Ramblings to Santiago

I´ve spent more on physiotherapy and massage in the last week than I have on food and accomodation!

I just went through a very painful session, but the guy told me, in Spanish, that this should make things a lot better in a couple of days At least I think that´s what he told me. It might have been "youre a deamn fool if you carry on walking and if you don´t stop your foot will drop off in two days."

My ankle is now bandaged, with the wrappings containing two ointments, liberally applied, one being a homeopathic cure, the other an arnica paste. Then the whole lot was sprayed with freezer spray and he´s given me a can to take away with me and apply three times a day. As I sat having dinner the gloop was oozing out between the bandages. What fun! It promises to make an interesting mess of my footwear.

But he was quite confident I´ll be able to walk 20k tomorrow. We´ll see.

I left Villafranca in the cold dawn, and managed to find the high route without difficulty. Almost immediately it angled itself at an apparent 45 degrees and continued like that for a long way. I´m sorry if I can´t be more acurate regarding angles and distance, but frankly I hurt too much to take proper measurements. I was alone on the track climbing up and up, for ever, it seemed, and watched the rising sun paint the sillhouette of the ridge that I was on onto the mountains on the other side of the valley. Having taken an hour or more to get to the more exposed and more gently sloping upper ridge, this was the first time in my whole camino that I put on an extra layer, for warmth, over my short sleeved shirt.

Eventually, having crossed under some buzzing power lines, the route took me out into some chestnet groves, ancient trees fenced in a way that few other parts of the walk had been - a potential valuable crop, i guess.

The descent was less pleasant, for themost part zig-zagging down an old road, cutting out the hiapins of the new one. then the route joined the easier road route from Vilafranca, and it was on then to Ruitelan, about 22k. Here I stayed at an albergue with a disctinct Buddhist touch, including the offer of Shiatsu massage, which I took up to compliment the Reiki massage I´d had yesterday. They were both effective.

Here I met up again with John, a 67 year old Londoner, who walks faster than most people - aided by his 5-iron as a walking stick. He had a hip replacement a couple of years ago and hasn´t looked back since. He came on the camino thinking that he´d be pleased if he managed to do the first 80k to Pamplona, as far as he´s concrned anything more than that is a bonus ... and it looks like he´s going to go all the way to Santiago. He´s out-walked most of the poepl he´s been with, the only way that he and i met again is becasue I gained that 50k by train to Leon. he walked it. What an inspiration!

John and I walked most of the next day "together", in reality like most of the camino partnerships, you might start out together but after a while you separate, catching up at the next cafe of break area, or perhaps onl at night, at the next albergue, or if there is an option of accommodation you might miss each other altogether at this place and not meet up until the next day, or later .. or never. That´s the camino.

This day John and I climbed to O Cebreiro, the steepest climb of the camino. Frankly, it was less steep than yesterday, but John leapt ahead of me like a mountain goat. The view from the top was phenominal, looking down over a sea of clouds. I shall post some pictures eventually.

whilst the tendonitis in my right leg is a whole lot better, my left foot and leg is now playing up - I don´t know if its simply a recurrance of the problem i had before leaving home, or something else. The pain has spread to the back of my calf, above my achilles tendon. I´ll just have to keep taking the pills, and the ointment, and the spray, and the ice ....

Last nights albergue, at Hospital de la Condesa, the first in Galicia, wasn´t very good, with a distinct lack of empathy on the part of the hospitalier, who tuend away a very tearful woman and 8 at night, who had nowhere else to go. The rooms were crowded and stuffy, with beds far too close together. however dinner at a nearby bar was excellent, and John and I had the company of a Swedish nuclear engineer, Chistine, whose Eglish was excellent - as it is for most of the northern Europeans. Puts us to shame.

Next day I walked some of trhe way with John and some with Christine, ending up in the old monastary town of Samos. I treated myself to a night in an hotel, and had a good sleep.

Although due a rest day, this wasn´t the right place, and Iwalked on again today. however the discomfort of my leg underlined the rightness of my decision to make is a short walk. I started at 10.00am, but trhe supposed 12k to Sarria seemd an awful lot longer. Perhaps it was the heat. I am in what seems to be a very pleasant albergue in an old property at the top of the town, fountain and jaccuzi in the garden, no less. And still just 7 Euros. Having washed meyself and my clothes and caught up here, I shall now have a siesta, and contemplate another short walk tomorrow, but this time starting early (which you hgave to do in the albergues) and avoiding the worst of the heat.

Galicia is composed, largely, of lots of small farms. The route takes you past many cowsheds, and through many cowpats on the road. It all smells very agricultural.

According to my schedule, I should be in Astorga at the moment, however I´m about 4/5 days ahead of myself, plus another day in hand. I´m at Villafranca, at the foot of the steepest climb on the Camino. I will take a resat day here, to recover from a particulary demanding day yesterday and to prepare for the climb over the next couple of days. Yesterday was 29, very hot kilometres, but in my narrative, as in my camino, I´m getting ahead of myself.

I´ll hop back to Leon, for a bit, where the route out was rather horrible, I too the shorter one, by the main road, and its was hot and noisy. But I ended up in a very nice albergue, in the company of the three Dutch people I´d met some 100k earlier. Ana, the owner, was happy to provide as much ice as I needed, and she also provided the best diner and breakfast on the camino to date. I paid a massive 17Euros for dinner bed and breakfast. I met a Danish lady, Marianne, who was finding her camino very moving, she was touched (as we all are) by "the kindness of strangers". One small example being the old man who left biscuits outside his front door to help fortify the passing pelgrinos. It would be a betterb world if we saw more of such kindness.

Then it was on to Astorga, a mere 15k. Again I opted to do the road route in order to minimise the pressure on my shin. Of course, if I was sensible, I´d get rid of the half-hundredweight of lead I´m carrying, for fun, in my rucsac. The Gaudi church in Astorga is famous, but it sits uneasily beside the traditional catholic cathedral. We had to hunt round to find a quiet bar for dinner - Spain was playing their football cup match.

The best treatment for this tendonitis is ice, and so i have good reason to rest up in bars at the end of the walking day, and after regular application of ice the swelling drops down again. Bars are very accommodating in filling my ziploc bag, it is a pretty common request from similarly afflicted peregrinos. However the most teeth clenching element of the inflamation isn´t pain, its the creaking noise the muscle makes when it is manipulated! We are all adept at helping each other with massages to back, shoulders, feet and legs - its part of the camraderie of the camino. It is nice, if one is having a break, and another walker passes, when they call out, in one language or another, to ask if you are ok. And if you have met before they´ll probably come over to just make sure. And everyone wishes each other "Buon Camino" whenever we pass. And we lift each other sometimes with a light touch on the shoulder or arm.

After Astorga it was another 22k to Rabanal del Camino, a hot, steady climb from 870m to 1149m. Here i stayed at the albergue run the the UK Confraternity of st James, and I have to say it was the best yet, very hospitable to the extent that they carried your rucsac to the dormitory for you, and provided afternoon tea and biccies! And its a true refugio, with no charge, you are merely asked to make a donation. The building has a large garden and a wonderfully cool courtyard.

Here I met again with Tobias, who was staying in the mini monastery next door to the albergue (his education was with the Dominicans) and with his encouragement and with Marianne´s, I attended the service held in the Romanesque church. Neither god nor I were particulary impressed with each other. But at least I wasn´t struck with a thunderbolt as soon as I set foot over the threshold!

That evening we had a very nice shared meal, with everyone contributing whatever they could by way of food. We made 5 small fishes go a heck of a long way!

A small camino story: There was a group of 4 German girls staying here, two had set out together, two others had started solo. Of the solos, one had taken into here head to do the camino when ashe was working in Leon, and had set out particularly ill prepared, but she was ok. A couple of days earlier she had taken a siesta at the side of the path and the other girl had come along and just sat beside her - watching over her - until she woke, then they walked on together, meeting the other two the day after. A sweet camino story.

After Rabanal the path climbs to the highest point on the camino, just after the iron cross (Cruz de ferro) at 1504m, the path gets to 1517. Happily, Rabanal is already at 1150m, so it isn´t a massive height gain. Cruz de ferro is traditionally where pilgrims leave the stone they brought from their home, and it is surrounded by a veritable mini-mountain of rocks, but frankly, many of them aer of such a size that i frankly doublt anyone´s ability to stagger more than a metre of teo carrying them.

We started out in a clear pre-dawn and climbed into the mist, coming out above it, finally, and briefly, before descending again. after a brief break for a toasted bocadillo (sandwich) (and an iced leg) the descent continued. All 1000 metres of it, almost all of it being very rocky. Halfway down, and now in sunshine, I came to a grove of old trees, and after eating some of the fruit I was carrying, i decided to have a siesta. It was very, very nice. I was joined later by Marianne, and then some of the others, who also found the cool shade a delightful temptation, and then we moved on ...

It was a painful descent, taxing on the muscles of thigh, hip and bum. But finally got to Molinaseca, a pretty village, but the albergue wasn´t very nice, rather grubby. The plus point is that there were only 4 of us in it. That evening I ate the best meal yet, but it was a la carte, not the pilgrims menu. The German girls arrived late and slept in the beds outside the albergue, but their noisy chatter carried through the night air, into the small hours.

Yesterday, walking here, was not good - at least in the morning. Pontferrada was noisy and confusing, I had a left foot that hurt and a right shin that hurt, and I was walking solo. I later teamed up with a German girl, Susanna and the walk became better, and bought some cherries at the side of the route from an old lady with the blackest fingernails you´d wish to see ... let´s live dangerously! We decided to take a siesta on ariving at a nice place, and who should we meet but Marianne, just waking from hers. We all went on our ways separately, a bit later. My leg felt a lot better, perhaps becasue of the wine that had been pressed upon me from a walker, in response to my offer of cherries, and i decided to walk the extra 8k here. It was incredibly hot under the afternon sun, but it has set me up for a relatively easy first day´s ascent tomorrow.

I aim to seek out a massage today, to catch up with some reading, and generally chill out. But I don´t find it easy to stay in one place, their is a pressure from the tide, pushing us all to Santiago, and some of us to Finisterre.

We are seeing more on the "tourists". People who join the Camino for the last 200 or 100k, and who carry only light day packs, having their luggage transported by van or car. Some of them are on tours, decending from their mini-buses obnly top get their passports stamped at places along the way. To them we are objects to be photographed.

If i stay so many days ahead of my schedule, I might dally on the coast, or even walk back to Santiago from Finisterre (instead of taking the bus), and thus make up the 50k that I didn´t walk a few days ago. Perhaps. Or perhaps not. We´ll see.

Hmmm. I think I might just be chilling out.

Well, I didn´t haew internet access for a couple of days, and then when I did the access time was so slow that somehow the blog entry that I´d spent 30 minutes writing didn´t get posted. So then, to update things:

Walked to Sahagun, leg very sore ... got train to Leon (saving about 50k / 2 days walking). Stayed 2 nights. Picked up package from home and sent my sleeping bag and some other items on to myself in Santiago. Bought new, lighter rucsac, which seems comfortable enough.

Walked the next day to SanMartin delCamino. Very hot day .. leg sore but responded well to an efternoon of ice application. The mountains are in sight .. which means the end - thankfully - of the meseta.

Walked today to Astorga, about 22k again, but stopped about 3k short to ice the lerg whilst having a slice of tortilla for lunch, plus two cokes and a fanta, on t of the 2 litres of water I´d drunk. It´s hot again today, in case you wondered!

Tomorrow should see us in the mountains again ... there did seem, on breakfast TV today (at 0600) a forecast of rain.

Right, I´m off to find a bar and some ice .. I have my own plastic bag to put it in.

Had you been on the road here today, you´d have seen a nattily attired chap, sylish straw stetson on at a rakish angle, linen scarf draped casually round his neck. You might have thought him so good looking that you´d have had a second look, or it might have been that fact of his walking backwards that caused your double take.

The nurse who I met the day before yesterday said that one of the ways to moderate the discomfort of this shin pain is to walk backwards. Although I had a very restful day yesterday, and did lots of massaging (even bought some massage oil) and used Voltarol gel, within a few minutes of starting walking again today, the pain started up again. Hence walking backwards from time to time. It does help a little. I spoke with a norwegian woman who was stopped, airing her blisters, and she told me that she had met a guy who feels similar discomfort, to the extent that he goes downhill backwards. Frankly, a couple of times today I felt as if I was going downhill fast.

The day started a bit badly because of some roadworks which meant that the waymarks had vanished, and I had to cast around for 15 minutes before finding the path

However, even after an 8.15 start and a couple of stops en route I achieved today´s 20k by about 1.30, had a shower, washed my clothes and then went in search of a bite to eat and an internet cafe. Tonight I´m sleeping in a convent!

I walked past a podiatrists office and may try to get someone to look at my shin ... seeing as how, in a good light, its quite a fetching one. They might even want to take photos of it, to show their friends.

Or I might just go back to the convent for a nap.

Thanks for the good wishes. As fathers are entitled to, I spent a large portion of father´s day in bed.

Last evening I had dinner & pleasant chat with a group of 4 Dutch people. During which I mentioned the pain in my lower shin. The woman asked for more details and said she was a nurse, and expressed some concern. Turns out that it is (potentailly) the beginning of the inflammation that took one of the Germans out of the race walk. When I last saw him his ankles and lower shins were substantially inflamed and he was sitting with ice packs round them. This, as you might expect, caused me some concern! However, according to this lady, provided I use 3 a day of the anti-inflammatory medication that I carry for my joints (I´ve sometimes not been using all three), and massage the area ("very hard, upwards") as well as applying the Voltarol gel, I should be ok. And take a rest day. Which I´d already decided to do. And I can also get a freezer pack from the pharmacy, which I could possibly get frozen when I stop at (some of) the albergues and then apply as necessary ... but at the moment I don´t think this is necessary, and the added weight certainly isn´t wanted. After firm massage last night they do feel a bit better this morning. And I´m sure I´ll be fine tomorrow. Tomorrow´s walk is scheduled to be just 14k, so it shouldn´t be at all demanding. The Dutch group - all apparently well into their 60´s - are doing 30k / day. And they started from home, in Rotterdam, in April.

The Camino is a network of routes from all over Europe that converge at various points along the way to Santiago. Some of the most common are from Paris, via Tours and Bordeaux; from Vezelay via Limoges, and from Le Puy. Those all converge at St Jean Pied de Port, where I started; St Jean itself is one of the most common start points; some of the Dutch and Belgian people I´ve encountered have come through either Paris or Vezelay. There is another route, favoured by some of the southerners that starts in Arles, and it joins at Puente la Reina, about 70k after Roncesvalles, which is the first point on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees, Roncesvalles is where many Spanish people start their walk.

There are also other favoured start points, such as Burgos and Leon, favoured because they have good public transport connections. Finally, many walkers just do the last 100k, because that is all they need to do in order to be awarded their Compostella by the cathedral authorities in Santiago, although that comment is a little bit uncharitable, perhaps - most people can fit 100k into a week or two´s holiday, whereas doing the whole thing requires an amount of time that most people will find difficult. There are other routes to Santiago as well, from Seville in southern Spain, and from Portugal. In Chaucer´s The Canterbury Tales, one of the characters, the Wife of Bath, I think, has done the Santiago pilgrimage twice. In those days pilgrimage started from one´s own front door, and still does for many people.

I have now developed a mental image of the camino, as a steady current, rolling all the way to Santiago, but if you look more clsely at it, it is made up of a series of wavelets, some stronger than others and lapping over each other from time to time, affected by side current and other streams joining, some bits draining off into the soft sand at the side of the stream, but the bulk arriving safely, but well mixed, in Santiago, where there´s a degree of overflow, as some trickles down to the sea at Finisterra

Quite a few pilgrims do it "the easy way", by having their luggage transported for them between stops, and walking with just a day-sac. As a result they can travel a lot faster! We tortoises, carrying our homes upon our backs, tend to look down upon them. However, whilst the current depiction of the typical historical pilgrim is usually someone carrying just a small bag, a staff and a gourd of water, in reality many of them travelled on horseback, and/or had their goods carried by mule. So who is historically more accurate, us tortoises, or the hares?

Yesterday evening concluded with an hour or so in the company of Tobias, the German surgeon, who had performed some surgery on his blisters and was now happy with how they are healing; he has headed off again today.

Last night, other than Tobias, there were only a couple of familar faces staying here. One of the lessons I am learning on my camino is that from time to time its ok to let people pass me, I don´t have to race to be ahead.

Leon is the next major city, about 5 days walk away, and it is one of my originally scheduled rest days. It is where I´m due to pick up the package of supplies sent on to me, including the chargers for my phone and camera. One decision that I have to make between now and then is whether to get a better rucksac there. This one is too heavy in itself, and I reckon I could lighten my load by about 5 - 7 lbs if I invest in a better, lighter one; that saved weight could make a big difference to my camino, not least it would allow my to carry my electrical chargers and might also allow me to carry a book. That´s one of the big frustrations of my rest time, that I don´t have a book to read.

One of the other lessons of my camino, is that most of the load that I carry is as a result of my own decisions.

Deep stuff, eh?

Well, I finally achieved it ... someone put me in Room 101. Paul Merton isn´t actually here, and in fact he had nothing at all to do with the process. It was all quite simple really, I just turned up at the hotel and that is the room they gave me.

I arrived in Fromista at the ridiculous hour of 10.45 am, having walked 14k in cold drizzle in about 2.5 hours. As I was checking into my room, who should meet me in the corridor but the German surgeon afflicted with blisters (heal thyself!). He´d just walked 4k in about the same time and has decided to have a rest day also. I will do my best to have a proper rest day, doing not much but strolling around and sleeping until the day after tomorrow. That´s the plan at least, and we´ll see if I can stick to it this time. I think I´m about 3 days ahead of my schedule at the moment.

This is, I think the nicest hotel yet, and for just 32Euros. Last nights albergue was probably the scruffiest, but it was (mostly) clean and there were only a few of us staying, so we were four guys in a romm that could take eight. And there were two women in a room for six. Dinner was ok, but served by the husband, who lookwed as if he´d not yet discovered soap, and with the dirtiest fingernails I´ve seen since I last dug potatoes. However the food was fine. Plenty of pasta=fuel for the forst course and then "meat" and chips; this time the meat was a pork escallope fried in an egg batter. The arrangement of the toilet facilities was also quite interesting, there was a separate wc, but the second wc was in the shower room, with three showers, none of which gave you room to turn round. Sorry if this sounds whiney, it isn´t really, I´m just giving a factual report. And I´m not really complaining, at 5 E a night, and with dinner costing just 8 Euros its damn good value.

I had a hot bath when I got here and hung my shirt up to dry, then had a pleasant doze, now I´m catching up. The hotel restaurant seems very popular. I was looking forward to lunch, but I might have to fight to get a seat ... and I can´t fight in Spanish. Not to worry, there´s tapas at the bar, as well as some other establishments in the village that I can try if I want.

My shins are a bit sore at the moment, so the rest and some Voltarol will do them good.

Left Burgos yesterday and trudged eventually up to the meseta, the 700m+ plateau that will dominate the next 100k. The weather was fine and eventaully hot. Went one village further than my original plan called for, and suffered a bit with a sore toe ... blister on its way? Also, one I have a numb patch under a couple of the toes of the other foot, but I´m told that massage is probably the best cure.

Spent the afternoon sitting drinking with a couple of Swedish women, travelling independent of each other, the German transplant surgeon, and an Angelina Jolie look-alike. As well as Margaret, the New Zealand teacher who is, quite frankly, an inspiration. She is built neither for speed nor distance, but has already clocked up 1,100k. she always has a smile and a positive view as she waves people past. I don´t think Margaret has ever walked faster than anyone on the Camino, even those with serious blisters walk faster than she does, but she makes her way steadily and surely. An inspiration.

The German surgeon, on the other hand, is a committed Christian, RC, who is visiting every church along the way, on his Camino. We´ve had some intersting chats, his english is very good. He and one of the swedish women are walking togehter today, both afflicted with blisters.

I shouyld have spent this night and the next in Castrojerez, but it was a relatively short walk to get there, and it was very uniintersting, so I walked on, breifly in the company of a Candian girl of 19, who has already done about 1,000k of her Camino.

the route climbed up again into the meseta, for some speactacualr views, but I couldn´t capture them becasue the charge in my camera gave out. I have another 5 days before I get to where my charger should be waiting for me.

Yesterday was 29k, today was 21, and tomorrow I´m aiming to do just 15 or so, to Fromista, where there´s a bank so I can top up my depleted reserves. After 2 days of sunshine the forecast is for 2 days of rain

Walked part of the way today with the three Irish people I´d originally met on my first night. They return home today, from Burgos, via Bilbao. We took the bus for the last 8k into the city, and were glad to do so. I bumped into the Camino Twins a few hours later, they had walked the whole way and now couldn´t find room in an albergue. I pointed them in the direction of the hotel I´d found, which at 35Euro for a single room is pretty good. Had it been tomorrow none of us would have got in, there´s a couple of American tours due.

The weather today has been good, a mix of sun and cloud, so no complaints on that front. The route had some pretty hefty rocks on it, and still some mud in places but a lot of the walking has been on roads

The next stage of the camino doesn´t have much in the way of shops and cafe´s, and the guide books recommend stocking up with supplies here, so I´ll be going shopping shortly.

Burgos is home to El Cid, but the statues bear no resemblance either to Charlton Heston or Sophia Loren.

The battry on my camera is nearly exhausted and I have to wait until I get to Leon next week before I have access to the charger for it and for my phone, which I´ve posted to myself there. I´ve posted home the two manuals, for the camera and the voice recorder, as well as the luggage lock that I´ve been carrying - I´ve not really made any use of them, and the few ounces saved will be welcome.

Yesterday I encountered a group of Americans. including a couple of adults and three or four kids, on the camino. Sulky Sue, as I shall call her, was walking in trousers that flapped and wrapped under her trousers, wet and muddy. Unfortuntely - but i think quite justifiably - I jumped to conclusions and labelled her in my mind as ... Sulky Sue.

Imagine my delight, when I arrived at the albergue, to find that she was in the upper bunk opposite. I had overtaken the group on the road, and had checked in quite early, laid my kit out on my bed - sleeping bag liner, etc, and unpacked, then gone for a shower and cleaned my clothes - as best as possible (more of which later). I then went to see if any shops were open in the town. When i got back SS had taken up residence, her kit was strewn haphazard over her bunk (her problem, not mine, I admit) and there was a large puddle on the floor, between our bunks. She had taken a shower and dripped over the floor (its just not done, in camino circles). I tried to take a siesta, just like several others in the room, and was disturbed by her loud voice. She even dropped her toilet bag on the floor ... just in the middle of it, and left it there. OK, i can handle that, but what really pissed me off was when when the whole room had gone to bed her party came in and she then just dumped the stuff off her bunk onto the floor. Right, I can still handle that, but the ultimate piss off was when I quietly exited the room in the morning to get dressed in the corridor - as most folk were doing - leaving SS snoring gently. And as I packed my rucksack it seemed to me that one of the buckles was broken, it didn´t look right, looking again it then seemed that there was an extra bit, on even closer examination I found I had had a sodding nail varnish brush stuck to the buckle. And it wasn´t even mine.

Oh well.

Today was, for a change (yeah, right) wet. Once the day in general stopped being wet, I continued wet ... you´ve heard the story before about how I perspire faster than my waterproofs can expire, hence being very wet on the inside. but it works on the same principal as a wet suit, so long as theres no great change in the water flow everything is fine. but if i stop and take off my rucksack things get suddenly rather cold.

I was also somewhat smelly today, having failed to get my clothes properly washed yesterday, I really didn´t like being around me.

I walked for a bit with The Camino Twins, who will be taking a bus tomorrow andwhom I´m therefore unlikely to see again. They are va pleasant couple of girls. Unlike the bast"rd Italian snorer, who snored non stop last night, well not quite non-stop. He sometimes broke into discussions with himself. Others told me that he has taking lifts between albergues. Yesterday was probably the worst night for snorers, we had three in the room, but i had a not bad nights sleep.

It was quite long day today, 27.5k, but only one steep hill to contend with. I had to stop and attend to one of my feet along the way, rubbing down some hard skin on one of my toes, which mnadwe things a bit mopre comfortable. I should have cnahged my socks, wet my mid-morning, but didn´t, could be bothered digging into my rucksac.

The final 3.5k was very pleasant, over a lush pastureland. Tomorrow will be less pleasant as the last 8k of the route into Burgos is past industrial areas. Some people take the bus for this bit.
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Today´s albergue is excellent. Wonderfully welcoming, smiles all round, proving a dinner and breakfast in addition to nice clean showers anbd toilets. I was here by 2.00pm and have spent most of the afternoon chatting and drinking with a group of Germans, the appreciated the old one .. "Have you been to Germany before?" "No, but my father flew over it a lot in the ´40´s". My, how we all laughed!

We actually spent a great afternoon talking about lots and not much at all. One of them, a transplant surgeon, is also a keen Christian, and we had an intersting chat. No hope of me changing my views, though.

Happer also today, because the albergue people did my washing for me, So I should smell less tomorrow. The smelliest bit is my rucksac, the straps absorb sweat, but with little chance of getting cleaned. If we have some good sunshine sometime, I´ll let it do the job of freshening them. We actually had about 30 minutes of sun lat this afternoon ... it was very welcome.

So, clean, refreshed, cheered by good company, good food and wine, i look forward to a good day tomorrow.

The day started fine, overcast with no wind, ideal walking weather in fact, however after a couple of hours we´d a light drizzle, still no problem, but then a heavy shower meant I had to put on a waterproof. It cleared after a while, and after we´d had to walk down an impressive stretch of subsided road.

23k and arrived at Belorado by 12.30. I only stopped once, very briefly on the way, having breakfasted on chocolate and Spanish Marching Cake before setting out. The patisserie just a few yards away from the albergue opens for breakfast at 0700 and there were several of us on the doorstep at the time. The cake refered to is a heavy item, made with lots of dreid fruit and with almonds on the top, just the job to get you going in the mornings. I don´t know what its real name is, but the one I gave it seems apt.

Yesterday I met a Dutch woman, a recently retired social worker, who is cycling from home, to Santiago, then down through Portugal, where she will be met by her family. After a few weeks recuperation she´s heading off to Africa to work with the young victims of the (male) belief that if you have AIDS then having sex with a virgin will cure you. Hence lots of very young girls with AIDS. Good for her in committing herself in this way ... impressive.

Still no particularly cohesive thoughts to report. I do have some, develop them for a bit, and then forget them. A bit like the old joke: "why did you join the Foreign Legion" ... I spoke with fellow walkers about this last night and they report much the same thing; no thoughts, just steps on the Camino. And that, by and large, is what the camino is about, steps. I´m currently managing about 120 a minute, on the flat.

The weather forecast was for rain, Monday through to Wednesday, and it hasn´t disappointed. It rained today from leaving the albergue to getting to the next one at about 1.00pm, when it stopped. I tried wearing my longer sleeved base layer today, under my waterproof jacket, but it just collected more water than the short sleeved one. The fine dust that had been on the roads was now a choco-glue adhering to one´s boots. When I stopped for a mid-morning second breakfast at a cafe and went to the toilet I was able to wring quite a bit of water out of my shirt tail - but you´ve just got to grit your teeth and get on with things.

My walk today was only 15.5k and I was one of the last to leave the albergue.

The tour of the bodega last night was pleasant, but since it was in Spanish my understanding was limited, however there was as much wine as one might wish to drink, and it was very good wine at that. All for 1 Euro. There were 10 of us, so you can tell that nobody was making any money out of it, I think it was done out of pride, as a service to "tourists", as a PR excercise, and because its low season, they don´t have much to do for the next few months. The village seems to be very proud (quite rightly) of its albergue, and there was a good community feel about the whole place. I met up with the Irish trio I´d originally met on the evening before my walk started, in St Jean, and we had dinner together, another 10 Euro deal for three course and wine. It would be nice to see more vegetables, though.

I´m in Santo Domingo de Calzada now. Today´s albergue is a very old building, the dormitory is single beds, not bunks, but very close together and the facilities are a bit limited, no washing or drying of clothes, which is a bit of a blow, considering that one of my two "walking" shirts is soaked, however I´ve managed to hang it and my trousers up from one of the old rafters and they should be at least dry, if not fresh, by morning, when my next stage begins. Only one known face staying here, as far as I can tell, a beanpole Dutch(?) lady who looks to be in her late 60´s. On the plus side, whilst they don´t have internet access there, I found this internet cafe which is very reasonable, only 1 Euro for an hour. Some of the internet booths at the albergues are charging 1 Euro for 15 or 20 minutes, and you are always aware there is a queue behind you.

Tomorrow I´m going back to walking a reasonable distance, so I´ll aim to get up quite early, by about 0600 and on my way soon after. The key question is what to do about breakfast. Will I manage to get something on the way, or will I have to have an early lunch. I bought half a loaf of bread this afternoon, and that will go with the sausage that I bought a few stops back. Somewhere in my pack I have some pate, but its hiding at the moment and refuses to be found. I have an orange and some chocolate for "emergencies", but I will try and track down a shop this evening and buy some orange juice and/or fruit - I have quite a craving for OJ.

I´m pretty fit, no major problems, only minor aches, no blisters (touch wood). My knotted shoulder seems to be settling down, plenty of Ibuprofen gel being used. I don´t think I´m losing any weight - but we´ll see what the next 600k brings.

I still can´t report much in the way of conclusinve or constructive thoughts - its still just "one foot in front of the other"

Yesterday I walked 29k to Najera and did so in recrd time, I arrived by 2.15, found the hotel and checked in and crashed out. I had intended today to be a complete rest day, but after an afternoon and evening of inactivity I was ready to walk again today. But I decided I´d only do 5.5 k today to Azofra, so I had a lie-in and a gentle stroll, not pushing things at all. Arrived here just after this super Albergue Municipal opened at 12.30, and then had lunch. Met up with a German girl I´d originally met some days back, she´s walking with a girl that she met a few days ago, they look so alike they could be twins. Several people have commented already, apparently.

Tonight there is a tour of the local bodega. I bought a bottle of wine here for 3Euro, and it was excellent (we are in Rioja, after all) and it is that bodego we´ll tour. This copmputer is set in a place wqhere its almost impossible to see the screen, so apologies because I´m not goiung back to correct errors thaty I can´t see.

As for feelings (Strontium90), its strange ... my wish was that in this time I should just think about putting one foot in front of the other, and by and large that is just what I have been doing. I´ve not been thinking about much at all, any thoughts about family ande work that might pop`into my head I push - easily - to the side, and just think about where I´m going to put the next foot. It is im`possible to just stroll along and look at the scenery, you really have to concentrate on your camino.

And that is what it becomes. Everyone´s camino is different and personal, although they do, of course, have many elementsi in common. We all suffer or enjoy the same natural conditions, but our expereincss are different.

Last night I had dinner (the best valu and quality yet ... bean and chorizo soup, lamb shank and chips, cheesecake, wine all for 10Euro) I shared the table with a couple of guys, German and Dutch that I´d met before, and a couple of American girls, just graduated from college. We got to talking about belief and I found what the German guy had to say very interesteing. He´d had a personal God experience some years ago and was on a quiet quest to develop his beleif and to - I guess - testify to it. He didn´t shove this down anyone´s throat, but he was an eloquent advocate. He knows that I´m an athiest and wasn´t in anyway trying to convert me, he was simply respondoing to some questions that I´d posed to the table. One of the American´s had graduated in theology and Spanish and the other was simply the "in god we trust" type of person. But it was a pleasnat evening all round and did give me cause for thought.

Afterwards I went back top the albergue with them to try to use their internet connection, but there was a queue, so I just pushed off back to my hotel. But while i was there I said hi to the two Norwegians that I´d first met a few days ago.

Other people have written about the pleasure of meeting and re-meeting people along the camino. Even when you stay two night in one place and think that the others will have left you behind, there will still be one or two people that you´ve seen previously, staying in your albergue. You might just be on nodding/smiling terms with them, but its pleasant to see familiar faces, and to enjoy the comradeship - I guess that is a key element of the camino that has lasted over the generations.

From time to time I must admit I am a bit anxious about the weather, and the suitablility of my clothing. For the last three or four days there has been a copld NW wind accompanyiong overcast skies in the morning, lasting until mid afternoon, when things warm up a bit. I find that if I wear anything more than my "technical" tee shirt I get too hot and sweaty, but as soon as I stop I start to feel chilled. The weather is colder now than it was coming over the Pyrnaees. But thankfully we´ve not had any rain recently.

Passing through the vinyards (ah, so THAT´S how youre supposed to prune a vine) the soil is fine and red, and the deep mud on the roadways has become in turn hard rutted tracks that are now starting to break down a bt into fine dust.

Perhaps later in my camino I´ll find time to properly reflect upon it, but for now I just do it, and as with everyone else who is here, the days merge into each other, we forget where we met each other, where we´ve been and where we´re going ... we are just "on the camino".

Usually eating too much is my problem, but I´m finding it hard to get a right balance. Breakfast isn´t really an option anywhere at 0630, and once I´m underway I don´t really feel like stopping for a proper meal, so I eat fruit or some of the mini wholemal breasticks I´m carrying with me. I thionk they´re a bit like ships biscuits. I´ll probably be knocking weevils out of the in a few days time.

The 20k today was ok, but a bit cold and overcast. Arrived early (midday) anbd the albergue doesn´t open until 1.30. Then the shower was cold. Oh well ... never mind. Yes, Logtojno did suffer a flood at the weekend, and that has put pressure on some of the accommodation (the campsite is closed and there´s a knock-on effect

I´m off to find a decent meal tonight, and to spy out where I´ll stop for breakfast. Aiming for a 29k day tomorrow, need the fuel. Feet and back fine, although one of my toes is starting to curl downwards in a rather intersting manner, I think I´ll strap it up tonight.

Yesterday was a bit of a struggle, dues as much to hitting a bit of a wall, as well as not having enough of the right fuel on board, and a not very goo sleep previously. Today was better.

We had to vacate the alberge by 0700, and most people were up and rustling by 5.30, getting ready for the 6.00am breakfast. It was pretty dire, packets of mini'toast and jam, and lukewarm milk fopr your coffee or choco (Nesquick). Bu what do you expect for 1.3 Euro.

The walk took us past the famous wine fountain (you´ll track it down on ´tinternet) at about 0800, it was on and some people took the oppportunity to fill small water bottles with it. I didn´t, you can draw your own conclusions as to why not, but I did wet the tip of my finger and enjoyed the taste. Was chased through the woods by a couple of Swedish young women this morning, I eventually stopped to allow them to catch me and wouldn´t you know it ... they overtook and went on ahead.

The weather was pretty much ideal for walking, and overcast sky that only let the sun through a couple of times, and there was some slight drizzle to cool me off.

For the second time I made the mistake of putting my pack down on the tube at the tip of my bladder (no, not that, silly). The one that holds my 2l water ration, and most of it dribbled away. Happily I was close to a fountain in thee vilage and was able to replenish. Just as well, I had used it all up just before I arrived here. I guess I drank about 2.5l today.

I had intended to walk the 21.5k to Los Arcos today, but felt able to walk to the more attractive (ie, more accomodation) Torres del Rio which is a further 7k. Pretty knackered when I got here, but showered, did my laundry and then came to do the blog. Tomorrow was due to be a 27k day with more uphill than today (today had enough!) but by doing the extra today it means I can have a slightly later start tomorrow and head off for Logrono.

Many thanks for those who have sent comments on this blog. Apparently I have to approve them before they can be shown, and at the moment I´m unable to work out just how to do that. Eventually I shall and the comments will all appear, as if by magic - I trust.

It was a bit of a tough walk to get here, another 22k today. The sun is out and I ended up wrapping my new scarf round my head, under my hat, as a sun shield. you´ve seen Laurence of Arabia? IOK then, now think Florence of Espania.

I´m more knackered today than previously, although the walking was not particualrly more demanding. Could be that its becasue I left Puento de Reina (ok, I,m not chacking spelling and punctuation, ok?) without breakfast. Dinner last night wasn´t partic good and I had stuff to erat with me. But I think I prob needed more carbohydates, because I did start running out of steam by late morning. I had a good break at a village with a fountain, changed my socks and had some more cheese, breadsticks and sausage.

Once I got here I had a rest (having showered and rinsed some clothes first) and then out for a snack and a well deserved beer. My fluid intake at the moment is about 4 litres / day.

Recorded some more audio today, and hope to post some tracks when I return home ... this time it was some very noisy frogs. Talking of noisy foreigners ... the cyclists tend to be the noisiest of people, everyone else is keen not to disturb others in the alburges, but they seem happy to talk at the top of their voices ... probably something to do with having to shout their conversations when they are cycling.

Climbing a horribly steep clay-slippy slope out of town today ( so pleased I didn´t have to do it when it was really wet) came across some more discarded clothing, this tinme track suit bottoms and top ... cotton again. I can just imagine trhe former owner tearing them off in frustration at their soddenness

Today´s walk went well. Another 22k, from Pamplona to Punto de Reina, with no major problems, in fact no problems at all. There was mud, but my gaiters came into their own and stopped it going over my ankles. It was a cool morning, climbing up to the wind turbines on the ridge overlooking the city, and it was tough on the knees coming down the other side. I was amused to see some abandoned gents underpants on a rock at the side of the path, I guess the wet chafing was too much to bear for someone.

I am absolutely astonished by the quality of this albergue. its in the basement of an hotel, but that simply does not do it justice. I´m sitting in one of two lounges, fitted out with comfortable sofas, plus this computer (1€ for 30 minutes), and a large flatscreen TV. There is a kitchen with plenty of seating, and laundry facilities as well. The showers - 3 male 3 female )I presume) are of a type and quality that wouldn´t disgrace a good sports centre, you certainly won´t get the multi-head wash in a normal hotel room. There are tow dormitories, with about 30 beds in each, but divided up into bays of 4 bunks by using rattan-type screens. the decor is very modern. All this for 6€ a night! The pilgrims menu tonight is a 10€ buffet, and that includes wine, and its a 4€ breakfast in the moorning. I don´t expect this quality elsewhere.

I´m not aching too much, but I´m glad to have eaten some of my supplies at lunchtime, it´ll make for lighter walking in the morning.

A quiet night (watching Halle Berry as Catwoman - I didn´t know she was Spanish) and a quiet day today. I´ve wandered about a bit and went shopping. Gods bless El Corte Ingles! They had all that I need to (attempt to) make my walking life a bit more comfortable. I´ve bought myself some gaiters, bright red wouldn´t normally be my colour of choice but there was no option. I also bought a pair of lightweight 3/4 length walking trousers - meaning that I now have one surplus pair, probably. I was able to find linen scarf, which was exactly what Í wanted to get before leaving home; its big enough to use us a sun-blocking headwrap, but my main need was for something to wrap round my neck to stop the rain, so that I don´t need to put up my waterproof hood thus trapping condensation: this should stop rain coming in and let the condensation out. In addition I got a small brush for my boots.

I´ve also stocked up with food, enough to fuel me for the next couple of days: some cold meat, cheese, mini bread sticks, nuts raisins and fruit as well as some small cartons of orange juice. I had some of this for lunch and will have some more this evening, which should keep down the weight to a reasonable level.

I´ve made room for the food by posting my quite thick fleece back to home, along with my rather useless waterproof trousers. I´ll try re-proofing them once I´m home.

The weather was quite reasonable today, just a few drops of rain in the middle of the day. One should get one´s pilgrims passport stamped at the refugios, but sonce I´m stayin in an hotel I didn´t think they´d do it here. The options are to get it stamped in the cathedral or at the University main building. This is on the route out of town but I wasn´t certain it would be open at 0745 when I aim to be going past, so I walked down there just now - its useful to check out the route out of town in advance if possible. Its a 30 minute walk each way, and I felt better after the excercise.

I´m writing this in the foyer of the hotel, and I should change the previous paragraph - the weather was quite good until the clouds opened a few minutes ago. I´m glad I´ve got my new gaiters!

Apparently this is the wettest weather that this part of Spain has experienced for 25 years. I left at about 07.45 this morning, having slept with 7 women last night! I was rather tired this morning. Some of them snored. We were all modest, as one is in these shared dormitories - everyone observes everyone else´s privacy as much as possible.

Following yesterday´s experience of me being very wet inside my waterproofs, I decided to be pragmatic about things today and didn´t bother wearing any. It wasn´t raining when I started, but it soon did, a light drizzle from low clouds at first, then getting heavier. It wouldnt have been so bad, perhaps, but the first 10k was through forest paths, and although rain might start out as quite fine, by the time its dripping of the lower leaves and branches it is descending in lumps.

The rain ceased after about 3 hours and I stopped to breakfast on what was left of the nuts and dates I´d bought for supper last evening. A Spaniard who was sitting on the wall next to me offered me some walnuts he had in a packet. He was part of a group of guys about my age, most of whom I´d passed a while back. I set off a little bit ahwead of them, but by this time the rain had started again; feeling a bit chilled after my halt I´d put my "waterproof" jacket on. But I didn´t put the hood up, thus allowing some of my own-created steam to escape. Even though my shirt and shorts were soaked through I was more comfortable than I had been yesterday, but I must have cut a rather comical figure (more so than usual), because I was still wearing my straw hat. But it manages to stop about 60% of trhe rain, and the rest steams away off the top of my newly crew-cut head.

A lot of the path had, again, turned to a stream, several inches dep in places, sometimes quite a torrent, and I had to be pretty careful how I picked my way. Eventually we came out of the woods, walked along a road for a short distance and then veered off to the side, onto the muddiest track you could imagine, and it was like this for the next 3 or 4 kilometres.

I had already decided that I would push on to Pamplona today, and once I´d got to the outskirts I treated my feet to a rest and a change into dry socks before pushing on. The route passes though an interesting little enclave. There were about 15 young men chatting outside a small block of run-down aprartments, with one or two older people and a couple of infants as well - and they all had apparently identical (I didn´t stare) mullet-style haircuts. Even the women.

I´ve booked into an hotel in the centre of Pamplona for two night, whilst this is good in many respects )privacy being the main one)the Refugio that i could have used has clothes and boot drying facilities - and is a lot cheaper. I´ve awarded myself this break in recognistion of the fact that a) I intended to have my first day´s break here and I´m already 2 days ahead of schedule. I walked about 22k today and feel pretty much ok, my shoulders are a bit stiff, both from the pack and the damp, I guess, buit the rest of my aches "within acceptable limits", and I´m delighted that my foot seems to be holding up ok. I had a bath once I got here and afterwards decided to do without the strapping on my foot that has been a permanent fixture for the last 5 weeks or so - let my skin recover from all the adhesive!

Being aware that there´s always someone else wanting tyo use an internet connection, I´m not spending time going back and correcting my typos ... sorry about that.