Day 16 - 22.9km Over the Border to the Bates Motel

Tuesday 30 Apr was the 5th straight day of cloud and cold. We did 22.9km from Santo Domingo de Calzada to Belorado, over the border fro Rioja into Castille. In Belorado we wound up in a truckers hotel with a manager who reminded us of the motel manager in Psycho - just handed us a key - no name, passport, nothing. The room had a real double bed AND a bathtub! Bliss!! 8am Wed 1 May as I write this and there is blue sky... Has the sun returned????

Day 15 - The Mud March

Day 15 is another cloudy, windy day - but no rain yet. Decided against a side trip that would cost most of two days and will spend extra time in Burgos later this week. Noontime stop enroute on what is a 15 km march on solid mud. So we have done it all in the 15 days: snow, rain, cold, wind, sun, heat, dust, and now mud. Everything else now is a repeat. Pix are Trish and Austrailian friend Jan on the muddy track up the hill and us later in the day with the snowy hills behind. Snow is on all the tv and we see snow on the hills around us for last 4 days of cold, wet weather.

Day 14 - 200km

Another cold, windy day but no rain. Walked 23.2 km from Navarette to Azofra and reached the 200 km mark. Time is losing its significance as days and towns blend together. We remember people and experiences but have to look at a map to put them in a time/place box. Next two days are supposed to be rainy as was today all over Spain. Pix show the snow on nearby hills. It will soon be May; where is the sun?

Windy day to Navarrette

Day 13. No rain today but cold and windy. New snow on the nearby hills. Got into pension early for nap to recover from lost sleep last night. The Way is becoming more interesting as we are starting to plan side trips as we have a better idea of pace and distance. Pix is us on the windy road.

Drizzly Day 12 in Logrono

Day 12 - drizzly Friday let us test out our rain gear after 11dry days and took us to Logrono a college town. Lucked out with a pension in the old town, double room with our own bath for only Euro 30 - economical luxury!! Our own shower! The bunk beds in the albergues are not the most comfortable and a room with 10-20 of your closest friends tends to be on the loud side. So we are trying for the quieter pensions when available. BUT the college town Fri nite street party downstairs went on til 5am. Oh well, it's a pilgrimage. Pix is us in the rain coming into town.

Singing on the Camino-Songs Wanted

We have had three older people, including Padre Hyacinth, who walked the Camino in 1952, tell us that we should be singing on the Way. Since neither of us are singers and we neglected to collect any Camino songs before starting, we tried singing the Rosary this morning. It actually worked! Since the number of singing styles -chant, pop, country, are endless and all you have to worry about is sounding melodious to Our Lady, the result is amazingly prayerful.

But we still need singable songs for the Camino. If anyone has some, please send in a Word document attachment to an email. Spanish and cowboy songs work. So do Irish, bagpipe marches, or religious songs -it is a pilgmage after all.

Supposed to rain tomorrow. So only 10km planned after 18.6 today.

Day 10

Yes, 10, really! Went 21 km today to Los Arcos. Over a serious hill but still felt strong at lunchtime so kept going another 11 km. pix show beauty of the countryside. We are definitely getting stronger.

Rest day in Estella

Tue, 23 Apr. day 9. Easy day today with 8km to the city of Estella. Tomorrow we have another mountain to go over so that will be only 10km and the day after - well, we'll see. Had a very acceptable lunch on a park bench beside the river of a bit of bread, some of the hard local cheese and a tomato. Turned our Euro 2.50 bottle of wine into field expedient Sangria with an orange and a bottle of 7-up. The pic is from our park bench of the bridge and river. It's a lot better in person.

2d Week

End of day 8. Yesterday went over the Alto del Perdon ( the Hill of Forgiveness) that has the metal statues of pilgrims featured in a scene of The Way. Today more hills. The Camino is really physical; lots of up and down but we facing the challenges of Roman roads that haven't been renovated recently!

End of the day on the Camino

End of the first week on the Camino. Walked 90km so far. Will probably mail our first load of stuff home tomorrow; packs ARE getting lighter. Here is pic of the stuff that really counts at the end of the day.

A Quiet Place on the Camino

For Thursday, 18 Apr. Day 4. A very pleasant surprise of an Albergue (that's a guesthouse on the Camino) offering a very different welcome than so far on The Way. Zabaldika has a well known 13th C church. On 15 Apr it opened a parish Albergue as well, operated by a volunteer Hospitalero, and supported by four Sisters of the Sacred Heart whose residence adjoins but who have no official responsibility for the Albergue. When we got there, up a high hill, we thought we haft to walk 3+ km more for a bed. Instead we were greeted by Maria, the Hospitalero, a retired Spanish school teacher, as her 5th & 6th guests. Later we were invited to the Sisters' evening mass in the historic church, and, after dinner, to join the Sisters' Night Prayer in their convent chapel. It was a very different evening from those we have experienced so far, which because of the many other pilgrims, tend to be on the loud side. Certainly a welcome reorientation to the spiritual purpose of the Camino.

Miracle on the Rio Erro

Wednesday afternoon after we had soaked our feet at the River Erro crossing (previous post) i was taking off my hat and somehow knocked my glasses into the swift running stream. I was sure they were gone but decided I had to try to find them as i knew they would sink to the bottom after being carried over the slippery spillway at the crossing. So I took off my boots and waided into the icy, fast running water on slippery rocks, holding onto a hiking pole with one hand while feeling the crevices of the invisible bottom with the other. It took several minutes but I found them! Truly a miracle as the pix do not do justice to the depth or speed of the water or the area they could have been carried to.

3d Day

Wednesday took us from Roncevalles. We intended a short 11km day but instead went to the town, turning into 21 km and 10.5 hrs on the trail. We will try for a short day tomorrow. Pix are long distance view of Col de Leopoeder, the snow covered mountain pass we went through yesterday and John soaking his feet in the Rio Erro crossing.

See?

Yeah, it wasnt as high as it looked; it was higher. The 2d day was allegedly the toughest we will see in this trip: 17 km with most of it uphill then a steep downhill to Roncesvalles. We went through mud, snow fields, and beautiful sunny weather; did it in 8 hrs but arrived totally spent.
Hot shower, a drink and dinner helped. This evening we went to mass in the monastery church where the monks offer a nightly blessing for Pilgrims. Rather beautiful, even for the nonbelievers who attended. Planning an easier recovery day tomorrow.

Acupuncture on the Camino

At Refuge Orisson w/a very congenial group of Germans and Austrailians. One group of Aussie ladies brought their own personal trainer and acupuncturist as tour guide. That's the photo.

It's Higher Than You Think...

Pix is from the start of the Camino on 15 April. All uphill 7km from St Jean. Made it to the Refuge by 2pm and a relaxed pm meeting new friends.

On The Way #2

St Jean. After all the weeks of awful weather it is now warm and sunny. But we are keeping our layers for several days more. We'll mail some home from Pamplona in about a week if this holds. Pic is from our balcony in Lourdes as I got used to this being retired business. This is what grateful looks like on the Camino,

It's a Pilgrimage...

Some of you have heard our pilgrimage stories and know why we are very careful about using the "p-word." Well, some things can't be escaped. When we got off the bus at St Jean Pied de Port today at 4:30pm, my old reliable boots came apart. Within 30 minutes we had checked in to the hotel and found a new pair of name brand boots in my size before the shop closed til tomorrow afternoon. The moral of that story...it's a pilgrimage and you must expect both adversity to test your faith and divine assistance to reinforce it.

Lourdes

Here since thurs eve. Good to wind down after the whirlwind of last few weeks. On to St Jean at noon.

On the Way...

From 11 Apr.
We did it. At least this part of it. We walked out of our apartment in Kaiserslautern Thursday morning to the Bahnhof and are on the train to Paris. From 15000 lbs and 3 automobiles to 2 backpacks... downsizing anyone??

COFFEE!!!!!

In our favorite Barbarossa Cafe at the K-town Bahnhof. Coffee before the train after a month of moves, packing, throwing away, late nites, and early mornings. Relaxation with our last Easter chocolate!!

Visa here, Visa there...

Received our French visas yesterday. Today finished clearing out the office. No office, no Access Card, no ID, it's all a thing of the past. Now our visas are our Pilgrim's Credential for the Camino. Train to Lourdes tomorrow.

The Last Day

Last working day in the office, Friday, 5 April. My first full time job was on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico in March 1968, after I dropped out of high school. 45 years later it is time to leave DoD to others and start something new. Ready or not, ...