A Long Day

It was our longest day on the Camino so far--32K. We stayed in a small village yesterday but in a very nice albergue.  We got an early start at 6:00 am. It was beautiful walking at dawn. 

The weather was gorgeous again today. It must be our reward for the horrid weather last weekend. We will enjoy it while we can.

We saw a friar with his brown robes and sandals walking today. He was carrying a small backpack and had a pink baseball cap. Therese got a pic of him but I didn't. 

Therese's feet were in pretty good shape for most of the day. The last 10K were a little tough but our reward was catching up to our earlier traveling companions--Paul, Herman, Mike, Cecelia and Andrea. We had a great reunion on the plaza in Santo Domingo. 

Most of us are staying in an albergue run by the Cisterne nuns. It's a very old building but I'm the spirit of the Camino. 

Santo Domingo is a very quaint town, very historic. There are many nice cafes and shops throughout the village. One thing about Spain, though, is there very leisurely approach to life and business. All  of the shops are closed until about 5:00 pm which makes it tough if you need some supplies. The cafes remain open for drinking and snacks but dinner isn't served until 8:00 or so. I'd you go to a restaurant at 7:00, you are usually the only one there. 

We are having snacks in the courtyard of the convent now. Great local wine, cheese and produce. 

Today's good intentions are for Therese's brother, Tony, who has Ollie's great spirit. 

Day 8: Taking It Easy

We said good bye to our traveling companions of the last several days (Cecelia, Mike, Herman and Paul) to take a relatively easy day on the Camino. Hopefully, this will allow Therese's maladies to heal. It was hard to see them go on ahead, but perhaps our paths will cross again. 

We walked 20 relatively uninteresting kilometers out of Logrono to the tiny hamlet of Ventosa. We arrived at 12:30 to find a short queue of peregrinos outside the albergue. 

Once we checked in, we found a wonderfully restored building with a lovely courtyard.  It certainly is a lovely reward for a boring day of hiking. 

Therese's feet seem to be doing better. She got rid of a couple of kilos of unused items and her old hiking shoes. It will be all the way to Santiago in her new Keens. 

Last night, we had a nice time exploring Logrono with its narrow alleys and tapas bars. We had some very nice local crianza. We bought a bottle and took it back to the albergue where Cecelia was cooking up another fine meal--mussels, prawns, calamari and rice noodles. We fringed in on dinner. 

Today's good intentions are for our siblings, Celine and Susan, who offer us splendid hospitality whenever we are in Michigan. 

One Week Completed on the Camino

Day 7: 29K to Logrono

It was a long day on the Camino. Therese is suffering with the blisters on the bottom of her feet. Every step is painful. About two thirds of the way through today's hike, we came across a great sports store in a little village called Viana. Therese bought some Keens to hike in and they seem to do a little better for her.  She may jettison the hiking shoes soon. 

The Camino guide that we have been following has several long days coming up. We may do a couple of short days to give Therese's feet some time to recover.  

One of the interesting encounters toward the end of today's hike was a shepherd and his flock. Even with all of the biblical implications, Therese was not going to get out of the way.

We had a great dinner last night in Los Arcos. After spending a couple of hours in the city plaza drinking cervesas with our fellow peregrinos, Cecelia suggested (insisted) that we buy groceries and fix dinner in the albergue (hostel). It was a great idea. Therese fixed a salad with local ingredients, Cecelia prepared a pasta and sardine dish and Herman bought some fine local wine and pastries for dessert. It was a wonderful communal meal in the spirit of the Camino.

Today's good intentions are for my brother, Tim. May he have safe journeys back and forth (and back and forth and back and forth . . . ) between Michigan and Alaska. 

Settling In On The Camino

We are settling in to a daily routine on the Camino. Life in the albergues is pretty structured: check in at noon, take a shower, wash clothes, hang them to dry, have a cervesa or two in the court yard and talk to the other peregrinos, explore the local village a bit, maybe rest a little, more cervesas, dinner at 7:00 (always with wine), in bed at 10:00 with the lights turnedb off at 10:15. 

In the morning, the lights come on at 6:00. We pack, have a quick banana and are hiking by 6:30 or 7:00.  

Most of the hiking is done in the morning.  We stop for breakfast at a village cafe along the way. We have cafe con leche and a tortilla (Therese) or pastry (Mark). Then it's off to the next village. Hiking for the day is usually over by noon or 1:00 and then we repeat the routine again. 

Day 5: Puente La Reina to Estelle, 22K

Beautiful weather again over rolling terrain. Therese has developed a couple of blisters which has slowed her down a bit. Only six other peregrinos found the albergue we stayed in including Andrea and Mike and Herman, two Aussie brothers. The best thing about this spot was that it was only 1K from the free wine fountain at the Irache monastery. Really. Here's proof:

Last night, Therese had to use the bathroom and started to get into the wrong bed when she was done. Herman nearly had a heart attack. 

Today's good intentions are for our next younger siblings, Mary and Greg, who share the distinction of having three children. 

Day 6: 21K to Los Arcos

Not a cloud in the sky today. While it got a bit warm in the sun, with shade and breezes, it was quite pleasant. It was another gently rolling hike across beautiful farmland and vineyards. 

Los Arcos is a quaint old village with wonderful central plaza surrounded by shops and restaurants. We are staying in a municipal albergue with a couple of Flemish hospitaleros running the place. We arrived early so we enjoyed watching all of the other peregrinos checking in in so many languages.  People Fromm all over the world are here. 

Today's good intentions are for Therese's sister, Pauline, who is a kind soul and keeping alive the memories of Ollie and Rita.  

Day 4

It was a gorgeous day on the Camino. The lashing rain from yesterday have way  to partly cloudy skies and cool breezes today. 

We left the urban environs of Pamplona (which was very nice) back into the countryside of farms and small villages. The route was fairly easy today with just one big climb. The trail was in pretty good shape, given yesterday's weather, with just a couple of really muddy spots. 

We hiked most of the day with the young Polish couple. I think that they have sort of attached themselves to us. Amazingly, their names are Kasia (Katie) and Maciek (Matt). Here's a picture of Therese and her Camino children:

Today's good intentions are in memory of  my sister, Carol, who would  have definitely loved to do something like this. 

An Epic Day

Last night it poured nonstop. This morning as we began our walk into Pamplona we decided to take the main road assuming the trails would be flooded or at least terribly muddy. 

The rain continued to pour as we began walking. The river next to the road was raging over its banks and sometimes water was ankle deep on the road itself. 

At about 5K, we decided to jump back onto the trail. Big mistake. For about 3K, it was like walking through a flowing stream and in a couple of places water was rushing knee deep across the trail. It was kind of scary in some spots. So we got back on the main road into Pamplona and decided to follow it all the way into the city center.  

We were with four other peregrinos, a young Polish couple and an American/Japanese couple. The main road got quite busy and several people stopped and told us we were very lost. Everyone gave us different directions (in Spanish, of course). As it turns out the Camino trail was blocked by flooding and everyone was trying to find a different way into the city. After covering the same stretch of road three times, we spotted a bus stop and ended up taking the easy way into the city. 

When we arrived about 10:30 am, it was still pouring rain and it was freezing. We. were soaked through despite our rain gear. Rather than going on to the next village as planned, we found a pension were we could get dry and warm. 

In the afternoon, the rain let up and we went out to explore the old city. I'm glad we decided to stay in town. Pamplona is a wonderful old city with a lot going on in the public plazas. We ran into some of the other peregrinos we have met along the way including the Irish couple, Eoin and Veronica. We had a couple of beers at Ernest Hemingway's hangout in Pamplona and checked out the narrow streets where the bulls run. 

As it turns out, the heavy rains caused major flooding in the city. Fortunately, the weather forecast shows better weather this week. Let's hope so. 

Today's good intentions are for our older siblings, Al and Joan. They led the way in both of our families.