A Pilgrims Dinner

The walk from Bikkarreta to Urdaniz was only 13 km but felt like forever. My feet are swollen from the long flights and can't cope with much more than 10kms while the rest of me is fine. Each village is a joy and the sunlight through the forests magic.

I survived one of the steepest descents of the walk, out of the Pyrenees to the industrial magnesium town of Zubiri, then nearly choked on the fumes from the factory while trying to ascend the next hill.

Starving pilgrims piled into Zubiri in search of food and devoured a fabulous menu of the day consisting of the traditional Spanish mixed salad with tuna and eggs, a choice of trout, ribs or ham schnitzel and fries. Cheap beer and wine abound.

After lunch l hobbled the last 3 kilometres to my albergue and soaked my feet in the pool for an hour until I felt human again.

After the ritual chats, rest, shower, unpack, etc, I then joined in my first three course traditional pilgrims dinner. The hostel was small, just ten beds, and there was nowhere else to eat in town so I shared a meal with a group that included Americans, Spanish, Italian, French, Brazilian, Venezuelan and Aussie of course.

We went around the table discussing why we were walking the Camino. Antonio has to decide whether or not to accept a big promotion that will upset his work life balance. Maria's kids have left home and this is her second Camino. It gives her back faith in humanity because everyone is so nice. Jody is contemplating retirement after a long and successful career in education and surviving cancer. Jasper is in a rush and likes a physical challenge. Jacques is an incarnation of Santiago (St. James) himself and is checking in on us all and translating five different languages while he's at it. It is an enjoyable conversation with strangers talking about their lives in a way they may never do at home. This kindness and camaraderie is one of the reasons the Camino is so loved.

Hasta Manana, baby
Hasta Manana, until thenRead more