Belardo

Another shortish day, about 21 ks. On the road by 7 and into Belardo around 1, after stopping for breakfast cokes and coffees at each of the conveniently located villages along the way. Cold this morning so I got to use my beanie, which was the only thing I brought that I hadnt used so far. Last stretch into town into a howling headwind and a bit dull, running parallel to the motorway.

Belardo is a very old town with the ruins of a Castillo founded in the 9th Century looming over it from the nearby cliffs and a couple of churches that look like they have been made over multiple times pver the centuries.

About 54 ks to Burgos. Either a very long day tomorrow to Ages and shorter to Burgos next day, or two longish days and stay in one horse town on the way. Rain forecast for next two days. Will see how we go. Feeling pretty good at the moment.

Quite a few people who started in St Jean pdp have quit, some have raced ahead and many fallen behind. Stuff happens , like the poor dutch lady who fell out of a top bunk in Roncesvalles, or people are succumbing to old or new injuries or blisters. I am moving along in a bubble of survivors who are all moving at more or less the same rate.  But I think things will change after Burgos and there will be a largely new cast.

Santodomingo de Calzada

Up and on the road early and headed out in the first light expecting to find a bar for breakfast but everything along the path out of town closed. The coffee, orange juice and tortella at the next village 5 kilometers down the road tasted so good!

A relatively short walk to Santo Domingo de Calzada ( say that 5 times quickly) - only 20 kilometers - so got into the albergue, with 220 of my new closest friends, around midday. After a great lunch in a restaurant on the square, explored the town, found at last an open electrical shop - siesta can be annoying as all the shops shut for long and seemingly random amounts of time - bought a recharger to replace the one I left plugged into the wall in Longrono. Spent a fair bit of time getting my Spanish sim to work, then visited the cathedral. A live chicken and a rooster are housed in a special brightly lit and very ornate hen house built into a wall in the Cathedral, commemorating one of the more celebrated miracles of the eponymous saint, who amongst other things is patron saint of engineers and seniors. An odd combination but whatever. Also a really odd exhibition representing the Easter parade in the town constructed with Lego models.

Sampled some of the excellent wines for which the region is famous, a nice dinner prepared And served up by two hard working senoras then off to the packed dorm where despite creaking bunks snoring shouting laughing doors opening and closing and general mayhem I slept like a top till 6.

Najera

Another 30 k day lots through rolling hills covered with vineyards.
Some very tired people along the way. In Najera it was Fiesta day and all the populace out having a grand social time. A lovely town.

Logrono

30 k day today through lovely rural country. Seas of wheat and barley rippling in the wind. Reminded me of Tennyson: on either
side the river lie/ long fields of barley and of rye/ that clothe the earth and touch the sky/ and through the fields the road runs by/ to many towered (insert name of next picturesque stone town here).

Got to Longrono about 2, shower, wash clothes, have a dutch beer sort of like stout, wander round lovely town checking out churches - San batolemeo my favourite. Seemed to have a mermaid carved in the portico. Had a nice chat in Spanish with  the guy who seemed to be living in the porch - he was very proud of the church. Church of Santiago has a massive energetic statue of st James riding a stallion ( no doubt it's a stallion) trampling moors' heads.

Managed to get a Spanish sim card. Two lovely young women in the shop spent more than half an hour on the transaction - can't see how they made a profit on that one.

Longrono is apparently tapas capital of Spain so I will have to go sample some.

Los Arcos

A relatively easy and short walk today to Los Arcos. Some very pretty country. A rainy grey day to hit Los Arcos on a Sunday afternoon. A lot of blokes sitting in bars but all a tad dreary in the rain. I was hungry when I got here and ordered the wrong sort of lunch - bravas and sambas ( potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce and fried squid pieces) which did not agree with me so a quiet night before a big day to Logrono tomorrow - about 30 k and the longest but not the hardest so far.

Estella

A reasonably easy walk today but I managed to make it longer by leaving my phone on the table in the bar where I had breakfast. When I realised I had was about three kilometers out of town. but luckily a young Basque guy picked it up and was waiting for some worried looking person walking the other way. Some lovely country and pretty villages along the way. Had a great paella for lunch and into the Albergue  in Estella by 2. This is a nice like life style - I can see how people get hooked on it. I heard of a guy who has done 17 caminos is somewhere around, and there is a wonderful 80 year old french lady who I see every day doughtly plugging away. The human dimension is special.

Estella is a lovely town. Beautiful and interesting churches - but why so many?
There is a wonderful church portal which is geometric patterns rather than figures, and which shows the Arabic influence. And a wonderful portal up the hill with beautiful almost naive carvings - people getting killed in all sorts of inventive ways all graphically portrayed.

Estella is a nice place. To get WiFi I've been sitting in a bar in the Plaza for an hour - now siesta is over it has gone from deserted to buzzing. 

Puente de La Riena

I headed out early this morning and managed to take a couple of wrong turns heading out of Pamplona. A very pretty walk today over the Alto de Perdon. Probably should now be called Alt de Selfie or perhaps the pilgrims just wanted to remember and record their forgiven status. Puenta de la Riena is a bit low key after frenetic Pamplona. Distinctly feels like the weather is changing
Rain gear might get a workout soon.

Pamplona,

A grand day walking today, lovely weather and beautiful rural spring Spain, blossoms and irises and fields of canola so bright it almost hurts to look at them. The way winds through little stone villages till it hits the outskirts of Pamplona then up past the massive fortifications into the old town.

Staying in the main albergue which is pretty full, pretty basic and very cheap. It has the world's slowest washing machines and only four machines for 180 pilgrims wanting to wash their sweaty clothes. A bit of laundry rage going down there today. Some very tired and stiff people creaking around the place tonight, and some truly horrific blisters.

Pamplona seems like a lively place. Thursday nights the bars here offer pinchos and a drink for 2 Euros a serve. The more you eat the more you drink. Seems to work - the place is jumping.

I think tomorrow though I will try for Puente LA Riena.

 

Zubiri

The hospitalieros at Roncesvalles turn on the lights and crank up the grepgaian chant CD at about 5.45 - sleeping in not an option. Hit the trail about 7.00- it is still quite dark till then and no point getting lost. Walked to the next village for a nice breakfast. The path drops then climbs up to Pont due Error then falls steeply again down to Zubiri. I was planning on continuing on to Larrasoana but I started feeling not too well on the descent - a dodgey fuente I suspect. Got here round 3.30. The albergue is lovely and quiet and the town is nice. At dinner in the local bar I met an eighty year old  French lady pilgrim. She had walked the 23 kilometres from Roncesvalles today. She looked a bit tired but so does everyone else, me included.  I think the person who opened a foot care and blister clinic here would make a fortune.

Hard to believe it is only two days in. Looking at the map is a bit daunting - the two hard days slog represents an almost imperceptible fraction of the journey.

Roncesvalles.

A big climb today over the Pyrenees to 1428 metres according to my GPS. Beautiful weather and breath taking country. I set off at 7.30 and arrived at Roncesvalles at about 3. Met some truly lovely people on the way. The Camino is like a suspension of the normal rules of every day. People have agreed to be open and nice to one another and it really is a nice place to be. Had a few beers to celebrate getting here then headed over to dinner then to the pilgrim blessing in the church here. Well I certainly do feel blessed in so many ways.

St Jean Pied due Port

Woke up to a grey morning in Bayonne and after cracking the mysteries of the vending machine and getting my ticket I spent a couple of hours exploring the town before joining the gaggle of excited perogrinos on the bus. A number of them hit the trail straight away, probably heading for orrison about 8 k up the mountain. They will have an easier day tomorrow but I am not sorry to have had the chance to explore St Jpdp and its surrounds. The weather is glorious and is looking clear for the next few days. The albergue has a lovely garden in which I am catching the last of the afternoon sun, bells ching, birds chirping, delicious smelling dinner being prepared by the hospitaliero Jakline. I feel very grateful for my good fortune to be here doing this.
Tomorrow the big climb up to Roncesvalles.

All packed and ready to go

Tomorrow I will be heading off early to begin the journey - three days to get to St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, but I feel like the Camino really starts when I head out the door at 4.30 am tomorrow.  I always hate leaving home - really primal sort of anxiety about leaving every one and every thing I love behind, and I have a good case of pre trip jitters.  Feels like the day before the first day at new school - have I got the right sort of lunch box, will the other kids be mean to me, what the heck is going to happen?  I know from experience this will pass - whatever I am anxious about, the reality will be totally different, infinitely richer and more varied than anything I can imagine.  And usually once I get going things fall into place.

My final pack weight is 7.8 kilos which is reasonable - a bit over the magic 10%.  I nearly forgot my shell and my stone - probably the only two things I couldn't easily replace.  Thank heavens, today Anne put her silver shell earrings - which we bought in Villafranca last time - in honour of my departure, and seeing the shells reminded me. 

Anyway, Ultreya to me!

My days are numbered

I will be getting on a plane next week and truly as Anne said to me, my days are numbered. Time to stop faffing around and decide what I am taking and finish off outstanding tasks.

My walking preparation has been a bit erratic so I set out today to walk to Werribee. The weather was atrocious and after about 10 k water was running down the back of my pants which were thoroughly soaked, and into my boots. Note to self: pack and use waterproof pants and gaiters. I started to get cold feet, literally, about continuing, so I headed over to Laverton and caught train back. So I seem to be packing a bit more stuff - probably over 8 k now but I think worth it to stay warm and dry. After our Tassie trip I will definitely take a light down jacket as I realise that anywhere over 1000 metres can get fairly chilly whatever the season.

Anyway, after getting some dry clothes and my other boots I headed out again into the blast, wind gale force by now and the windage on the pack quite noticeable, and slogged out the remaining clicks to get 20 k. Now if I do that tomorrow and the next day and a couple more times before I go I should be fairly ready.