alternate route along the Rio Arianzon so we wouldn’t have all road walk into town. We were a little mistaken about avoiding the road walking. I suppose with up to 250,000 people a year hiking the Camino, natural tracks just can’t support that load. Once again, we were hiking on concrete the majority of the way into Burgos. Other than sun and concrete, another thing there is an abundance of in Spain is cottonwood trees. The cotton was so thick it looked like snow falling and accumulating along the trail.

At least we had shade. Once again it was 30C (86F) which tends to slow one down. We made it into Burgos near the old town before 3p but I was irritable and Pam was hurting. I didn’t want to walk a single extra step so I was trying to figure out where the Pencione was that George had gotten us a room. I asked for directions from a local (my Spanish is good enough that they can kind of figure out what I’m asking). He directed us to the archway into the old town where we found George standing and waiting for us. Apparently, he had been following us through our GPS trail on In Reach and had a beer between blips (30 minutes between points = happy George).

We dropped our packs and chilled a bit. Finally, Pam got a hair up her butt after her shower and decided we had to go out NOW. I hurriedly showered only to find her playing on her phone and taking her sweet time getting up to go out. We walked up to the cathederal and were amazed by its size and complexity. We are definitely going to tour it tomorrow.

I wanted a beer, but Pam wanted food so we compromised and got food. At least we got enough food to last until evening meals start getting served around 8. Now that Pam had a little food, we could head to another plaza to people watch and drink a beer or two. After our first beer, it was already 6:30 and some people around us started getting food. We didn’t even have to change locations for food. We ordered food and another beer. While we were eating, Georgie from Scotland, who we haven’t seen since the Perigrino Monument 9 days ago, came up and joined us for supper. We found out she is only 19 and hiking this trail solo–a very amazing and brave fete.

One thing George had been saying all afternoon is “ICE CREAM”. We had no choice but humor him. I could have survived without, but Pam and George both insisted–I’ve always been a sucker for peer pressure. We managed to stay up until almost 9:30.

We talked about getting up early and Pam came through today. Actually, she didn’t sleep well because her hips were hurting and there was quite a bit of snoring considering there were only 7 or 8 people in the Albergue last night. She made me get up at 6:15 demanding breakfast. The best I could do was a serving of “Athletic Greens”. This wasn’t quite enough to calm the beast so I had to walk on eggshells until I could find her coffee.

I wasn’t aware that there’s a lot of people already hiking at 7 never having witnessed the phenomenon before today. We rounded the corner and saw Shaun out front of his Albergue stretching. We assumed he was waiting for Alena but found out she had left about an hour ago. She’s an early riser that doesn’t like the heat–she was done hiking at 11 yesterday. She runs ahead, finds a place, and let’s Shaun know where to go (if that’s not a loaded lead in…)

Shaun started walking with us. Our paces still matched up pretty well, but we were leary of hiking with him because he and Alena pulled off a 31K day (almost 20 miles) and we’re not quite there yet. We made it Tosantos (3 miles) in a little over an hour but there was nothing open to get Pam her coffee–I was getting scared. Fortunately, the next town was only about 1.5 miles further. Hallelujah, they had an open cafe serving coffee so I was saved.

While we were sipping our coffee and having a semi-heated political/ethical discussion with an Englishman from Cambridge, Rob showed up. He had hiked the entire 4.5 miles in 45 minutes. We assume Michele was still approaching Tosantos when he arrived. There were several people we knew form the past few days in the cafe so it was fun talking with everyone, but our devil’s advocate from England almost got me excited over Trump and Brexit–I bowed out of the conversation. One thing I’m hoping to learn is patience on this pilgrimage (or flight rather than fight–Kujo would have a field day with the new Zen Curtis). [the astute reader might recognize the Kujo name–he’s an associate from Continental Tire and Trump supporter that likes to try to rial me up, but I NEVER fall for his fishing expeditions]

Shaun was ready to go, so we got saddled up just in time to see Michele as she was cooling down from her walk in (they were outside while Pam and I tried to avoid the sun knowing we’d get caught in it again later today). The next town was in another mile, but it was totally unremarkable (we can’t remember it). It wasn’t even 11 when we got into Villafranca Montes de Oca (7.5 miles total so far). Pam and I were getting cocky talking about how we could pull off a 20 mile day.

Pam and I have developed a power snack for this trip–potato chips, bananas, and Diet Coke (and M&Ms if I remember). We stopped in a grocery store to pick up our power snack (minus the M&Ms–I forgot) and Shaun grabbed a few things. We stopped at a bench on the side of the road for an extended break. Several people we knew passed us while we were eating.

Now’s where our bravado from earlier bites us in the askance (insert appropriate noun here–I just didn’t want to say ass; DOH). The climb wasn’t bad, only 600′ or so and a few dips of 300′. It was a lovely trail through pine forrests (we got the trees I wanted yesterday). I’m chalking it up to we didn’t sleep well and we’ve hiked nearly 50 miles the last 3 days, but the hike on top of the ridge bit us hard. We were contemplating hiking another 18 mile day today but we ended up praying for this 15 to just end.

We had to take a few power breaks but that wasn’t quite enough (I should have broke out the Gu!). We came around a curve and saw an oasis. Rob had passed us in a flash a bit back and he was sitting in the shade with hippies serving him drinks. There were hammocks, and wine, and beer–oh my. I plopped in a hammock and ordered a Coke Zero knowing that a beer was the end of my day with still 3 miles to go.

Pam (WTF, when did she become the strong willed one?) insisted we get going again. 1/2 mile later I realize it wasn’t strong-willed Pam that got us going, but it was her evil twin, whiny-tired Pam that wanted the day to end. It’s hard to disagree with WTPam so we agreed to abandon our hopes of making it to Ages (another 3.5 miles further down the trail) and settle for our original plan of St. Juan de Ortega.

Once again, we saw a flash pass us, assuming it was Rob, as we were heading into town. He was in front of us in line at the Albergue but we weren’t worried as there are 70+ beds here. Shaun was trying to find out where Alena was, but we deduced she wasn’t here, so he had another 3.5 miles to go. Rob and Michele were staying here as well.

Trying to find two beds together, that weren’t top bunks, proved to be a bit of a problem. We did manage to find a single bunk in the furthest room from the bathroom (not an issue for Pam, but I am a NORMAL 50+ male who can count the number of nights on one hand in the last 3 years where only 1 trip is made). When we claimed our bunk, we were surrounded by Brazilians. I got to talking to the kid (he’s only 36) right next to me. Not only did he know where St Louis is, he told me he worked in Decatur, IL for 3 months. Holy Crap, that’s my home town and the one place in the world I couldn’t wait to escape from.

To kill time before supper was served at 6:30, Pam and I went to the church in the monastery and looked around. San Juan is buried in the church in a stone sarcophagus hidden from view. There is an ornate sculpture depicting his tomb.

George sent us a text telling us he’ll see us in December. His feet are too tender to handle the long miles we need to complete every day to make our trail schedule this year. I worry about him, but know that we are making him miserable. When we hike with him, he watches the ground the entire time and misses the beauty of the country. Perhaps if he slows down and only does 5-8 miles a day, he might enjoy himself more.

Supper was the exact opposite of last night’s wonderful fare. Tonight we had brain soup (they called it garlic soup). The best I can tell it was yeterday’s left over bread mixed in some sort of broth best left uninvestigated. Pam and I were first in line and everything was cold.

We walked down to the bar after supper and had a beer with Michele and Rob. We complemented Michele on her wise choice of left over lunch food. We were in bed by 8 with the sun still shining bright.

Why do we bother to plan? We set an alarm for 6:15 so we could pack and be ready to leave as soon as we finished eating at 7. Pam kept insisting on hitting the snooze until we only had enough time to dress and make it downstairs. I tried to get her up but couldn’t take the “I worked for 30 years…” speech again, so I bit my tongue and slept in as any good husband would. Long story short, we were on the trail by 8.

We knew this was going to be a long day so we planned to break it up into bite size portions. We would stop in every town along the way and cool off a bit. The first town was Santo Domingo, a little over 5 miles down the trail. When we got in town, not a thing was open directly on the Camino and we didn’t want to go looking off trail for a cafe. We were in town just a few minutes after 10 and feeling good, so we just kept going.

On the outskirts of town, we ran across another Irish man, Eamon. We talked with him for a bit and we discussed people we had both met on the Camino and who we could expect to see. He had just spent 100 Euros on a new pair of shoes because his converse tennis shoes had no soles left. We shared foot woes for a bit.

I promised to share some rants yesterday, so I’ll just get into my first one–bikes on the Camino. 1600 years ago when the Camino began, how many pilgrims rode bikes? I don’t know why they are even allowed today. I’m not saying the people riding are not athletes, but they do destroy the peacefulness of the experience (but so does walking next to busy highways, but I digress). At least let us know you are behind us before you whizz by at 30 mph. When you are hiking long distances in the heat, you tend to zone out. Nearly getting hit by bikes traveling too fast definitely knocks you out of the zone.

The next town on the trail was about another 5 miles ahead–Granon. If all goes well for George today, this is where he’ll end up giving him an almost 16 mile day. The guidebooks say this is an ideal town to spend an extra day–why is a mystery to me. They had a nice church as all the towns do and a really nice cafe/grocery across from the church that played really great music, but that was all. The Albergue is supposed to serve a communal meal which can be fun, but two days?  We had potato chips, bananas, and a Diet Coke before moving on.

The next town, Redecilla del Camino was in another 2.5 miles. Before we got there, we crossed into another semi-autonomous region–Castillo y Leon. This is the largest region in all of Spain and where we will spend the majority of time on our Camino. They want everyone to know where they are.

We were not impressed with the towns in this new region today. The trail parallels the N120 all the way up to Belorado. Time for rant #2. I understand that this is a historical trail and that the pilgrim experience is supposed to be deprivation and painful, but would it kill the experience if the trail were NOT running beside a busy highway all day. Would it be further lessened if there were maybe 1 tree within 1/2 mile of the trail on a hot sunny day. I know this isn’t a wilderness trail like the AT, but Spain does have trees. We walked parallel to a forest all day about a mile to our left but shoot me if there was any object to provide shade next to the highway other than oversized signs. End of rant; returning to our narrative.

2 of the next 3 towns didn’t even have a shop or cafe to get out of the sun and cool off in–I’m not wanting AC (that will be tomorrow’s rant). Bottom line, today was a miserably hot day with the trail running next to a highway all day and bikes strafing us on a gravel road. The terrain, itself, was not bad, but it was very similar to being dropped in the middle of Kansas and told to walk out. Kansas have never been anything more than a ball-buster state we have to survive to get to Colorado–I want Colorado. (Is this considered a rant, too?)

The end of the day was rewarded with a beautiful town–Belorado (it sounds like Colorado, so the day was worth it). We made it in around 5 which means even with lots of breaks and carrying 35# packs, we still averaged over 2 miles an hour. We found an Albergue and got settled in. Susan from Canada was here as well.

We had a bar and restaurant roughly 10′ from our beds, so beer, wine, and pilgrim menus without fear of getting lost on the way home. After supper, we walked around and looked at the town. A beautiful town square and would you believe? A very ornate church in this town of 2000. Storks were taking over the belfry.

Next to the church were houses built into caves in the cliff–very amazing. We talked to one of the owners, but couldn’t get an invitation in.

We also made contact with Shaun and found out everyone we were hiking with is in town. We went to their Albergue and visited a bit. We’re all going to be in Burgos in two days so we’ll catch up then.

We had a luxurious morning and got to sleep in past 7. Since we had agreed to wait for George before leaving, we didn’t think we’d be in a big rush–he’s 4 miles back so we aren’t expecting him much before 9. That means, that, yet again, we were the last ones out of the Albergue (but intentional this time!).

We texted George that we would meet him at he pilgrim cafe in town. He texted back that he was only a mile away. We ate our breakfast then looked up to see him climbing the hill into town. He told us he left at 6:40 and got in at 8:40–he’s consistently averaging 2 miles/hour or more these days when he has a purpose or is tired.

It was only a little over 6 miles into Najera. The day was cloudy and breezy; much better than the 25 and sunny predicted (oops, forgot Americans like Fahrenheit–77). We made tracks into town. We only stopped once at a little picnic area on the trail because we had lost sight of George. By the time we dropped our packs, he had already caught up and said to keep going.

We made Najera by 11:15. Pam and I stopped at the first cafe on the trail for a coffee. George was there before we could order. He’d already done over 10 miles and it wasn’t even lunch time. Actually, George was ready for lunch, but we weren’t and they didn’t have anything that appealed to him, so we agreed to move on to the heart of town and try to find some food that appealed to him.

Once we wound our way through town and got to the river, we were once again amazed at the change of geology. The old part of town is sandwiched between a river and a dramatic rocky cliff face. This town has a lot of history in it, but we were on a mission–food for George, and pop a real blister on one of my toes. Why now after over 300 miles of hiking?

We discussed hiking plans with George and agreed that we would split up for a few days and meet up in Burgos on Thursday afternoon. Although George is doing fantastic today, we still wanted to hike another 10 miles and he’s not ready for a 20 mile day yet (nor are we). We want to put in a few longer days of 15 to 18 miles and get to Burgos by Wednesday then take a zero day. George is comfortable now in the 12 to 14 mile range. He’d doing fantastic overall (as long as you don’t ask him how he feels–he’ll love this hike in retrospect).

When we left, George had a plate of food in front of him and he was sitting, so that’s all it takes to make him happy. We didn’t walk two blocks before we made friends with a new group of people. Bob, Paul, and Chris were 3 Americans which were doing the trail for the third time. The first time, Bob did it with his family. The second time, they thought Chris had a stroke and had to be hospitalized. Fortunately, it was just a reaction to some medications he was taking. After they released him from the hospital, they felt it prudent to not resume hiking and just drink for a week to make sure Chris was safe to get back on a plane. They also do trail magic on the AT near Washington DC, so we might get to meet them next year.

We also came upon An and Andy again walking with the Americans. I finally remembered to get a picture with them. We have been hiking and talking to our Holland friends since Estella, so it’s only fitting to include their picture.

Entering Ciruena, we split off from Bob, Paul, and Chris in search of food. As we were entering a restaurant/bar, we saw Lee and Sandy. They were telling us about the local municipal and how nice the rooms were. We said we were going on but they were still willing to let us have lunch with them (apparently I didn’t snore bad enough last night to be shunned today).

An and Andy ran into us on the street leaving town. They told us George had just gotten in and that there was still room at the Municipal. We vacillated for a minute or two, but we decided to push on to the next town since it was only 2p–we wanted to try to string a couple of longer days together. The bigger picture though–George did 14 miles today. If we can get him thicker soled boots, we won’t be able to keep up with him. He’s lost at least 4″ off his belt and he’s shedding pounds. If we could only get him beyond the physical ailments, he could be a real long distance hiker.

I’m glad this afternoon was over cast. The trail would be miserable on a hot sunny day which everyone who stayed behind is going to have tomorrow. It took us almost 3.5 hours to cover the 6 miles. When we got to the Albergue, they had 2 beds left, but they were in separate rooms. The owners sister has a bed and breakfast just a few blocks away and she could get us in a private room with our own bath for just twice the amount of the Albergue–Pam talked me into splurging.

We got a 2nd floor bedroom (3rd for Americans). I think it used to be an attic space but it’s been finished off and is an amazing space. We signed up for breakfast and laundry service so we’ve got an easy night of peace and relaxation ahead.

For supper, the Albergue that we went to originally has a communal Pilgrim supper, so we went back over for dinner. There was a Swiss, a South Korean, 4 Chinese, an Englishman, 3 Italians, us 2 Americans, and 2 others I didn’t get a chance to talk to. We had a great time talking (in pidgin) to everyone. The South Korean wins the award for hiking in most countries at 80. One of the Italian Ladies we had spent last night with, so she told everyone our plan to travel for 5-6 years–everyone liked our plans and were envious.

Tonight is an early night because we have breakfast at 7 and we want to be on the road as early as possible because Belorado doesn’t have a lot of available beds–we’re sticking with our not phoning ahead for reservations. So far, we’ve been very lucky. If all else fails, we have a tent. I hate to think we are carrying this gear and aren’t going to use it the entire Camino.

I’ve got to remember, I have a few rants I rants to get to in tomorrow’s post.

Although the hostel was very nice and our roommates didn’t snore last night, we still didn’t get a very good night’s sleep. The location we chose to stay was where the action was; and the action kept going all night long right outside of our window. It finally quieted down around 5:30a but the street cleaning crew started at 6 and the leader of the crew was pissed having to work an early Saturday morning, so he was yelling quite a bit.

We finally rolled out of bed around 7:45 and went down to get breakfast before we got ready (I didn’t want a disgruntled host or hostess throwing food our way again). We were on the road before 9–closer to normal for us. We passed lots of amazing structures and sights on the way out of town.

Pam had two toes rubbing and were quite disgusting to see–blood and all. We had to stop for her to take care of matters. The trail was actually pleasant up to and past this point (although too much walking on concrete which was killing our feet). George was starting to feel the effect of the road walking as well. We made it to Pantano de La Grajera (a reservoir and park outside of Logrono) by 10:30. We were making good time considering. There’s a nice cafe beside the lake where we had coffee and snacks while having a break.

The trail started to climb from the lake. It was only about 300′ but it gave us good views back of where we have been. We got into Navarette by 1p and George was only 5 minutes behind us. We grabbed a table at the first cafe that was open.

During lunch, George told us he was done for the day and was going to stay in Navarette. It was too early for us to stop and we were feeling good now that Pam was warmed up (her mornings are always rough). The plan was for us to get a bed in Ventosa (if any are available when we get there or we’ll have to walk another 6 miles to Najera) and George would leave at 6a and try to catch up with us.

It was a hot walk all the way into Ventosa. We didn’t encounter a lot of people along the way because most people try to stop walking before 2. We were ready to stop when we got to town at 4. As soon as we walked in town, a guy from a restaurant gave us directions to the Albergue. It was the one on our list and much closer than we thought but it only has 42 beds so we were afraid they’d be full. We got a room so we were relieved, happy, and exhausted.

First thing is shower followed by laundry. As we were getting settled in, Lee and Sandy were put in the same room with us. They were a little disappoint because they thought they were getting a private room (I’ve learned I’m usually a source of disappointment for most people, so I dealt with it). After our showers, we did laundry then headed to dinner at 7. We discovered something very dangerous this evening–cheap wine that tastes great. While we were doing laundry, we went down to the store in our Albergue to get some wine–they said 4 Euros. We assumed each per glass of wine but we were wrong. 4 Euros for an entire bottle and it’s really good white wine. Not our New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but 4 Euros!

On our way to dinner, we met another Aussie (Ross) who lived in the states for several years. We talked to him for a while about our political situation (no, Kujo, I haven’t changed my mind).

We went to the closest cafe and shared a table with Barry from Edmonds, WA and Susan from Calgary, Canada. They are both hiking about 20K a day so we might be seeing them again if we can keep pace. Barry was a music teacher in high school and college. This is a subject near and dear to me–I believe music education is much underfunded in our country and plays a very important role in keeping students on the straight and narrow and helping them develop good self discipline.

All of the Albergue are starting to fade together. Why we brought our camping equipment, I have no idea why, other than to just carry the weight and get stronger. Maybe we’ll camp after Compestella de Santiago when we go out to the Atlantic, but for now, we are happy with showers every day, cheap meals, and porcelain.

Once again, we were the last ones out but we were still hiking by 7:45 so really pretty early for prying Pam out of bed. This was starting out to be one of the most pleasant hiking days we’ve had so far–cool and clear sky with an easy grade. We ran into several people we are now getting to know through constant trail encounters.

We had about a 300′ rise early on so Pam took it very slow–snails were passing her on the trail raising their antennae and shaking them at her to get out of the way. She’s no good climbing in the mornings (or afternoons, but she thinks she does better later in the day).

It really hit me today that we are on a religious pilgrimage. We came upon an area on the side of the trail where people were leaving notes, pictures, and tokens to loved ones who have passed. The amount of grief that people are carrying on this trail can be staggering at times.

Why hike this trail? I’ve asked several people this question. The answers vary, but, in general, there is an ache that can’t be quenched. Some hike in rememberance of passed loved ones. One couple started on the birthday of their daughter that died at 3 months of age. Another man chose to do this because it is so unlike anything he has ever done and he’s trying to recreate himself in a new image. Other’s are unsatisfied with their current life and looking for a change/answers to finding happiness. The saddest has to be the parents of a daughter who died after hiking the Camino. They started on her birthday the year after she died. Her dying wish is that her toddler son will one day hike the trail and scatter her ashes along the way.

We ran into Suzy when we nearing Viana. She actually stayed there last night and caught a taxi back to Sansol this morning to hike the portion she skipped because of her aversion/fear of rain. We all walked into town together and had lunch just past the cathederal. When we getting ready to head out, Lee and Sandy came by and told us not to miss the cathederal here.

We went back and Suzy started the trail on to Logrono. Sandy was right–the cathederal is worth the trip. It’s so amazing to me that there are so many cathederals and ornate churches so close to one another in this area. The amount of effort and money it took to build and maintain these structures is staggering.

After lunch, the trail was supposed to be level and easy sailing into Logrono. This was kind of true, but the trail was concrete a large portion of the way (which kills our aching feet at this point). It was also filled with a lot of “false levels”–inclines and declines which don’t show up when using a topographic map with 50m contours (I know I’ll have to explain this to Pam when she proof reads this).

Upon entering Logrono, we were ready to stop. We could smell something burning, but couldn’t place the odor. Once we passed the city crematorium, we understood.

We headed straight to the Albergue next to the cathederal. It was actually in an old hotel connected to the back side of the cathederal–I don’t think we can get much closer. While we getting settled in, Pam looked out our window and saw Shaun and Alena having a beer below. I went down and joined them as soon as I showered.

Something very unusual happened this evening, George agreed to walk around town and sightsee before AND after dinner. Usually, he’s too tired and achey to do anything other than crash. The Spanish ice cream may be the motivating factor for him.

We stopped by this cathederal and went through it (after siesta the buildings reopen). Still amazing to have 2 huge cathederal virtually next to each other (Viana is only 4 trail miles away so probably 3 miles as the crow flies).

We couldn’t agree on food for supper and strayed upon Cafe Moderno which serves pilgrims meals–who can pass up a free bottle of wine and a 3 course meal for 11 Euros. After dinner, George wanted another ice cream cone from the same place he had one before supper. It’s hard to deny the lad considering he’s last probably 4 belt loop holes in size.

The weather forecast for today was 100% chance of rain. It was 200% correct. An all day walk in the cold rain is still better than a half day of work in a hot tire factory.

We left the Albergue by 7:45 and we were almost the last ones out. The immediate goal was to get warm and stop for lunch in Los Arcos which was 7.5 miles down the road. It started out a perfect walking day with cool temps and cloudy skies on a gravel track with a gradual decline. We could see rain ahead and behind us but it looked like we might get lucky and walk between the two rain storms. We almost made it.

About 1.5 miles before Los Arcos, the winds shifted direction and the rain caught up to us. We had left George sitting on the side of the path about 1/2 mile before the rains started with the intention of meeting up at the first restaurant in town. Pam was doing great–she even was smiling walking in the rain until the first bolt of lightening. She turned around and ran at me and grabbed my arm so hard she left bruises where her fingers dug in. I want to know what happened to her as a child to be so afraid of storms. She wanted to lie down in the ditch until the storm passed. There was a 35 second delay before the thunder made it to us so I told her I thought we could avoid the ditches for a bit.

By the time we got to the edge of town the sky was getting brighter and the rain was letting up a bit. There was a vending area right off the trail where we could get out of the rain and wait for George to catch up. He wasn’t even 5 minutes behind. When he showed up, I expected him to be in a bad mood from the rain but he was all cheerful and ready to push on to find a restaurant. We were in a cafe 10 minutes later ordering coffees. We had averaged over 2.5 miles an hour all morning. Me thinks George has been bird-dogging it up to now.

We ordered pizzas with our coffee and sat down outside. We’re in Spain, not Italy. The pizzas were OK but they refueled us. We still had almost 5 miles still to go to make it to Torres del Rio where we were planning to meet up with Shaun and Alena. As far as I know, Rob and Michele are up in Logrono tonight almost 12 miles ahead of us. Unless they take a day off, we’re not going to be seeing them for a while.

I was slow getting my pack on because I don’t like to pick it up until Pam gets ready since she can be painfully slow at times (especially if I try to make her go fast–woman thing). We could see George up ahead just as it started raining again. I stopped to take a picture. When I looked back up at George he was about 1/2 mile ahead and passing people like a madman. We spent the next hour and half trying to catch up to him. He was the energizer bunny on crack–there was no stopping him or even catching him. Just before we entered Sansol, I finally caught up. Road walking is still his Achilles Heel (the extra water weight in the boots helped, too).

We stopped in the first place we could grab a coffee. We ran into Suzy who we have been leap-frogging the last couple of days. She’d been sitting there for a few hours to get out of the rain. She’d even stripped down and ran all of her clothes through a dryer (we hope she still had a dry coat to wear while the clothes were drying).  She was thinking of taking a taxi to her next Albergue.

Long distance hiking will definitely change your relationship with rain. I’m to the point where as long as I can keep the rain off my glasses, I’m fine with it. I don’t know if George is motivated by rain or if it was the pizza for lunch, but he was unstoppable today. From now on, I’m following him with a garden hose and getting him pizza every day until the end of the trail.

We stopped in the first Albergue we came to in town and got a bed and a peregrino dinner reservation for 7. Pilgrim dinners are 3 courses and wine all for just 10-12 Euros. We’re not starving on the trail.

Pam and I headed up to do some internet crap while George showered. Shaun had sent me an email and he’s already in town. We’ll catch up with him at dinner or in the morning.

Lights on motion sensors with timers are very popular here in Spain. As you walk through a hallway, the lights turn on as you move along. This is a good way to save energy in most cases–but not in a shower room. I went to take a shower and just as I would step in to punch the water valve, the lights would go out. I’d head out to wave my arms to turn the light back on in time for the water to shut off. The timers have successfully turned showers into a partner required experience; not bad for Pam and I, but poor George…

Today is a special day in many ways, but foremost is my parents 65th wedding anniversary. What an amazing fete in days where the majority of marriages end in divorce. German stubbornness genes run strong in my family.

Today is also our 4 month wedding anniversary which means that the number one priority for the day was money (that is the reason Pam married me–for my lack of money). We met George out front of our hostel at 7:30. He had a crappy night’s sleep and was in a bad mood which made our private room and bath all the sweeter. We felt obliged to point out how pleasant our night was.

Rob and Michelle had passed George around 7. They had decided to spend last night in Villatuerta as well as Shaun. That explains why we didn’t see them last night in town. Shaun is going to take today off and spend it with Alena who is still having for problems.

After a leisurely breakfast, we started our search for a bank to exchange our worthless American dollars. After 3 banks, we finally got a nibble. Caixa Banco said they exchange money, but not at the branch we were at. We made our way through town to the main branch and were able to convey our wish to pay a high exchange rate to take our money. Actually, they were very friendly and helpful. In my opinion, they saved our life. Lesson learned, exchange money before traveling overseas. We got 10% less than the actual exchange rate.

The loss of the money was quickly forgotten just a few miles up the trail. We stopped for a quick look at a true craftsman’s shop–a blacksmith’s shop was on the side of the trail. They did amazing work! The were even making old fashioned locks that worked.

We looked up the trail to see that George had already found the wine fountain. The Bodegas Irache wine fountain has only been around since 1891 serving to pilgrims. They give away 100 liters a day to pilgrims (which equals approximately 12 ounces per pilgrim). By the time we arrived, George had already had his 12-32 ounces and was very happy. It wasn’t until after Pam and I got our 12 ounces that we saw the closed circuit camera–we are afraid the monks might be coming after George.

With the late start due to the money swap added to the wine expedition, we agreed to George’s request to stop after just 6 miles. It was only another 4 miles to Monjardin. We were forced to stop after just another mile after the fountain to have a coffee. Now we were 3 wide awake drunks hobbling down the trail.

We made it to the Alburgue we wanted to stay at (the one George picked–never argue with a wine soaked pilgrim) by 12:30. We ate the lunch we had carried with us until we could get into the alburge. There were already people waiting when we got there, but I was confident we would get in. At 1, they opened the doors and we were the second ones in.

We got all settled in to our beds on the second floor. While we were getting all set up, a couple of Canadians came in. Alex and Nathan were going at a much faster pace than we are. Alex is going to cover the distance in one day that we plan on covering in the next 2 days.

After I uploaded a few pictures for the blog and made another post for the Pembrokeshire trail (I’ve still got 5 more days to write as of this writing, so I will hold off posting anything on the Camino until I finish that trail). We went to the local bar for a little foot therapy–i.e. beer ingestion until the feet stop hurting. We made the mistake of trying to explain to Pam how a sundial works–it was all downhill from there.

If there’s one word to use for today it was HOT!

We got up not too much after 6 and were on the trail before 7–this is a huge accomplishment for us. Shaun, Rob, and Michele were out at least 1/2 hour before us. Richard hung around to walk with us to the bridge. He’s catching a bus to jump forward on the trail so he can hike another day or two with some Scottish friends he met when he first started the trail. He’s not going to be able to do the entire trail this time so we decided to give him the honorary title of “Taxi English Rich” until he returns. We exchanged emails and he is planning to come spend a few days with us when we are completing the Camino.

We caught up with the Aussie crowd about 3 miles up the trail. This was after completing our one big climb for the day and entering the village of Maseru. We all headed out together but soon got separated.

With the heat today, people were more spread out and moving slower than usual. By the time we got to the next village of Cirauqui (2 hot miles later), Rob and Shaun were way out front and Michelle was dropping behind. Cirauqui is a picturesque little village built upon a single hill with winding, steep streets running in all directions. Even though I was hungry, no one wanted to stop. About a mile out of town, I found a shady spot and sat down–I needed fuel and I was going to have it (it gives you powers when you carry the food). Michele walked by while we were eating and asked if we were having morning tea.

We haven’t eaten lunch any day before 1p so I had convinced myself that we were doing terrible today since we’d already eaten lunch and were only half way. When Pam told me it was only 11:20, I perked up some.

We caught back up with the Aussies at an unknown bar on the side of the road. Rob and Michele started telling me about the hazards of Australia. Shaun kept saying “The snakes are bastards. The crocodiles are bastards. The wombats are bastards. The sharks are bastards. The kangaroos are bastards. The toads are bastards.  The spiders are bastards.” Michele stopped him there. “The spiders aren’t bastards. There’s only 4 species that will kill you instantly.” They were having a great time messing with me.

Even though we left the bar first, they soon past us and then we couldn’t catch them again. Pam, George, and I were dying from the heat at 84F while they were all saying this would be a great winter day. The summers get really hot in Australia with temps regularly up around 110F. We may need to reconsider spending one of our winters down under and go in their winter instead.

The final few miles were just hot and miserable. I was dragging and my inner voice started getting really mean to me (don’t pretend you don’t have a voice in your head with a constant running commentary). I know that I am an acquired taste with very few people able to maintain a like of the flavor for long–thank goodness for family which has to take you anyway. I decided to give the Australian gang their freedom for a while.

When Pam and I got to Estella, we had left George behind at Villatuerta while we looked for a bank. We haven’t been able to get Euros yet and have been running on charge cards and borrowed money from George. We got into town and went to the first Albergue that was on the trail thinking if George came on he’d stop here first. We hit the jackpot here and got a private room on the top floor with our own balcony and a bathroom with a bathtub. After de-stinkifying, we went in search of an open bank.

Crossing the bridge to get to the heart of town, we met an Irish man that started the same day we did. We talked with Tommy for a while and told him our plans until Pam got attacked by biting ants and we had to run off the bridge.

Estella is about 8 times the size of Puente La Reina so there are multiple banks. When we looked in Villatuerta for a bank, they were closed for siesta so we pushed on hoping to catch a bank in Estella when it reopened after siesta. Again, no luck. We got there 10 minutes too late because I’ve picked up Pam’s sense of direction. I may have to wire home for $ soon if this keeps happening.

After a little grocery and pharmaceutical shopping, we decided to head back to the refuge to connect to wifi to find George. We turned the corner on the only pizza place in town, and there he sat. He did get the same Albergue but not the same setup. He’s in a 24 bed room on a top bunk without an outlet near his bed. I felt obliged to rub in the nice accommodations we had thanks to Oscar at the front desk who took pity on Pam’s pathetic appearance when we arrived. The no makeup, no hair conditioner, and no leg shaving is finally paying off for us.

Today we were all anxious to get back on the trail after an off day in Pamplona. Rob and Michele were the first up before 6. I managed to roll out of bed at 6:45. Pam stayed in bed until after 7. George was already up, packed, and ready to go before Pam got up. We had all agreed to meet Alena at 7:30 out front.

The walk through Pamplona was pleasant even if it was on concrete. There were lots of Pilgrims all heading out together. We flowed from one conversation to the next which made the walk fly by. We met a mother and daughter from Oregon hiking together to celebrate the 50th birthday of the dad who couldn’t be there because of a last minute business deal. We also talked to a couple of women from Barcelona starting today. They had never met each other before but already they seemed to be bonding. Another German woman was solo hiking and walked with us for a bit. It’s amazing how easy it is to talk to total strangers and have an instant bond.

I had time to talk with everyone that was walking in our group today. Alena from Romania and Richard from London (who found us the rooms we had in Pamplona) other than the usual George and Shaun.

When we got to Cizur Menor, we were getting a bit hungry from the 3 mile road walk on empty stomachs. Ahead, we saw a sign for a cafe 600m off the trail so we diverted over. When we got to the cafe, I noticed another young German man, Noah, had tagged along. My first impression was that he was very interested in Alena. As the time progressed, they started talking more and more between themselves in German.

The trail starts climbing out of Cizur Menor eventually rising to the “Monumento Peregrino” recognizable in “The Way”. Along the way, we passed through Zariquiegui which had a nice medieval church open to see as well as a little shop selling fresh fruit. We were already 6 miles in and George was falling a bit behind after a strong start–I was afraid the incline was getting to him. Just as everyone headed out of town, George strode in walking strong and looking happy. He had just stopped for a break to relax his feet. He grabbed a juice, downed it, and was ready to go. He was still going strong. I was very happy to see him finally start to get his hiker’s legs.

We had the final 150m rise to the Pilgrim’s Monument where we had already agreed to stop for lunch and a nice break. The trail was crowded and talk was easy. I met a couple of Canadians trying to understand the “Trump phenomenon”–I had no insights because I still don’t get it. I met another Aussie woman solo hiking. And Santiago buzzed on by going uphill–he’s in great shape at 76.

The downward side was steep with slightly loose scree. George and I took off first after lunch and I showed him how I like to run/dance down the steep areas to keep pressure off the knees. It was great to see him running down the trail. The first town was only about 2.5 miles down. When we got into town, we stopped for a beer in an Albergue to give everyone a chance to catch up and regroup.

Alena and Noah had taken off ahead of us so we assumed they were pushing on together. The consensus of those remaining was to go ahead and push to Puente La Reina. It was only another 4 miles and we were all feeling good from our rest day. George led the way out of town.

Rob passed us about the time we entered Muruzabal and said we should just keep going and not wait for everyone to catch up because we needed to make sure we got space in the Albergue. George saw a nice shady tree and decided to catch a short rest while everyone else caught up. Pam and I kept going.

When we got to Obanos, Shaun had caught up with us. He was having a little foot pain and wanted to just get the day over so he was pushing hard. We saw a little girl with great entrepreneurial instincts on the side of the trail selling fresh made lemonade. All of us managed to stop and get a glass.

Rob was probably already at the Puente La Reina Albergue in the monastery where we were shooting for. Needing 7 beds, we felt one of us should get there ASAP and he’s the fastest hiker of our group.

We all managed to straggle in by 5:20 and get our beds thanks to Rob. The beds aren’t assigned here so all 7 of us got top bunks. The cyclists are going to be sorry tonight having 4 old guys in top bunks that have to get up and pee multiple times. We’ve all agreed to snore openly and wear ear plugs. Maybe we’ll get up to pee or just roll over–that’ll teach them to grab all the bottom bunks.

Showers and laundry first priority with beer and food a close second. After dinner, Richard, Michele, Pam, and I went walking around town looking for a grocery store and sightseeing. We pass over a Medieval bridge over the rio Arga built specifically for the large numbers of pilgrims passing through the town. Heading back, we ran into Noah and Alena walking down the street.  When we got back to the Albergue, the completely full sign was up.