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Camino

May - July 2023
Walking the Camino Frances Read more
  • 43footprints
  • 2countries
  • 45days
  • 635photos
  • 2videos
  • 657kilometers
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  • TravelerCamino
    Day 1

    On y va!

    May 23, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    The adventure begins! Set out from St Pancras at 7am and arrived at St Jean Pied de Port at 6.15pm, right on schedule. We loved our first evening at Alberge Beilari where Joseph, our multi-lingual and quietly amazing host calmed our nerves and helped a group of strangers to bond. After a delicious dinner F & I explored the medieval town before the hostel locked its doors at 10pm. Silence imposed from 10.30pm - 6.15am to ensure everyone had a chance to sleep.Read more

  • TravelerCamino
    Day 2

    Day 1, St Jean to Orisson

    May 24, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    The climb to Orisson wasn’t easy but nothing like as gruelling as I’d feared. Sadly the mountains were only sporadically visible through layers of cloud. Still beautiful and mysterious though - much more so than my photos suggest! We finished walking early and shivered outside our alberge until we were allowed in at 2.30. Perhaps we should have just walked on….
    Once again Fiona and I met lovely people from all over at dinner. Two Canadian women, a South Korean couple, Tricia from Texas, Dominique from France, Daniel from Brazil, an Israeli couple, Julie from California and an Austrian couple who had walked 1600k from Austria.
    We ate well and despite finding our host, Lorenzo, to be a somewhat lacking in charm, we agreed he ran a very professional operation. After dinner Julie kindly shared some of her photos which were much more appealing than mine.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino
    Day 3

    Day 2, Orisson to Roncesvalles

    May 25, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    We were delighted to wake up to a clearer sky and charmed by the view (more visible this morning than any time yesterday). After breakfast we set out (at 8.15) for Roncevalles, a 17k walk through the Pyrenees - uphill for about 11 and downhill for the rest. The weather was pretty cold and my weight-conscious packing didn’t seem quite so smart as I got progressively colder and eventually found that my fingers had stopped fully functioning. However, this was one of the most amazing walks I’ve ever done. Utterly stunning and once again beyond the scope of my photographic skills to capture.
    Walking the Camino is beginning to feel like living in a village since we already seem to know so many of the people we meet. Today we added an Irish couple to our list. Had a long conversation about whether you can be Irish if you’re second generation and about the horrors of Brexit. Whiled away the last kilometre or two with ease.
    Right now I’m mildly depressed to face dinner wearing the same clothes I’ve been relying on constantly for the past couple days. Hoping for warmer weather and the possibility of changing into a dress in the evening.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino
    Day 4

    Day 3, Roncesvalles to Zubiri

    May 26, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    It was wonderful to set out today with clear blue skies above and sun beaming down on us. Even at 7.45, with the temperature at 6 degrees, the chill had gone. As we left Roncevalles, we exchanged contact details and said goodbye to Dominique, a Parisian great-grandmother on her way to Bordeaux to see her great-grandchild.
    The walking for much of the day was level and easy, through verdant countryside, forests where they used to burn witches in the 16th century and medieval villages which provided today’s pilgrims with coffee, tortilla and delicious cherries and apricots.
    The final 3-4 kilometres were steeply downhill on uneven bedrock and made for a pretty tough end to walk.

    We were extremely relieved to enter Zubiri and then disappointed to discover our accommodation was at the far end of the town. Our 21.8 km walk ended up being 23.6 km ( not sure why that always happens). However, our lovely host, Sara, made us feel extremely welcome and the place, Suseia, appears to be lovely. Fiona and I are both tired and delighted dinner is at 6.30! It should be a jolly night - 6 of the guests are Irish and we’ve met them all already. There’s an English guy called James and one Spaniard and Sara has a reputation for providing good food. Let’s hope so because we are HUNGRY!    Read more

  • TravelerCamino
    Day 5

    Day 4, Zubrini to Pamplona

    May 27, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    The day began with a birthday present from Fiona - a silver chain with a shell pendant. The perfect gift for the Camino.
    For most of the day we skirted the Arga River and for some of time were within earshot of the N135 highway. Fiona was of course tempted to take a dip at the site of cold water but, with a long trek ahead of us, she resisted.
    This felt like a tough day. On the plus side, we met up with Mel and Rachel from England and enjoyed their company during the morning, but it was 11 kilometres before we hit Zuriain and a chance of breakfast.
    Later, we enjoyed bumping into a local festival at Villava but found the final few kilometres to Pamplona extremely exhausting. Fiona and I were both pretty knackered by the time we’d pushed through the crowded streets of the old city and found our way to Aloha Hostel.
    On arrival we sat on the terrace and savoured a can of beer from the vending machine. The place was lovely and our room very comfortable. We forced ourselves out (thank you Fiona for accompanying me) to find Decathlon where I bought a new pair of trainers (which don’t pinch) and then I took pictures of Fiona in her Marsden tee shirt in front of the cathedral and the bulls sculpture. She scowled at both locations but felt she could dump the tee shirt once the charity photos had been done.
    We were delighted to bump into our Canadian friends, Cheryl and Janice, as they arrived at the hostel. They agreed to meet us for dinner to celebrate my birthday.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino
    Day 6

    Day 5, Pamplona to Puente la Reina

    May 28, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    It seems to me that everyday on the Camino is the same and at the same time totally different. The routine is predictable - wake up early, find the route, walk for a couple of hours and hope to find coffee and breakfast, complete walk, down a beer, rest, shower, eat, get an early night. What’s totally different is the landscapes we walk through and the people we’re meeting. Today was wonderful and the countryside we walked through quite different from previous days. Lots of wide open corn fields bordered by masses of wild flowers and occasionally interspersed with meadows of poppies. Lots of up and down and, in the last couple of hours, more heat than was comfortable but overall a joy.
    What’s more, my new shoes don’t hurt!    Read more

  • TravelerCamino
    1
    Day 7

    Day 6, Puenta la Reina to Estella

    May 29, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We set out this morning as soon as the rain stopped, did a quick tour of Puente la Reina and then got back on the path. The evidence of last night’s torrential rain made us doubly grateful that we’d missed it yesterday. (The picture of us walking though the town was taken by Julie from California).
    This was meant to be a relatively easy day - 21.6km and pretty flat. We passed through a number of lovely medieval villages - my favourite, Cirauqui, reminded me of an Umbrian hill town although our Spanish friend, Bego, said it was pretty typical of this part of Navarre.
    This was another varied day where we walked on Roman roads, crossed 12th century bridges and walked both over and under the A12 motorway. I felt confident about how I was coping with the Camino and really content for most of the walk until the moment I began to suspect a blister hotspot developing on the sole of my right foot. Peace shattered, I found a use at last for the deer tallow cream I’d ordered for blister prevention and changed into walking sandals. I’m a bit anxious that I may still have a problem tomorrow.
    I really enjoyed the company of our Camino friends Bego and Kim and their stimulating conversation kept me going for the final few kilometres. Kim and I talked about politics at local and national level and Bego told me how worried she was that young people are taught to be afraid with warnings they won’t afford a house, won’t have secure jobs because of AI and that the planet has no future. We talked too about the indigenous people in Mexico she worked with for 15 years.
    We arrived in Estella together though I’d been trailing behind. Fiona and I were relieved our hostel was on the near side of the town, we stopped there and agreed to meet the others later since this is their last night.
    After dumping rucksacks and finding our room (a 4 bed room shared with an Israeli and a Spanish woman who we have already bumped into) we found ourselves a beer and did a tour of the town. Fiona wanted cherries and we eventually tracked them down.
    Said hello to Janice and Cheryl, our Canadian Camino friends, went home and washed some clothes (not likely to dry in time for the morning), and had a healthy dinner at El Mundo.
    Estella is a beautiful town, full of magificent churches and palaces. We met Bego and Kim after dinner, had tea with them and were taken for a tour by Bego’s local friend. A memorable end to a good day.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino
    1
    Day 8

    Day 7, Estrella to Los Arcos

    May 30, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    I woke at 5.45 and quietly tended to my blister prevention duties while everyone else in the room slept. We set off around 7.30 with the slight worry that today’s section of the Camino includes the longest period without access to food and drink. Fiona was a little twitchy about the possibility of walking without coffee and I was worried my supplies of dried apple, nuts and yogurt might not sustain me.
    The first treat was the wine fountain where Bodegas Irache, the local wine producers, provide free supplies to pilgrims. We suspected this only made economic sense because most pilgrims pass by around 8am! The second treat was the discovery of a cafe about 8km into our walk - probably the most universally welcome sight for any Camino pilgrim.
    Today marked the end of our first week. We’ve walked 135km and have made a wonderful start. We were blessed with another stunning day of wide skies and spectacular views. We ended with dinner at Los Arcos with Sheryl and Janice, our Canadian friends, and Denis and Bernie from Ireland, Camino veterans who are now Mammy and Daddy to us all. What’s more, I didn’t get a blister, despite yesterday’s ominous signs and, all in all, would count this as one of the best days to date.

    As we tramped along today, one of the lessons of the Camino crystallised in my mind: whenever you admire a wonderful hillside or hilltop village in the distance, factor in the 90% chance that this is your next destination. It got me thinking about what else I had learned. So here goes:
    1. Walk at your own pace. You test the patience of your companion if you are always urging them to slow down and you can’t enjoy the experience yourself if you are chasing someone else’s tail.
    2. Invest in some sponges to cushion your collarbone from the friction caused by rucksack straps. Currently we are each sporting a yellow bath sponge on one side and a flat cleaning sponge on the other. Fiona’s is blue, mine pink. They do the job! We aspire to 2 flat sponges each. They work better!
    3. Wear your sun hat
    4. Don’t think you only need heavy-duty sun cream on your left hand side (because you’re walking Westwards and the left hand side gets the brunt if the sun). Despite this clever advice, it’s my more neglected righthand side that’s a bit red tonight.
    5. Be paranoid about blisters and leap on all hot spots before the nascent little bastards have a chance to bubble up.
    6. Enjoy!    Read more

  • TravelerCamino
    Day 9

    Day 8, Los Arcos to Viana

    May 31, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    We decided to do a relatively short walk today - about 19km and to stop at the medieval town of Viana instead of doing the daunting 28km to Logrono which most pilgrims were doing. I think this was the right decision even if it means doing longer days later on because we were both tired and loved having the chance to nap when we got to the hotel (staying somewhere tonight where we have our own bathroom!)
    Viana is a lovely place with narrow streets, a ruined 13th church and a pretty amazing one which is still functioning. We went to a pilgrim mass there tonight at 8pm. Fiona and I and two American girls were the only pilgrims who showed up but there was a respectable local congregation.
    This was after another nice and astonishingly cheap pelegrino menu - lentils, peppers stuffed with spinach and walnuts, followed by watermelon. And accompanied by wine. All for 13 euros. We ate with Tricia who lives in Austin, Texas and Rachel from West Horsley!    Read more

  • TravelerCamino
    Day 10

    Day 9, Viana to Navarette

    June 1, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    It all started so well. We were out the door and on our way just after 7am and made good progress to our first stop, 10 km on, at the city of Logrono. The weather was cloudy and the walk there boring rather then unpleasant but we were happy (verging on smug) as we congratulated ourselves on the decision not to press on to Logrono the previous afternoon (which is what most Camino guidebooks recommend). We imagined how the final 10km would have felt at the end of a long day.
    By 9am we had visited the Church of Santiago el Real and were searching out a good spot for breakfast. First stop wasn’t great but we had coffee and sat outside where we felt free to eat the yogurts we’d bought the day before. We did a quick scout of the nearby supermarket and stocked up on toothpaste and fruit for the journey. Then we found a wonderful bakery/cafe where we bought more coffee and I had an enormous slice of wonderful orange cake. All was well with the world.
    Leaving Logrono, after an enjoyable 2-hour break, I began to have blister panic. I taped up the heel of my left foot with KT tape (bought yesterday) but half an hour later stopped again because it was coming off and it looks like my first Camino blister had appeared. I used a precious bit of Leukotape (wishing I had brought more with me) and walked on slightly depressed. Fiona meanwhile was entranced by the sight of a red squirrel. This was a 12 km stretch that mysteriously lasted for 13 km and my feet felt pretty upset for much of it.
    We did eventually reach Navarette and are staying at a beautiful medieval albergue called Ignatius. We had a beer and a very quick look round. The town is enchanting with another wonderful church and a maze of narrow medieval streets. Then it was time for a nap.
    Our first attempt at dinner was comically bad. Fiona had done a recce and spoken to the owner about our vegetarian preferences and been assured he could provide fish at the least. When we got there he seemed to have no memory of that promise. He was a Romanian who spoke little English but seemed to promise a vegetarian meal of vegetables ( never a good sign) and then was heard arguing with his partner who was also the cook. While we were waiting, without much confidence, he told us there would be a problem with the starter if we didn’t eat ham, then dragged a large gas cylinder across the restaurant and offered us some chocolates. All our instincts told us to escape. We fled, leaving a generous 10 euros for the glass of wine we’d hardly touched and joined Rachel who’d spent most of the afternoon at a wonderful place called Bar Deportivo. There we ate and drank really well and enjoyed the company of Rachel, Ros from Glasgow, Nick, Mike and Paul. A great escape!
    Going to bed thankful for a mostly lovely day but hoping the blister doesn’t make tomorrow miserable.    Read more

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