Spain Lorca

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  • Day 7

    Tag 6 – wie getz, schwarze Pisten?

    May 12 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Tag 6 – wie getz, das waren schwarze Pisten???

    Morgendämmerung, Minimalismus

    6:30 Uhr. Der Wecker klingelt, ich wache auf wie ein Toast aus dem Toaster springt: leicht angekokelt, aber bereit fürs nächste Abenteuer. Rucksack packen – das übliche Tetris für Fortgeschrittene. Meine Energiereserven? Komplett im roten Bereich. Also: Supermarkt. Die vegane Ausbeute dort war so übersichtlich wie die Auswahl an guten Witzen bei der Jahreshauptversammlung der Steuerberater. Aber hey: Ein Brot, drei Liter Wasser, zwei Äpfel und meine Avocado vom Vortag. Das reicht. Not macht erfinderisch – und pilgern macht genügsam.

    Brücken, Berge, Beißreflex

    Der Weg raus aus Puente La Reina: malerisch. Schon wieder eine Brücke! Ich hätte von Anfang an zählen sollen – vermutlich komme ich am Ende auf mehr Brücken als Pilgerblasen. Hinter der Brücke: Felder, Grün, und – Überraschung – mein erster Berg des Tages. Kürzer als die anderen, aber steiler als mein Ehrgeiz, heute weniger als 20 Kilometer zu laufen. Mein Trick: Zehn Schritte gehen, stehen bleiben, Hohlkreuz machen, weitergehen. Pilgern für Fortgeschrittene mit eingebautem Fitnessprogramm.
    Taylor Swift als Pilgerpatin
    Plötzlich merke ich, dass ich tatsächlich sowas wie gute Laune habe. Ich bin allein, AirPods in den Ohren, und singe lauthals „All too well“ von Taylor Swift. Wer mich hört, denkt vermutlich: „Der Deutsche hat zu viel Sonne abbekommen.“ Egal! Musik hilft, auch wenn der Nacken immer steifer wird und ich innerlich verhandle, ob zehn Kilometer nicht auch reichen würden. Aber heute ist alles ein bisschen leichter. Vielleicht, weil ich endlich mal die Landschaft wahrnehme: Hügel, reizende Dörfer, freundliche Menschen. Ich liebe das. Ehrlich.

    Irgendwann ein Schild: Noch acht Kilometer bis zum Ziel. Eine Frau, um die 40, grüßt mich, wir kommen auf Englisch ins Gespräch. Nach einigen Minuten fragt sie: „Where do you come from?“ – „I am German.“ – „Ja, dann können wir auch Deutsch reden.“ Wir lachen beide. Ihr Name: Ivonne. Oder Isabel. Sorry, Namensgedächtnis wie ein Sieb. Sie ist die erste Deutsche, die ich auf dem Camino treffe – und ich bin’s für sie auch. Gemeinsam laufen wir die restlichen acht Kilometer. Sie erklärt mir das Camino-Pisten-Farbensystem: Schwarz = extrem, Rot = schwierig, Blau = machbar. Bis gestern waren alle schwarz, heute war rot, morgen ist blau. Ich wollte eigentlich kürzer treten, aber jetzt denke ich: Blau? Machbar! Optimismus, powered by Wanderbekanntschaft.

    Angekommen in Estella. Typischer Camino-Ort: Hostels, Bars, alles einfach, alles herzlich. Mein Hostel funktioniert kontaktlos – was super klingt, aber erst mal bedeutet: Ich stehe zehn Minuten wie ein digitaler Neandertaler vor der Tür, weil der Code nicht funktioniert. Am Ende klappt’s doch. Klassiker: 30 Minuten aufs Bett legen und an die Decke starren, dann duschen, umziehen, durch den Ort schlendern. Estella ist wirklich schön. Noch ein bisschen Abendessen, dann falle ich ins Bett wie ein nasser Wanderschuh in die Ecke.
    Fazit des Tages
    Weniger Drama, mehr Freude. Neue Bekanntschaften, steile Berge, gute Musik und ein bisschen mehr Leichtigkeit. Und: Ich kann jetzt „Avocado“ auf Spanisch sagen: Aguacate

    Buen Camino
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  • Day 7

    Camino D7 Estella (Total 115km)

    May 9 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    The 2 challenges of the day were find breaky and beat the incoming storm⚡. We soon found a great cafe for breaky in the Puente la Reina about 1km from the hotel, see pic😋! The walk after started flat but soon
    turned into a tough climb. Today again a lot of beautiful landscapes and after 23km we made it to Estella. Attached a few pics, love the dragon door knocker👍, the town dates from the 1400s. As expected, the storm duly arrived, thus we gave up on the sight seeing, we expect the storm to continue tomorrow😬😬⚡⚡!
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  • Day 11

    Lorca to Villamayor de Monjardin

    May 5 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 52 °F

    Today was so peaceful and beautiful. It threatened rain all day, but the heavens never actually opened up. I spent less time looking at buildings and cities, and much more time in peaceful prayer. I sang a lot of hymns like "Welcome, happy morning" and "Morning has broken." It was so quiet and God's creation was so vast. It was hard not to be awed.

    The path would wind mysteriously through fields of wheat and it was impossible to see past the little turn ahead of you. It made me think of Thomas Merton's prayer about not being able to see the road ahead of you and having no idea where you're going but trusting God to lead you. He says he's not sure he's following God on this path but prays that the desire to follow God is enough to please God. What a beautiful way to live!

    Several times today I picked up special rocks and prayed over them for special people. I then added them to the piles gathered at way markers as a lasting prayer. Prayer marked my day in a beautiful way today.

    I came to the famed wine fountain in Irache, where the vineyard owners fill one side with wine and one with water each morning. It's a gift and blessing for pilgrims. The two sides together are to depict Jesus' first miracle at Cana turning water into wine.

    In the tiny village of Azqueta I stopped at a little bar. Now that I've found my pace I run into the same people over and over. Four of us shared a heavenly piece of banana bread here warm right out of the oven and with a super crispy crust coated in almonds and sesame seeds. Inside, a poster told the story of the place. The now owner came upon the place when he was a pilgrim but found it abandoned and up for sale. He went on to the Albergue up the street for a drink and started to talk with the proprietress. He said he fell immediately in love with her. When he completed his pilgrimage, he came back to the town to econnect with her. They got married and bought the bar so pilgrims would always have a stop along the way. Their hospitality is clearly a ministry not just a job.

    As I walked into Villamayor de Monjardin, St. James greeted me with his encouraging staff. My Albergue is called Oasis Trails and is a wonderfully welcoming spot. My room looks out on the town church, Iglesia de San Andres. The room is named Peace, which has been my special prayer all day.

    It was a chilly day, so a group of us from here and from the neighboring Albergue are warming by the wood stove chatting and sharing drinks. What a great end to a day! Tonight we'll share a pilgrims meal together. These meals bring the whole Albergue together over a long shared table, making meaningful connections and sharing stories. I love the day of prayerful solitude, but the evenings of camaraderie are wonderful, too.

    Steps: 29,680
    Distance: 12.59 miles
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  • Day 9

    Day 7 - Spring glory

    May 4 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Estella to Los Arcos
    21.9km
    It was a funny old day today. The pilgrim grapevine was alive with the news of rain on the trail later in the day. Some folk set off at 2am to beat the rain! Not me, a nice continental breakfast at the best accommodation yet, and then on the road just after 8am.
    It was a lovely morning, blue skies with light cloud, nippy enough for a light jacket, and dead quiet in Estella on a Sunday morning.
    First stop was the wine fountain at Bodegas Irache! I had bought my camping cup specifically for this moment. Not premier vintage, not not vinegar either, in fact quite good table wine. Apparently 100 litres are made available daily, getting there at 9am was perfect.
    The day was mostly unremarkable, in a good way. Track condition generally good, generally not too much hill climbing, some forest walking but mostly through fields of agricultural produce, and we beat the rain.
    But Spain in Spring, wow! The views today were what I was hoping for. Lots of fields of young wheat waving in the breeze, fields of peas, vineyards, and olive orchards. All bordered by wild poppies and rapeseed. Very pretty.
    My accommodation tonight is very interesting, an old Knights Templar hostel where they would accept pilgrims to the holy land, and then provide security along the route. La Casa De Jerusalem is the name. The door is big enough for a horse.
    Accumulated distance 147.9km
    Moment of the day - hours of walking through drop-dead gorgeous spring fields.
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  • Day 10–11

    Cirauqui to Azqueta

    April 30 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 52 °F

    Another sunny day in Spain. 14.45 miles today, a bit longer than planned but all in a day’s Camino.
    So far, in the 74.5 miles we’ve walked in 6 days I think there’s been a maximum of maybe 11 feet of level ground. I guarantee every person in this part of Spain that had to walk to school
    (or anywhere else for that matter) had to walk uphill both ways.
    It’s not just a myth! 😉
    We had lots of climbing needless to say. Also had free wine! Fuente de Irache.
    There’s a winery on the path that has a spigot on the wall of one of their buildings. BYOC (bring your own cup) or Camino shell.
    Our friend Pip Taylor was on our minds today. Pip was another CO friend we met and fell in love with instantly and like us, she and her husband also had a home in TX. Pip was genuinely a one of a kind. Quick to laugh and love fiercely and one of the most generous folks on the planet to anyone she met or who was on need. ALS took her from us in a few short months in 2022 but she is forever in our hearts.
    Seeing a single red poppy growing in a sea of green reminded me of her today. She would have been the first to say “ You were born to stand out. Never blend in.”
    Life is good!
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  • Day 12–13

    Pamplona to Cirauqui

    April 18 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    We started our day at 7:00 today.
    Blue skies and perfect weather to enjoy the magnificent landscape ahead of us. The pictures do not do justice to the beauty surrounding the trail. A never-ending vastness of all shades of green and yellow.
    The ascent to Alto del Perdón and subsequent descent turned out to be extremely challenging. That and the 31 km covered left us breathless, in pain, and ready for a spa.
    But we pushed through the agony of the rocky terrain despite my sprained ankle. Mid-way, we stopped for a Spanish tortilla snack and a drink, which gave us the energy to arrive at our destination.
    We met many pilgrims today from England, Spain, and Taiwan. But none of them went as far as Cirauqui, since we have not seen them at the only albergue in town.
    We have a shorter day tomorrow (only 24 km), but right now we are hoping our feet will be ready to cover them.

    Cirauqui: Stayed at Albergue de Peregrinos Maralotx
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  • Day 12

    Camino Day 7

    May 7 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Todays walk was a little more mentally challenging for me. My “little worse for wear” turned into a full blow cold. Hiking was the last thing I wanted to be doing but I strapped up my boots and just got it done. Today was a beautiful 21.5km walk from Puente La Reina to Estella, 497m ascent and 422m descent. Our Albergue had the most beautiful view of the river and we finished the day with some sneaky beers with our mates Eddie, Chris, Belen and Lily.Read more

  • Day 8

    Zubiri to Pamplona

    April 28 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

    Today is a beautiful day! The trail was still muddy, as you can see in one of the pictures, there was a couple trees over the path, I was trying to go under and my backpack got caught, so down I went! When we got to Pamplona, (the city where the running of the bulls take place) there was a major power outage, so it was a little chaotic.. we had a really nice hostel, it was like a hotel room, it felt so good!! We also went to the laundromat, I had brought detergent sheets with me but didn’t have to use them because the machines dispersed detergent..
    on a normal day with food and lodging, I am averaging under $50 a day..
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  • Day 8

    Cirauqui

    April 17 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Walked with Yoko for the last few miles. She is a soft spoken older lady from the Nagoya prefecture of Japan. She read Shirley McLains book about the Caminon and has been dreaming of walking it for 30 years!Read more

  • Day 13

    Day 8 & 9 continued - Estella

    April 13 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 54 °F

    Staying with the nuns proved to be exactly what I needed. I attended mass with them on Sunday. It was all in Spanish, and while I didn't understand most of the words of the sermon, I FELT THE MESSAGE. I realized that God and Jesus and The Word in any language are all universal. 🙌 After the service, the nuns took me on a tour. I still have not found the words to adequately express how incredibly thankful I am for this experience. This day will always be a highlight of my pilgrimage.
    About the need for REST... I've never doubted my ability to complete the pilgrimage. However, I also knew that to do so would require listening to my body. Walking 30 to 45,000 steps a day has awakened some muscles that I didn't even know I had! After the service and tour, I slept a lot and then walked around a little late in the day before sleeping like a rock all night! As I said my goodbyes to the nuns in the morning, my eyes leaked a little... knowing that they all touched my heart in a way that I will cherish forever. 💜
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