Stage 6 - Estela to Los Arcos

Where We Are Tonight:  Los Arcos                 Miles Hiked Today:  13.5 (21.8 km)

Miles Hiked Overall:  84.2 (135.5 km)             Miles to Santiago:  400.8 (645.0 km)

Steps Taken Today: 41,861                             Blister Count:  0 new

Spanish Word of the Day: zumo de naranja (orange juice)...always freshly squeezed!

What We Learned Today:  Don't just walk on by the church.  If it's open, go inside; it's worth it.

It's an interesting phenomenon that albergues want you gone pretty early in the morning,  but it's too early for stores to be open to buy food for breakfast.  That hasn't been a big problem;  we just walk to the next village and by then something is open and we can get our coffee, fruit and something substantial to tide us over until we need more food.  It's fun because these cafes are filled with peregrinos catching each other up on the state of their feet, how they slept, and other important peregrino business.  Another interesting phenomenon is that peregrino information offices (found in bigger cities to help you find lodging) close very early in the day...when we are still walking in the Camino!  That just makes no sense.  We've yet to arrive anywhere near time to take advantage of this.

Today, before we even had our first cup of coffee,  we came to one of the most exciting attractions on the Camino....el Fuente de Vino (the wine fountain) at Irache!  This area, Navarra, is well known for its awesome wine production and one Bodega is generous enough to provide a fountain of their product to fortify peregrinos for their walk.  I filled up my shell with wine like peregrinos used to do.

I (K) have a rip in my pack and one in my fanny pack.  I brought along some duct tape for situations just like this.  It looks like the repair on my pack will hold up for awhile but my fanny pack is trashed.  I really need to find another one because it holds all of the necessities that I continually need (like my credencial) so I don't have to rummage around in my big pack.

We can now add Greece, Palestine,  and Guadalupe to the list of places where peregrinos we've met are from.  We've only met 2 people from the US so far - one from California and one from New Mexico.   There are rumors that there is a couple from Portland but we've yet to meet them.

The last photo is of small snails.  We've noticed a few people going through the brush along side the road collecting these snails.   And I thought they were only crazy enough to eat snails in France!

"For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path that may have heart, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length--and there I travel looking, looking breathlessly."

―Carlos Castaneda

Editor note:   Yesterday Karen described a bit about the environment at the albergues, including the loud snoring and other horrible noises that people make during the night.  Her biggest fear was not being able to sleep.  The Camino is exhausting enough with a good nights rest, and close to impossible if you can't sleep.  So, I outfitted Karen with a pair of Bose noise canceling ear buds, and downloaded a 10 minute audio clip of rain that she can play in a continuous loop on her iPod nano.  Karen days that this has "SAVED MY LIFE!"

Stage 5 - Puente la Reina to Estela

Where We Are Tonight:  Estela                       Miles Hiked Today:  13.7 (22.0 km)

Miles Hiked Overall:  70.6 (113.7 km)              Miles to Santiago:  414.3 (666.8 km)

Steps Taken Today: 40,805                             Blister Count:  2 - both mostly healed!

Spanish Word of the Day: baño (bathroom) as in  ¿dónde está el baño?

What We Learned Today: When you buy better sunscreen because you got fried the day before, it will pour down rain all day!

We spent some time in Puente La Reina this morning finding a pharmacy and getting some really strong sunscreen ...and then ironically we walked in the rain for most of the day.   We experienced some massive downpours and even thunder.   It's hard to keep a positive outlook when you're freezing and completely soaked!

Just to continue the talk of the arrows from yesterday, we came across the best arrow yet.  I had to risk my life (since it was in the middle of the road!) but it was worth it!

Today's walk was quite pretty, going through gently rolling farmland and vineyards.   We also saw a lot of olive trees.   We are seeing a slight change in scenery and vegetation, including seeing a couple cacti and palm trees.   This area is well known for its wine and the vineyards look beautiful!

Pam is the pilgrim hiking with the neon green rain cover on her pack

When we got to Estella,  we picked a place to stay like we usually do in our exhausted state:  we went into the first one we saw.  Here is a photo of our room we share with about 35 others.  Tonight only cost  €7 but we've had albergues charge up to €12.  Everything in albergues is co-ed.  There is usually a kitchen where pilgrims can make their own meals, plus places to hang up washing, showers and toilets.  Rooms are usually huge and filled with bunk beds that were designed for young children (hard for old people to get in and out of!).   The only thing the albergue offers is a tissue paper-like bottom sheet and pillow case that is thrown away in the morning.The noise at night is ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. ..and I don't mean that in a nice way.  The noises some people make is amazing...and disgustingly loud.

This was not an especially hard day but both of us are so worn out that we're even skipping dinner in order to get more sleep.  Buenas noches!

In addition to the yellow arrows, you will see scallop shells on the Camino route.  The scallop shell is the symbol of the Camino de Santiago. It has mythical and metaphorical meanings as well as practical uses.  One version of the myth about the origin of the symbol concern the death of Saint James, who was martyred by beheading in Jerusalem in 44 AD.  The story goes that after James' death, his disciples shipped his body to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago. Off the coast of Spain a heavy storm hit the ship, and the body was lost to the ocean. After some time, however, the body washed ashore undamaged, covered in scallops.  The scallop shell also acts as a metaphor. The grooves in the shell, which come together at a single point, represent the various routes pilgrims traveled, eventually arriving at a single destination: the tomb of James in Santiago de Compostela.  The practical use of the shell for early travelers was that it was the right size for gathering water to drink or for eating out of as a makeshift bowl.  The symbol of the shell is often seen along the trail, on posts and signs.

Most pilgrims also carry a shell with them on their journey.  We received our shells in a blessing ceremony back at home at a meeting of the Portlandia chapter of the American Pilgrims on the Camino.  The purpose of this organization is to keep members connected to the Camino and to introduce new people to the phenomenon.  Before I left home I got my toe nails painted in a Camino theme.  When I thought I had a blister yesterday, I took off my socks and shoes. ..and I instantly had an audience of admirers!   I knew Camino  people would appreciate it!

"Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself.”

― Henry Miller

Stage 4 - Pamplona to Puente la Reina

Where We Are Tonight:  Puente la Reina                  Miles Hiked Today:  14.6 (23.5 km)

Miles Hiked Overall:  57.0 (91.7 km)                        Miles to Santiago:  428.0 (688.8 km)

Steps Taken Today: 42,876                                      Blister Count:  2 (K)

Spanish Word of the Day: sol (sun)

What We Learned Today: Do not wash your shoes in the toilet!  (A sign seen at the albergue.)

Today we were out about 8 hours.  We hiked out of Pamplona and back into the countryside and small villages.

We hiked to the top of a hill full of wind turbines and a very popular pilgrim statue.  I've read about this and seen photos of it so many times and it was so exciting to see it in person!

 Pam eating a typical pilgrim breakfast: cafe con leche, a cheese sandwich, something sweet and orange juice.

The Camino for most of the day was through beautiful fields.  The colors are so intense and lovely.

Today we can add Korea and Canada to our list of places from where we've met pilgrims.

We also learned that applying sunscreen 2 times is not enough in one day for the intense Spanish sun.  We ended the day quite crispy and red.  We made it into a town this afternoon and we decided we needed a real hotel instead of a hostel so I actually have internet that works well!!

"You don't choose a life, you live one" 

Emilio Estevez in The Way

Stage 3 - Zubiri to Pamplona

Where We Are Tonight:  Pamplona                    Miles Hiked Today:  13.5 (21,7 km)

Miles Hiked Overall:  42.4 (68.2 km)                 Miles to Santiago:  442.6 (712.3 km)

Steps Taken Today: 41,355                               Blister Count:  0

Spanish Word of the Day: caballo (horse)

What We Learned Today: We need affirmation and when we get it,  it's a good thing.

Today we walked about 7 1/2 hours.  We didn't start until pretty late because after our good fortune of having lots of space to do laundry, we came back from dinner to find it had rained while we were gone and our clothes that were hanging out were soaked.  So luckily the pension had a hair dryer and we spent part of the morning trying to dry our clothes.  Wet clothes and a backpack don't really mix....but since we couldn't really get them dry, I attached one wet thing at a time to the back of my backpack and dried them that way.

See stage 2 map for first 5.5 km hiked today

We walked by an interesting old building.  We saw some guy outside so we went to talk with him.  It turns out he is somewhat of an anthropologist who is spending his life now renovating an old abbey.   The building was once a fort,  they believe, but they have found evidence that is was turned into a church in the 13th century.   The old altar was stolen a few years ago unfortunately,  but that let them see an alter that was painted on the wall.centuries ago.  That was very cool.

The Camino took us through beautiful farmland again today.   Pam was particularly excited to see all of the horses.   We've also seen cows, sheep, chickens and a few dogs and cats.

We learned of an alternative route for the final push into Pamplona.   We decided to take it since it went along the river and was so pretty.  However, it didn't have all the pretty common Camino arrows for us, pointing us in the right direction.   Every once in a while we'd see an arrow but then for a long time we'd walk and walk and see nothing and so we'd start to get worried we had lost the path.  Finally we met backup with the Camino and the arrows and we could breathe easy as we walked through Pamplona.   That's why we say affirmation is good because we really have come to rely on the yellow arrows to keep us pointed in the right direction!

All along the Camino the route is marked with bright yellow arrows.  These are the work of Don Elías (1929-1989) who was the parish priest in O Cebreiro in Lugo and studied the history of the St James Way pilgrimage to Santiago in depth.  In 1984 made it his mission to revitalize the Camino.  He formed groups to restore and maintain the trails, and he personally went and painted yellow arrows along the trail at crossroads and places where people might potentially go the wrong way.  He also traveled extensively in Europe promoting the Camino and how important it was for people to make this pilgrimage.  Today there are still many simple spray painted arrows, but there are also arrows in bright ceramic tiles and other media as well.  Without all the arrows we would have been soooo lost.  He was a genius!  Now you know the significance of the yellow arrow on the right side of the blog.

When we got into Pamplona,  we were exhausted, of course, and so were so happy to see an albergue.  Just as we were walking up to the front door, a woman jumps out of a taxi with her bag, runs inside and snags the last bed!  So that was a bummer!  We walked and walked to the next albergue and just as we were turning onto the street of the albergue we could see a few other pilgrims heading that way in a hurry. ..so not to be outdone again we jogged (it's hard to actually run with heavy packs! ) up the street and got there before them to secure a bed...yea!   I will explain about albergues in another post.

It's too bad we didn't have the energy to explore Pamplona more...it's a beautiful city.  I will definitely have to go back there, hopefully for the running of the bulls!

"There are many things in life that will catch your eye but few that catch your heart, pursue those."

Unknown

Stage 2 - Roncesvalles to Zubiri

Where We Are Tonight:  Zubiri                       Miles Hiked Today:  13.4 (21.5 km)

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! 

Stage 1 - Saint Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles

Where We Are Tonight:  Roncesvalles                Miles Hiked Today:  15.5 (25 km)

Steps Taken Today:  48,269                                Blister Count:  0

Spanish Word of the Day:  viento (wind)

What We Learned Today:  It's always up from here!

It seems ironic that we begin the most difficult stage of the Camino on Sunday, the traditional day of rest.  And to top it all off, on Mother's Day  This stage begins in the town of Saint Jean Pied de Port in the southwestern corner of France.  Our endpoint for the day is Roncesvalles in Spain.  The distance is 25 km, or about 15.5 miles which would be fine if it was level.  The challenge is that the route goes over the Pyrenees Mountains, with an elevation gain of  1100 m (3600 feet), and a peak elevation of 1300 m (4300 feet).   Talk about starting our odyssey with a bang!  This is why we choose the"difficult", or "more difficult"hikes back home to prepare.   We figured that if we could survive Dog Mountain in a wind and hail storm, Huckleberry Mountain in the snow, etc. then we at least had a shot of making it over the Pyrenees alive.

































On many parts of the Camino there are small towns or villages every several kilometers along the trail, so you can adjust your daily distance depending on the weather or how you feel.  Many of these towns have an albergue, or hostel where pilgrims can spend the night for a reasonable fee, typically about 10-15 Euros.  There are also options to get a meal or to purchase food to take with you.   Unfortunately, on this stage once you begin the serious climb up the Pyrenees there are only two options, make it over, or turn back.

So, we knew that the first stage was going to be difficult with the length and elevation gain.  But nothing could prepare us for what we would actually encounter.    The length of the first day plus the elevation gain alone is overwhelming to us mature hikers (cough, cough)...however,  what was so incredible was the wind.   For those of you who have seen the movie The Way (a movie about the Camino that I highly recommend ), I'm now 100% convinced that the main character died while on his first day going over the Pyrenees because he was BLOWN OFF THE MOUNTAIN! !  Why nobody told us about the wind that we would experience is beyond me...it's so much more of an issue than the length of the day or the elevation gain.   The wind is simply hellish and brutal.   We laughed later on that we pictured ourselves like the poor weather person who gets sent out to report on a hurricane.  It takes a lot to knock me over but many gusts did almost that...luckily I caught myself every time thanks to my walking sticks but there were many people who weren't so lucky and were knocked down.

Oh my goodness,  I can't believe we actually survived the first day!  It was so difficult!   But first things first,  here are photos of us just starting out from St. Jean Pied du Port in France, a very cute little town at the base of the Pyrenees that caters almost exclusively to the pilgrims who walk the Camino.   It was uphill from the start!

So, all in all, it was the most difficult hike I've ever completed.  It took us 10 hours.  We walked through sun, rain, and even some snow.  I've never been so happy to see a building (the hostel where we were staying) before in all my life.  Here is Pam at the highest point of the day.

The Pyrenees are stunning.  The area looks like Switzerland and the Alps, although smaller in stature.  The scenery is absolutely beautiful.   At the albergue, we found our bunk bed (in a room with maybe 100 others...you should have heard the snoring! ) and took showers.  By then, the place to wash out clothes had closed.   Since we have 2 sets of clothes, we're going to have a problem in a couple days!  There was also no Internet,  which was a bummer.  What they did offer, however, was a wonderful pilgrim dinner.  We ate with 8 others from all over the world.  The camaraderie between the pilgrims really is something special.  To do this incredible journey with like-minded people is truly special. Dinner was over about 10 and we fell into bed.

One of the statues along the way

In case we were counting, only 765 km left to go!

Editors note:  Karen's actual description of the first stage was "(unprintable), that was difficult!!". If the saying "if it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger" is true then they must be a lot stronger now.  J

Getting there

Tuesday, May 3 to Saturday, May 7

Before the start of the Camino we had planned to spend a couple of days in Paris.  This was the most convenient point to fly in, and you can't pass through Paris without spending a little bit of time there! Our itinerary was to fly from Portland to Vancouver, Canada, then to Montreal, and then on to Paris.   Unfortunately our flight from Vancouver to Montreal was delayed for a number of reasons - and finally the crew timed out and we had to wait for another crew to arrive - and that got us into Montreal with only 25 minutes to spare for our next flight.   They greeted us at the gate with "you're too late and we've bumped you off the flight! "  This was not what we wanted to hear but we took advantage of the extra day in Montreal by discovering old town.   We started our Camino early by doing lots of walking (~ 8 miles) and making some new friends (there were maybe 25 of us bumped) including Theresa from Victoria and Celine from Paris. We visited the beautiful Notre Dame cathedral among many other places.

After a 24 hour delay in Montreal, we finally boarded our flight to Paris, and arriving at 9 AM Thursday morning.  We were left with only one very sleep deprived day and one good day.  We loved to just walk around the city. ..so much to see!  We did visit the Eiffel Tower,  took a Seine boat tour, visit the famous Paris catacombs and climb the Milian steps up to one of the most beautiful cathedrals I've ever seen - the Sacre Coure.   While there we saw stunning views of Paris.  We also spent quite a bit of time sampling Paris cuisine as well.   We ate our fill of baguettes, cheese and meringues!  And don't forget the wonderful French wines...

At the end of the 2nd day, we boarded a train to Bayonne.  Our first leg would take us 780 km (480 miles) southwest across France.  We had a sleeping berth but not much sleep happened in the 8 hours we were aboard.   Early Saturday morning we arrived in Bayonne and then waited a couple more hours for our short train ride to St. Jean Pied du Port.  Finally we had arrived!!  After months of planning for, thinking about, reading about and studying the Camino, we are finally here ready to start tomorrow.   Unbelievable!   We found the Camino office, got our passports and became official peregrinas  (pilgrims).    The man at the office explained how rough the climb over the Pyrenees will be tomorrow. ..but we are ready!   We will walk just a short way and then we will be in Spain and off to Santiago de Compostela!