On The Road Again

When I imagined this trip, it was in a Disney movie kind of way. Yes, there would be hard things (Exhibit A: the Pyrenees), and yes, occasional mishaps would occur, but in general I would persevere, with bluebirds fluttering around me throughout. Because I am nothing in life if not a plucky princess type with a smile and a song.

(I said it was my imagination.)

I expected to get blisters, the tip of a toe or perhaps the back of my heel. I might even play whack-a-mole treating them during the six weeks, but nothing a needle and a bandaid or two couldn’t handle. Shin splints were a concern in a “that would kinda suck” way, before the thought went straight out of my head. And I’m always klutzy, so scrapes and a stubbed toe or two were a given. Muscle soreness was the only real — and it was very real — threat, and I accepted early on that my signature Camino scent would be Eau de Tiger Balm Red. Actual difficult things happened to other people. It would be hard, but it wouldn’t be hard-hard.

(I said it was my imagination.)

It’s been hard-hard. I’ve felt the weight of Cruella, the Evil Queen, and Ursula all bearing down at once these last two weeks. With two more weeks to go, who knows what could befall me next.

But today, today the Camino was all the Disney magic I had envisioned.

Not that it felt that way when my alarm went off at 5:45 am, and hitting snooze repeatedly was not an option. I grumbled, and I was, frankly, a little nervous about being back out there, especially with a big climb. And a lot of miles. In new shoes. Plus, I had my every-cold-morning regret of having sent that long sleeved merino back. All this without coffee for probably five miles.

The sun came out and warmed me up. The landscape was varied, the path was fairly smooth, and it felt good to be walking. The blister was obvious but not obnoxious. I felt a few tweaks in my shins and in one of my knees and immediately panicked that the shoes were to blame, but I think it was more just actual walking.

I made good time to the coffee town, but Tom and Yvonne had beaten me. I was enjoying walking alone, so I ordered an orange juice to give them time to go ahead but not so much to keep me until Mim and Kathy, who’d just arrived, finished. I knew we’d all catch up down the road anyway. The next town had two bars literally next to each other with almost identical theming. I went to the left (“Because of the dog?” Mim asked when she got there. Guilty.) and ordered food. Tom and Yvonne dropped their bags, and Tom went to get them an Aquarius. The place to order at the other bar was immediately obvious when you walked up, so he went there, not realizing it was “the other bar.” The owner saw him when he came back and kicked him out, told him to take it back next door. Clearly that’s an ongoing issue, but maybe make it a little clearer? Tom spent the rest of our break randomly peeking over the wall at us.

Mim and Kathy are staying in Rabanal tonight, which was at the 12 mile mark. We said goodbye, knowing we had “the climb” but not understanding just what “the climb” entailed. A lot of loose rock is what it entailed. It was essentially walking four miles up a steep, dry riverbed. It was by far the hardest climb we’ve had in a long time. It’s also taking us to the highest point on the Camino Francés, which we’ll hit after two miles in the morning … followed by a long, steep downhill. It’s why I wanted to come this far today, because I’m a very slow downhiller, so to do the up and the down in one day would be much harder, I think.

But today worked. There was a bed for me here where I’d sent my pack. I met some people at the first stop who are staying here also tonight, and we’ve become friendly. It felt good to walk, the weather was perfect, and overall it was just a really enjoyable day. I had dinner by myself here at the albergue and mapped out my remaining days. They aren’t booked, but I’ve reached out to a few, and the answers will determine some of my other plans.

I just hope Cruella, the Evil Queen, and Ursula don’t push me down that damn hill tomorrow.Læs mere