Miles Hiked Overall: 28.9 (46.5 km) Miles to Santiago: 456.1 (734.0 km)
Steps Taken Today: 41,997 Blister Count: 0
Spanish Word of the Day: cafe con leche (coffee with milk) - what we must have to start the day
What We Learned Today: For every down hill (or easier) part of the Camino there is an even bigger uphill!
After such an amazingly hard day yesterday, I'm surprised we could actually get up! But we did. We hiked for 8 1/2 hours which included some food stops, rest breaks and photo stops. After our first day experience we were happy to not have the long continuous uphill slog. There was still lots of uphill and downhill on this stage, but at least it was intermixed, with a net loss in elevation of 420 m (1380 feet) over the 21.5 km (13.4 miles) to Zubiri.
Today reminded us of many of our training hikes. Since we hiked all through last winter in preparation for this, we ended up hiking through some pretty rough conditions...and we had them all again today. We seem to be drawn to unmaintained, wet, slippery and muddy paths! And then when it started to rain,we felt right at home! Also like Oregon, we walked through beautiful forested areas, lush and green and full of slugs. Spring flowers are blooming everywhere.
We have already come across a number of different shrines erected for pilgrims who have died along the way.
When we arrived in Zubiri walking like drunks on our rubbery legs, we found a cute little pension for the night. Even a couple days on the camino has given us immense appreciation for things like sharing a bathroom with only 10 others, our own room and a lush cotton towel. And since we weren't able to do laundry the night before, we were happily surprised to find ample space to hang out our laundry!
So far we've talked with pilgrims from the following countries: Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, USA, Spain, France, Italy, Scotland, Sweden, Brazil and Australia!
