To Logroño and on to Ventosa days 10 & 11

Leaving Villamayor de Mondarin is a tough thing. It is a special place and it would be easy to tarry for a day, a week, a month.
In fact we met someone who did just that. She is from Norway, I can’t tell you her name; she told me but I could not wrap my brain around it. She was walking the Camino until she came upon the hostal and decided to stay. She is a lovely gal and now volunteers at the hostal until the spirit moves her along. So Camino like.

The stay at Torres del Rió was refreshing. A nice meal and a pool. After a long hot walk the chance to stay in a hotel room (in a hostal) was nice. Andie enjoyed the pool and I enjoyed a nap and a washer/dryer. 

Along the way we met a gal carrying her young daughter. She had a great setup for carting her and was having her luggage transported ahead. I guess you have to look for a reason to not walk the Camino!

The walking the last two days has been on good paths through rolling hills. Not without challenge (especially for an old, fat man, such as myself) it was nowhere as tough as we’ve done. Intermittent rain cooled the day, but made it muggy. Today we encountered the Korean band, still going; one of them commented that walking in the humidity was like swimming. Hard to cool off when sweat doesn’t evaporate. 

We entered the Provence 
of La Rioja, which is wine country. We passed through kilometer after kilometer of vineyards, just getting ready for next years vino tinto. Beautiful. Logroño is a modern Spanish city, and I could hardly wait to leave it behind. Nothing against the city but it felt hurried and stressful after so much time in the country. I’ll take wheat fields, vineyards, and quaint Spanish villages anytime. 

We crossed paths with Ramon, the photographer from Madrid who blessed us with an amazing gift...

https://youtu.be/34rO6Ig2FIA

Two!

https://youtu.be/fndYnjaPbGY

Torres del Rió day 9

Walking. This is what you do on the Camino. Walk. That is what we did today, for about 20km. The walk, while beautiful, was uneventful. Just 20km under the sun. 
We came across a “bar” I remembered in the middle of nowhere. Really just a food trailer with some seating in the shade. It was a welcome respite and a chance to get a snack to sustain us. We saw the owner come out of the trailer and give the bums rush to a couple of pilgrims who tried to sit at his tables and eat food they brought with them. He was having none of it.  While there Carly, from Ohio, walked up. We met Carly in Bayonne when we rode the bus up to St. Jean Pied de Port. We had a nice visit as we walked together until Los Arcos.

When we finally arrived in Torres del Rió we checked into a private room at a Casa Rural with a restaurant and pool. Andie took advantage of the pool and we later had a great meal from the pilgrims menu.

Tomorrow we walk.

https://youtu.be/a-bM-1_2Vnw

Villamayor de Mondarin day 8

The walk today was a short one for us, only about 15km. We started very early and managed to stay ahead of the worst of the heat. Along the way we passed by the famous wine fountain at Bodega Irache, just passed Estella.  It was a bit early for wine, but hey, how often to you pass a wine fountain? After a leisurely lunch in the previous town, we arrived here at around 1:00, only to have to wait until 3:00 for them to open. Time to chat with fellow pilgrims also waiting.

Every now and then, and not commonly, you come across a very special place. The Albergue Hogar Monjardin is such a place.

https://youtu.be/dsNgAuyADQ4

To Villatuerta day 7

After a restful night we headed out for Villatuerta. We came into Puenta la Reina after about 2km where we were finally able to get some cash.
 It seems a that my travel ATM card does not work, but my regular card does. Good thing I brought it. I will call the CU later to see if it can be fixed. After Puenta la Reina came a long grinding climb, mostly in the sun. It wasn’t too bad it makes me look forward to the flat meseta to come. 
We passed through several towns, each one hotter as the day wore on. By 4:00 when we arrived at our albergue we were really ready to be out of the sun. This albergue caters to vegetarian pilgrims. Dinner was incredible: a mixed salad packed with wonderful vegetables and an incredible table-sized paella vegital that was shared by all. It was fabulous. Now to bed for an early start tomorrow. Hopefully we can beat the heat to Villamayor de Mondarin.

https://youtu.be/V2LVaKyZhG0

To Obanos

After a well appreciated day of rest in Pamplona we made our way to Obanos, a 24km hike that had us on the road for 10 hours. It wasn’t so much the terrain, which was up and down with stretches walking on baseball sized loose rocks, but rather we took our time and several longer breaks.
Who is in a hurry? Alto del Perdón is on a high ridge with a strong breeze and provided a welcome spot to rest after a long climb. We met up the Korean band again and were extras in a video for their documentary, part of a line of pilgrims marching behind the drummer. Fun!

The rest of the walk was uneventful but hot. Again we took our time, arriving at our algergue around 5:30. It’s very nice and obviously recently built. As it turns out we are the only pilgrims staying here do have the run of the place. We attempted to make an ATM withdraw but again failed, as in Pamplona. This happened to us last time too, so not too worried yet. We will look for a Santander ATM down the road, we had good luck with those last time here. After a good sleep we are leaving early to try and get ahead of the heat.

https://youtu.be/5FZtUG6tQcI

To Pamplona, day 4

The walk from Zubiri to Pamplona was long but not as hard as previous days. It was on this stretch in 2016 that Lori and I nearly swooned from the heat and back packs that were way too heavy. It was a nicer walk this time.
  The man selling oranges and cold drinks was there still, I guess some angels hang around for a while. The walk itself is beautiful (an often used word in these posts) with lots of shaded trails along rivers and over creeks. 

As is often the case, we cross paths with pilgrims we met earlier. 
Phillip, from Germany, and Sophia, from Portugal, are two of these. We first met Sophia in Roncesvalles. She had horribly sunburnt legs which were very painful. She asked them if she could stay an extra day to heal, but the albergues don’t allow multiple night says and sent her to the next albergue 3km down the road.  We next saw her walking with Phillip on the way to Zubiri. She was suffering greatly and was layering aloe vera on her legs often. Phillip was walking with boots that were obviously not new when he started and were completely broken down. The soles were just one layer of leather, it must have been like walking in moccasins. I can’t imaging enduring that on the steep decline into Zubiri with millions of loose sharp rocks. The photo shows them halfway to Pamplona with Phillip sporting a new pair of trail hikers and Sophia the benefactor of another pilgrim’s gift of a long pair of pants. I hope we see them again.

Today is a rest day, which feels awesome. Andie and I had a wonderful meal at a restaurant Lori and I ate at two years ago, followed by a blissful night of sleep in a rest bed with air conditioning. Well rested, today we will explore Pamplona and see how many pilgrim friends we meet.  We found the Korean band that plays traditional Korean music, that has been carrying their instruments, on there backs, as well as everything else they need, since St. Jean Pied de Port! They are amazing and I’m looking forward to seeing their documentary. 

To Roncesvalles and Zubiri, days 2 & 3

Well, we have made it to Zubiri and the Suseia albergue. It’s warm comfort and a meal with friends is a perfect conclusion to a couple of grand days. The hike up and over the Pyranees was amazing . The day started in the fog, which was a welcome change from the heat the day before. We climbed out of the fog to spectacular vistas of mountain tops and clouds blanketing the valleys. Remembering the descent into Roncesvalles Lori and I took, Andie and I took the path to the right instead of the “treacherously beautiful” path straight ahead. It was a good move, much nicer.

https://youtu.be/RePVyps2Yl0

Today was tougher that I anticipated. The first half was under a slight drizzle that kept the temperature down and the walk easier.

After lunch was tough, with a steep climb followed by a horrible downward climb over loose rocks and fascinating layers of sedimentary rock that’s been uplifted nearly 90 degrees. Cool to look at but nasty to walk on. They seemed to go on for miles and miles.

Tomorrow is Pamplona and a rest day. Buen Camino!

Orisson, first day of walking.

We climbed our way to the refuge at Orisson today. It was a beautiful day but warm.  I felt better climbing this time, my body and spirit took it easier. If not for the temperature, around 85F, I might even say it was pleasant. Andie did great and was very patient with her twice-as-old dad. She seems to be really loving it so far. Despite how challenging it was it all ended well, amazing what a shower and a beer or two can do for you.

As before, the company and meal at the refuge  was great. We met some interesting pilgrims, hopefully we will see them again along the way.  

Sleeping dorm style can be a challenge too. I’m not having much luck with it tonight, as evidenced by the fact that I’m updating my blog at 2:57 am. Getting up to attend to nature several times just disturbes others trying to sleep and since I’m just tossing and turning in bed I decided to just get up for awhile. Who says you can’t cross the Pyranees with 3 hours of sleep. Maybe I’ll try again in half an hour or so. For now I’ll see if I can watch the stars, and upload this. Earlier this evening I made my first attempt at making an iMovie from some GoPro footage. It’s not polished at all, but the YouTube link is below. I’ll try more as we go.

https://youtu.be/raMuQRwYHdQ

Biarritz, France

We have arrived in Biarritz after an exhausting day of traveling. Four flights and a 6 hour layover in Orly airport, Paris. Our hotel was SMALL but did the trick. I slept poorly, which is surprising considering how tired I was, still am. Maybe a bit of jet lag, it’s 9:36 am here and 12:36 pm back home.

This morning we used google maps to find the train/bus station and a post office, “Le Poste”. We have a few things we won’t need on the walk but will want later; IKEA bags to check backpacks in, a carry on bag, and not least some warmer jackets for our 3 night stay over in Iceland. Looking forward to that.

Today we are making our way to Saint Jean Pied de Port at the foot of the Pyranees and the start of the Camino. We will check in to our Gite and go to the Pilgrims Office to get a shell for Andie, a stamp in our credential, and get info about The Way. We will explore the town (Andie will love it, she’s already “in heaven” with Biarritz) and hopefully get a good nights test and head up the mountain tomorrow.

I’ll post more later, and along the way, as I can. Not everywhere has WiFi or cell service, so that will impact the frequency. We’re off!

...and so it begins...

In two weeks Andrea and I will be on our way to France to start our Camino.  I am excited and nervous.  Training has been sporadic and, as always seems the case, there have been challenges, mostly with feet.  Andie had some foot issues, which (hopefully) now seem resolved.  My podiatrist told me that I would probably develop a stress fracture at some point on the Camino.  Great.

Still, there is no use worrying about the unknown.  We will be smart and take things at whatever pace feels right; we've allowed six weeks to walk to Santiago, which would mean walking about 13 miles a day with four rest days.  Very doable.

So, it's time to put the frosting on the cake and take care of the final and small details.  You may follow us on this blog, if you want.  If my IFTTT app still works, there will be posts on my Facebook page whenever I post here, just a link to the blog, not the entire post.  I will update whenever I have network services, which will be most days, but not all.  I am hoping to post some videos to YouTube with links to them on the blog. Follow along, comment or ask questions, if you want.

Ready or not, here we come.