Esteribar

Well, today was a great day. I had long periods of drizzly rain during the morning interspersed with short periods of said rain dripping off the trees. But, by noon it had cleared to overcast and I could focus on the technically difficult descent into Zubiri.

Following yesterday’s events, I was interested to see how I would go today. Happy to report that I found my mojo, my timing and pace were sound, and I was enjoying the countryside, the animals, the birds and having occasional conversations with fellow pilgrims. But more of that later.

I want to address two things. First, I want to say a heartfelt “thank-you” to those of you following along and making comments. It makes me feel as though y’all are along for the ride.

Second, I want to go back to the ‘event’ of yesterday. Last night I had a laugh about everything that transpired and today I spoke with two people who had been in exactly the same predicament as me with the wind. That made me feel better. I also want to acknowledge the kindness of the others involved and I hope to see them again and shout them a beer, or three. Finally, my Spanish friend’s sense of humour that missed the mark with me had as little to do with his story as it had to do with my poor command of the Spanish language. My language skills aren’t great but I’m trying and getting better. Yesterday’s situation was all down to me and I own it.

Now, to today. One of the issues yesterday was my lack of energy when I needed it most. I had a meagre breakfast which did me no good at all and so from now on I’ll be loading up. Added to that was the fact that the food van that I had been heading for happened to pack up and drive back down the hill about five minutes before I would have arrived. That didn’t help but, again, my fault. Today I had a good brekky and it showed.

The walk from Roncesvalles to Zubiri wasn’t too bad. There were a couple of steep pinches, followed by tricky descents. The last one into Zubiri is particularly dangerous because of the shale outcrops sticking up in the middle of the path. However, everything worked out and I managed it all without any damage. I managed to get to know Dieter from Germany, Andrew from Perth, the Hutchison family from Perth again, Karen from Adelaide, and a couple of others along the way.

The accommodation tonight is at the Hotel Akerreta which is about six or eight kms past Zubiri. It is one of my favourite stops on the Camino and Joseph, the owner, is a proud Basque man whose independence and pride I relate to. Anyway, instead of spending a couple of hours walking here, Peter and I decided on a short taxi ride so that we could spend that time enjoying our accomm – and a quiet G&T.

And so here we are, looking forward to a short fifteen kms into Pamplona tomorrow. Pamplona is a great city and it should be buzzing with Easter celebrations.

Stay well penguins,

Buen Camino

Distance today: 21.7 kms to Zubiri
Total distance travelled so far: 49.4 kms

Click here to see Efren Gonzalez’ video of today’s leg.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJB7iSQXQmM&amp…Read more