Day 4 - Espinal to Zubiri - 16km

I am in Zubiri ... barely!

I had a rough night for sleep. For some reason I had a tickle in my throat that just wouldn’t stop so I kept coughing. Because I was in a room with at least 15 people, I kept leaving the room when it started up so I didn’t wake people. Eventually it settled down and I slept. I was up at 6:30am and out the door and on my way for 7:30am. Today I wanted to try and get ahead of the forecasted rain. I was not successful.

Actually, I was a little successful. There was no rain when I left, but was all wet outside because of the overnight thunderstorms. The rain started around 8:30am. I bought a rain jacket off amazon so today was the test. Also, I have a rain cover for my backpack which has never been used, so today was the test. They both failed.

Ok, saying they failed is not fair, they didn’t stand a fighting chance against the downpour of rain we got. It wasn’t too heavy at the start and everything seemed to remain dry when I hit the 5km mark and I stopped for breakfast at Cafe Juan’s in Viscarreta.

After my Jamón Bocadillo and Coke Zero I was on my way. The rain had lightened up so I thought it is a great time to get moving. That was short lived. When I hit Linzoain, 2km away, the skies opened up so I took shelter behind a home under an overhang. The wind was blowing the other way so I stayed mostly dry. I was starting to think about calling the hotel there in town and staying the night. I was looking up the number when Emily from Taiwan joined me in my special sheltered spot. It was only 7km to Zubiri she said and we can get a bed at the municipal albergue (they don’t take reservations) I tried to warn her that the last 4km were downhill on a very rocky path which is slippery when wet. After some thought, I realized that it is still going to be wet and rainy tomorrow so I should just get it over with today. I have been stressing about this day for at least a week when I saw the forecast, it was time to get it done. The rain started to ease off a bit, so time to start moving again.

That didn’t last long before the downpour came again and no more sheltered areas. Just had to keep going. The water was just flowing down the hill like a river, and I am not exaggerating. I wanted to capture it on video but I needed to remain focused and not pull out my camera. I could feel I was already soaked through my jacket and the feet were soaking wet. They are waterproof boots but doesn’t help when you have to walk-in puddles that come above the top.

I started to think about the pain and suffering and I thought to myself “This is absolutely nothing compared to the pain that Jörg and I both endured over the last year. I can get through this.” With about 4km to go, I found the spot where Jörg and I stopped for lunch last time we were here. It really is the only place to stop and sit on this part of the trek. I sat on the rock and started to talk to Jörg and cry. I said I couldn’t stay too long as I may get sick if I don’t keep moving to get out of the rain and cold. I also thought, maybe that isn’t so bad, then I could join him. I decided to leave after 5 mins. It was good to give my legs the rest for the last 4km.

After Alto de Erro, the challenge was real. The water was flowing down the path like a river, at least 5-10cm high in some areas. Most of the time, you had to just walk through it. In fact, I found it much easier to walk in the river parts than on the wet exposed rock. I am sure there is some explanation as to why, but I was just glad as I felt like it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

I had a lot of slips along the way but no falls anywhere on the way down except ... when I was literally 5 metres from town. The difficult part of the path was done and there was some smooth limestone slab on a slant. It was not a difficult part at all. I think that maybe one of my hiking poles gave way as when 5 people all helped me get up (how embarrassing!), the one hiking pole was loose and moved to a shorter spot. I have a cut on my knee and elbow. Both cuts are not big, but I think they will both bruise.

I arrived at the Municipal Albergue where there was a long line. I joined the line and as soon as I got in the door, the guy announced “only 6 beds left” so I made it just in time.

I am in a room with 3 other ladies, and guess what, one is Emily from earlier in the day along with Anchi from Taiwan and Mary from the USA. Mary had asked me why I was doing the camino, so I told them all the story of Jörg. They were wonderful. They wanted to hear all about him, see his pictures and it felt absolutely wonderful to talk about him like that. We all went out for dinner and toasted Jörg and love with a glass of red wine from Mary. We are now sitting in the room listening to Anchi’s music, relaxing and preparing for the days ahead. We will all be stopping different places tomorrow, but I am blessed to have met them today!

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