Monday, October 29, 2012

2012-09-10 Monday


2012-09-10 Monday
Zubiri / Pamplona

Camino Day 3. We left the hostel at 0700 after a quick breakfast of coffee with milk and toast. It was still a bit dark, some of the pilgrims were using headlamps to find the trail markers and to illuminate the path.

We met, for the first time, a monk doing the Camino, wearing the traditional clothes, carrying a shepherd's staff and doing the rosary. He is French and in his mid-thirties. 

So far we have met people from Spain, France, Holland, Germany, England, Italy, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Ecuador, USA, Korea, Canada and Brazil. 

At around 1000, we stopped in a little village called Irotz, at a place with picnic tables and an outdoor wood burning oven; they were serving delicious looking hot sandwiches, pizzas and tortillas. I had a fresh sausage sandwich on a freshly baked baguette, and a glass of a glass of gazpacho, followed by coffee; they were delicious. Paulo had a sandwich of tortilla on baguette and Terry and Nancy ate slices of veggie pizza, they said everything was pretty good. 

Outdoor Cafe

We all applied a bit more of Second Skin to the sore spots on the feet, trying to prevent blisters. Nancy has a couple of them but so far I have none, and want to keep it that way, but I have a few hot spots that I need to keep an eye on, one is on top of my left middle toe, I think it's caused by the silk sock liner I am wearing, I may ditch them. Overall, we all feel pretty sore. 

We hope to go to  Cizur Menor, about 5 Km beyond Pamplona, but that will depend on how we feel once we reach Pamplona. Most pilgrims stop in Pamplona, but since we all have been there we do not mind skipping it.

Linda and Cathy arrived as we were getting ready to leave the cafe;  we chatted with them for a few minutes and then we were on our way. Cathy's pack was not at the agreed upon delivery place in Zubiri, she ended up having to find a bar and beg the owner to call the backpack transportation service to find out where her pack was, it was delivered to the city's main albergue.

The path went through the front yard of a small, old church; we stopped to rest in chairs set out under a shady tree. An old lady came out of the church and said that a mass was being conducted in French and that we were welcome to go in. We said we did not understand French, but we would like to take a peek inside, she said go ahead, but be quiet and respectful. Terry, Nancy and I went in, the mass was being conducted for a single pilgrim! The church was small, spartan but beautiful. 

As we walked by the village of Trinidad de Arre we passed by a church, and we went in; another old, small and beautiful church. 

We finally arrived in Pamplona at 1300. We crossed the Magdalene's Bridge and sat on a park bench to talk and decide to stay or to go to Cizur Menor, 5 Km away. My feet, legs and knees were hurting badly,  specially the left knee, and Nancy had a swelling behind her knee.  Terry, Nancy and I voted to stay, Paulo wanted to continue on. 

We checked in at the municipal albergue Casa Paterborn, with 24 beds, it was closer than the large albergue in downtown (140 beds) and we did not want to risk walking there only to find it full and having to walk all the way back to this one. There were only 6 spots left when we arrived, and they were soon filled as well. 

We were assigned a room that sleeps 8 and there were 2 young Irish couples there already. The place is clean, with bunk beds with bed sheets and pillows with pillowcases but no cover sheet - but we have to use our sleeping bags anyway. The shower rooms are unisex, our floor has a shower room has four individual stalls along a wall, three showers and one toilet, and 4 sinks on the opposite wall, this to serve 12 pilgrims.


Nancy in the Albergue Casa Paterborn

The "hospitaleros", the volunteers that run the place, offered laundry services for 6 euros a load for washing and drying, so we quickly showered, delivered our dirty clothes for laundry, and laid down to rest for a while. The plan is to leave later in the afternoon to go out to run some errands and eat an early dinner. I want to buy a Spanish SIM card for my travel cell phone, and Nancy wants to buy a pair of walking poles. 

We walked slowly to the center of town, Nancy has a swelling on the back of her left knee, and she suspects it's the beginning of a meniscus tear; she had tore the right one playing soccer and knows how it feels. She says that is not hurting too badly, but her leg is stiff. We found a store that sells trekking gear and Nancy bought a pair of walking poles to see if they would help her, specially on the descends which are tougher on the knees.

At Plaza del Castillo Nancy and Terry stayed at a bar drinking beer and icing her leg while Paulo and I went searching for an Orange cell phone company store. 
Terry, Nancy, Erico and Paulo enjoying wine in late afternoon, Plaza del Castillo, Pamplona

Errands completed, we got back to Terry and Nancy, had a beer, and went searching for a restaurant recommended by Wolfgang, the albergue's "hospitalero," but his directions were vague, and we did not find it. We gave up and found a touristy restaurant serving dinner at 1900, most only start serving at 2000, and had dinner there, nothing to brag about.

We were back at the Albergue shortly after 2100, Nancy's knee is not looking good at all, and I recommended that she takes the bus to the next destination, Puente la Reina, I volunteered to go with her, since she does not speak any Spanish and it will be hard for her to catch a bus in a large city like Pamplona. She said will see how her knee is in the morning and will make a decision.

2012-09-09 Sunday


2012-09-09 Sunday
Roncesvalles / Zubiri

Camino Day 2. Paulo and I woke up when the alarm clock went off at 0600, and slowly crawled out of the bed, feeling very stiff. The preparation for the walk includes the smearing of the toes with Vaseline,  applying Second Skin on the tender or hot spots on the feet to prevent blisters, applying Body Glide to the bottom and sides of the feet, and putting everything back in the pack. 

We met up with Terry and Nancy at 0700 at the lobby and went across the street to the local bar breakfast; that's their scheduled opening time, but there was already a long line of pilgrims waiting to get in. It took a while, but we finally we were able to belly up to the bar and put our order of coffee with milk and toasted French bread with butter, which we ate quickly.  I also took one Aleeve for the muscle and joint pains. 


Paulo, Nancy, Terry and Erico, departing Ronscesvalles

We hit the trail at 0740, stiff at first, but then the pain killers kicked in and we were able to hit our stride. Lots of pilgrims on the trail, on weekends many Spaniards take to the Camino, on the few long and straight stretches we could see a long line of pilgrims ahead and behind us. The plan for the day is to see if we could reach Larrasoana,  27Km away. 

We walked in a group, sometimes in a single file, sometimes paired up, with the pairs changing, but always within sight of each other. Today's segment is much less strenuous than Yesterday's, with just one significant hill with steep ascend and descend, but it does not mean that it is easy, it's our second day and we are feeling all our muscles and joints. We started having short conversations with fellow pilgrims, we met people from all over the world. 

Another difference from Yesterday is that there are small villages every few kilometers. We stopped at around 1100 in one of the villages for a coffee break and when we were getting ready to leave Cathy showed up, Linda was left behind; Cathy was walking without her pack, having shipped it to their next destination. We chatted briefly with her and then took off, leaving her there to wait for Linda.

We keep bumping into the same people over and over, because we keep leapfrogging each other as we take breaks at different times and places. 

Close to Zubiri we saw a sign saying that the Albergue at LarrasoaƱa was closed  Sept 8-11; we had no choice but to change our destination to Zubiri, the next city with a place to stay beyond that is now Pamplona, but that is an additional 25 Km, there's no way we could make it to Pamplona today. Another consequence of this closing is that EVERYBODY now have to stop in Zubiri, and there is not enough lodging for all. We quickened up the pace and reached Zubiri at 1350, doing 21 Km in 6 hours and 15 minutes, not bad considering how sore we are. 

The Albergue was full, but we found a hostel with a room for 4 with private bathroom, it was the last room available. Lots of desperate pilgrims roaming the streets trying to find a place to stay. 

We booked dinner at the hostel for the 1930 seating because we do not have the energy to walk around town to find a better place to eat and most places are closed on Sundays anyways. Our room was large, with four beds instead of the usual bunk beads. The hostal offered laundry services and we quickly gave the receptionists our dirty clothes for washing and drying. By the way, a single person worked the reception, did the laundry, sold dinner tickets, and later helped the cook serve dinner and clean tables. 

We ended up having to go out to find a place to eat something to tide us over until dinner, but everything was closed; we found a bar/restaurant open but the kitchen had just closed, and the snack options were just a few bags of chips, we ended up ordering a few beers and ate a couple of bags of potato chips. 

Dinner was a 3-course meal, simple but satisfying. There was no place for the four of us to seat together, Paulo, Nancy and Terry sat at a long comunal table and I set on a table for four with 3 60-something guys from Netherlands who were doing the camino together (in fact one was Dutch, one was Swiss and one was American, but they all lived in Netherlands and were close friends) , I kept bumping into them later on on the Camino.


Thursday, October 25, 2012

2012-09-08 Saturday


2012-09-08 Saturday
St. Jean / Roncesvalles

Camino Day 1, today's segment is 28 Km. We woke up at 0600 with the alarm clock, got ready quickly and walked out at 0630 to meet Terry and Nancy at their hotel. We had breakfast there, grabbed the sandwiches they prepared for us, took a photo to document our departure, and started walking at 0710. 


Paulo, Nancy, Terry and Erico early in the morning, still dark, poised to start the Camino. Ready or not, here we go!

It is immediately uphill. Steep uphill. Relentless uphill. We went up hoofing and poofing. 

This is one of the easy inclines.

Terry, "Sister", Nancy and Paulo. We kept meeting "Sister" over and over during the Camino.


A view of the valley below.

Paulo, Terry and Nancy at one of our frequent stops.

Some of the small farms that dot the landscape

When we got to a place called Horizon, just a single building, a restaurant and small inn, we stopped for an extended water break.  Joaquim and Marcio were there, and we sat together at a picnic table, we chatted with them for a while and then we took off.

Erico, Nancy, Terry, Paulo, Joaquim

We continued the relentless uphill walk, the only good thing was that the views were gorgeous.
Terry and Nancy 


Pilgrims resting from the steep ascend

At 1230, we stopped to eat our sandwiches; that's when I discovered that I had left a bag with all my snacks and my "buff" at the hostal. Paulo and Nancy offered to share theirs. I ate my sandwich and one of Paulo's granola and chocolate bars for a quick burst of energy to help me face the steepest part of the route and final ascent of the summit. 

 Pyrenees

Nancy and Terry during a snack break 


One more small farm 


Terry, Nancy and Paulo 


Terry, Nancy and Erico

We reached the summit at 1315 with noodle legs and out of breath. We rested for 10-15 minutes and then started the steep on loose gravel and rooted trail, the descent was much steeper than the ascend. The last 6 Km or so were hardest than the ascent, the legs and knees took a pounding and the fear of falling on the loose gravel, with the subsequent scrape of limps on the rocks, was always constant. After frequent breaks to rest our legs, we arrived on Roncesvalles at 1550. I had estimated we would arrive there no earlier than 1700, so we had a fast pace after all. We arrived with feet hurting, legs burning, lungs searing, but with spirits soaring. 

We went straight to the Hotel Roncesvalles, the "village" is just 6-8 buildings anyway; it's a nice hotel in a restored convent, and checked in. A mishap happened with my reservation for T and N, it was for tomorrow, I don't know what happened, but they had one last room available, a two room suite and they gave it to them for the same price as a regular room.  

After we settled in, we went to the albergue to have our credentials stamped and then managed to crawl to the village's bar for a couple of celebratory beers.

We showered and washed our clothes and hung them to dry in our rooms, before going out for dinner at the 1900 seating.  We all had the "3-course Peregrine dinner" for 9 euros per person.  After dinner, Paulo treated us for a round of "Pacharan", a liquor made with berries that grow in these mountains. 

We went to sleep early, we were all very tired. 

2012-09-07 Friday


2012-09-07 Friday
Pamplona / St. Jean Pied-du-Fort

We got up and went for breakfast at an excellent bakery I had found around the block and then took a cab to the airport to meet up with Paulo. He was already waiting for us, I had forgotten that he was not going to check luggage, he was taking his pack as carry on. He had called me a couple of times on my cell, but the connection did not go through.

He was with two Brazilians he met at the airport in Sao Paulo who are also doing the Camino: Joaquim and his son-in-law. We waited about 15 minutes for the arrival of the van I had hired to take us to St. Jean.

We arrived in St. Jean at about 1300, we dropped our packs at our hostel, took Terry and Nancy to theirs and then went for lunch. We ended up having a delicious lunch, washed down with a delightful French wine. 


St. Jean: The Restaurant where we are lunch.

After lunch, we got our credentials and walked around the town. We had an early light dinner and retired early, tomorrow is the big day.




St. Jean: Espadrilles for sale.

 St. Jean: Riverside house.


2012-09-06 Thursday


2012-09-06 Thursday
Flight IAD-Madrid / Madrid / Pamplona

The flight was uneventful, left on time and arrived on time. Immigration was fast and easy, but it took a long time for my bag to be delivered, it was one of the last ones, even though it had the "priority" tag.

We took a taxi to the Atocha train station to catch our train 1135 train to Pamplona. Linda and Kathi were in the same train. When we arrived in Pamplona I helped Linda and Cathy to get directions to the hotel they were staying, they wanted to walk to the hotel. Terry, Nancy and I took a taxi to our hotel. It was centrally located, on a pedestrian only street, the hotel is neat and spartan, but the room is tiny.

After we settled in, we went out for lunch, followed by a long walk around town, to see the main sites.

Later we had dinner at one of the restaurants at the main plaza.

Pamplona: Terry and Erico with the bulls.

Pamplona: Nancy in a narrow pedestrian only street. See the guy with a pack and leather pants? We saw him again in the Camino.


2012-09-05 Wednesday


2012-09-05 Wednesday

McLean / Flight IAD - Madrid

After lunch, Alvani drove Terry, Nancy and I to the airport for us to catch our flight United 7663 (operated by Air Lingus) from IAD to Madrid.

Terry, Nancy and Erico and backpacks, at the Dulles Airport, ready to fly to Madrid.

At the airport we met Linda (from Las Vegas) and Cathy (from Houston); they are also doing the Camino, starting on the 8th, and are in the same flight to Madrid.

Backpack Contents


Folks, this is what I am carrying to Compostela:

Backback and contents by category (weight in grams)
1) Backpack w/cover:               1608g
- REI Flash 62 backpack
- Sea-to-Summit Ultra-Sil Pack Cover
- 2 Sea-to-Summit compression sacks
- Plastic sheet (for sitting on wet grounds)

2) Bedding:                               1718g
- REI Travel Down Bag
- Sea-to-Summit Regular Silk Liner (Long)
- Silk pillow case
3) Guidebook, Notebook, pen: 255
- Moleskine notebook & pen
- Camino de Santiago Guide by John Brierley

4) Crocs:                                 364g

5) Medical kit and comfort/toiletries kit (travel sizes):     2137g
- Deodorant
- Soap (for body and clothes)
- Lip balm
- toothbrush
- toothpaste
- dental floss
- Sunscreen
- nail clippers
- small scissors
- clotheslines
- safety pins (used as "clothespins")
- rubber bands
- round sink stopper
- Vaseline tube
- ear plugs
- sleeping mask
- small roll 2" tape
- small roll 2" stretch tape
- KT Tape
- 2 New-skin liquid bandage small botles
- BodyGlide anti-shafe
- Needle and thread
- 2 packs of Moleskin padding
- Assorted Band-Aids
- Rolaids
- Tums
- Advil
- Aleeve
- Sleeping pills
- Imodium
- Dulcolax
- Multi-symptom cold medicine
- 2 small rolls of TP
- 2 packs of cleansing wipes
- "day" pack/storage back
- 1 Swiss army pocket knife
- 1 small spoon
- 1 Sea-To-Summit waterproof bag to keep passport and other documents when raining.
- Funny pack
- assorted ziplock bags
6) Clothes (all quick drying):                               1794g
- 1 pair of pants (legs zip off)
- 1 pair of shorts
- 1 long sleeve shirt
- 1 long sleet T-shirt
- 2 short sleet T-shirts
- 1 long underwear pants
- 1 REI down vest
- 1 "Survivor" style buff
- 2 pairs of merino wool socks
- 2 pairs of sock liners
- 2 pairs of underwear
7) Rain gear                                 796g
Marmot PreCip Jacket
Marmot PreCip Pants Full Zip Pants
- Tilley wide-brim hat
8) Towel (quick drying)                                282g
9) Electronics                         666g
- iPhone w/ charger
- Unlocked GSM quad-phone w/ charger
- Camera Cannon Powershot SD110 w/ charger
- Petzl Tikka Plus Headlamp
- SPOT GPS Messenger (to publish our track as we walk the Camino)

10) Emergency food                      416g
- 4 energy bars
- 4 small mixed nuts bags


TOTAL 10397 grams (1LB = 454 grams ==> 22.9 lbs)

In addition to this that I will be carrying I will wear/carry

- Solomon walking boots
- long pants w/ zip off legs
- long sleeve shirt
- underwear
- passport, documents, cash, credit cards
- Gossamergear carbon fiber walking poles
- 2 0.5L water bottles (plain water bottles that will be refilled)

Below are pics of the contents and the backpack:






Introduction

On September 8, 2012, Paulo, Terry, Nancy and Erico will start the Peregrination to Santiago de Compostela from St. Jean-Pied-de-Port. We are planning to complete the Camino by October 11th. This blog reflects Erico's experiences on the Camino.