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Camino Frances 2023Camino Frances 2023
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Camino Frances 2023

August - October 2023
Camino de Santiago - Walking 500 miles and going to the ends of the Earth with Jörg by my side, watching over me. Read more
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  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023
    1111

    Day 5 - Zubiri to Trinidad de Arre - 17k

    September 3, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    After 17km of walking, I am settled in an albergue just before Pamplona. I had decided last night that I didn’t want to stay in Pamplona so I had sent a WhatsApp to the albergue yesterday to reserve and it went smooth. I had put it in Google translate first.

    The rain held off today but threatened most of the day. It is now sunny and a blue sky. I am waiting for all my clothes in the dryer. Yesterday none of the clothes dried so I stuffed them in my pack wet. Most of them were clean but I decided it best to wash them all in a machine and dry in the dryer to be sure they don’t stink. My backpack and boots are sitting in the sun right now to dry as well.

    I think rain is in the forecast in a couple days again, but I think I will be more prepared for it this time.

    The hike today was somewhat hard but I think it was made harder just because my muscles are tired. The start out of Zubiri was the same type of rocky path we encountered on the way in. It then was various types of path including some roadway, more rocks, dirt (or should I say mud from the rain yesterday).

    I stopped in Larrasoaña today for breakfast but it wasn’t quite obvious where to find a cafe. Some pilgrims pointed me in the right direction but the place was about to close. I got a coke and a couple chocolate croissants. He let me sit out on his patio while he was closing and going to bed. It was actually nice to sit there all alone. At one point I realized all the flags that were along the fence. They were various countries and you can see where people had signed them. What a great idea.

    I stopped again 4km later in Zuriain where there was an open cafe serving food and indoor and outdoor sitting. There was no menu displayed anywhere but you can see people were ordering a variety of things. I decided to just have what he had on display, a couple small sausages on a piece of baguette. I did order a hot chocolate as well, and looked that up on google translate first to order it. While at lunch, I took off my boots and socks, the boots were still wet so I decided to let my feet dry and put on fresh socks.

    The hike today was only supposed to be around 15km, but my gps was already at 17 and the albergue was no where in sight. When you know the end of the path is near, it just seems to take forever to get there. Then it appeared, the bridge, river and albergue.

    Last night I had planned my next few days. I was getting frightened of having to rush for a bed so I booked them on booking.com. My destination tomorrow is Urtega (20km) and the next day is Ciraqui (15km). Both are places Jörg and I stayed before. After that, will be Estella but I am not booking as I want to stay at the Albergue where Jörg and I were hospitaleros and it is a Donitivo.

    After Estella, not sure but will do some planning tonight. At that time I think it will soon be time for a day off and a hotel!

    TTYL    Read more

  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023
    131

    Day 6 - Trinidad de Arre to Urtega - 24k

    September 4, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    AM I FN CRAZY TO DO THIS?!!!

    I am in Urtega now. Just barely out of my shower and with very little energy to do much. I forced myself to wash my clothes because they stink! I did 24 km today with a start time of around 7:30am to a finish time around 5pm. A lot of mistakes were made today given it was a long day ... not enough water, not enough food and not enough sunscreen.

    I started the day strong, about .5km in, I ran into a couple ladies from my albergue. They were going for breakfast and told me I was going the wrong way. I thought it was right but I doubled back, and sure enough, I was right ... those B*&%^es added 1km to my day for nothing! :-)

    I was going a good pace at the start, in fact 4.5km per hour which is great given I have been averaging 3km per hour most days. It was straight city sidewalk walking so it was a wonderful break. I got into Pamplona at about 8:30 and stopped for a croissant with ham and cheese and a coke. I bought some sweet lemon treat to take with me. Pharmacies opened at 9 so I stopped in to grab some bandaids, throat lozenges , and voltarin.

    I then stopped at the pilgrims store and bought a few other necessities and then I was off. I still had my full bottle of water but hadn’t had any yet but figured I was fine. About 5 km outside of town in Cizur Menor I stopped and drank all the water and about half of my sweet treat and figured there was a fountain in town. I didn’t find one so I kept going.

    I was thinking of Jörg often. I found the spot where we stopped for our picnic lunch so reminisced a little but kept on moving (read more about it in the throwback at the end).

    Well, now I was getting tired and slow. No water and little food. I wasn’t hungry but I know I should eat for fuel. It wasn’t until another 5km that there was a little town that had a fountain. I drank a full bottle (700ml), then filled it again. I passed through town and they had food for sale but I wasn’t hungry so I decided not to stop. That was a mistake, again, even though I wasn’t hungry, I needed it for fuel.

    I was really slow going and it was all uphill now to the Alto del Perdón (790m high). Just before the top, I found the fountain were I had stopped before. It was a little overgrown now and I remember the picture clearly from 2009 with me looking exhausted ... I absolutely know why now, I had completely forgotten how difficult the climb was.

    I made it to the top and rested there for about 30 minutes. A tour bus stopped and people poured out to take pictures. I was sitting with a German lady (Cordelia I think) and we both joked that they must be excited to see real pilgrims and wonder how many took pictures of us.

    It was now 4pm, very very late to still be walking in the Spain heat. There is a reason they take an afternoon siesta, no one should be out here. I had 3.6km to go and it was downhill now, so decided it best to push off. The downhill was just as hard. It was all stones and I was needing to watch every step. About 1km outside of town, I stopped one more time in the shade and drank the last sip of water I had. It was uphill again into town but I made it.

    This is the most exhausted I have been, even more tired than the Pyrenees hike. I just didn’t have enough energy (food and water). I won’t make that mistake again.

    Dinner was good, lots of protein, egg, tuna, chicken. Time for sleep.

    TTYL

    Throwback to 2009 from Julie’s Journal

    Today we awoke at 6am. I took my time as my back and ankle still hurt. We had breakfast which was bread, jam and cheese (I am sooooo sick of bread!!!!). We left around 7:45am. We arrived at Cirquar Minor in about an hour and half and my ankle was a little sore. We stopped for about 30 mins. I decided to go on (after we put more cream on my ankle).

    I was very surprised but my ankle was not so bad now and my energy was good. At one point, I was tired and Joerg looked at me and said “we stop here in this field for lunch.” He blew up his air mattress and when I sat down all tired and exhausted, I looked up and saw the famous ruins right there in our view. It was beautiful. It was exactly what I needed. I told Joerg that he was heaven sent (and then I had to explain what it meant). He truly is a blessing.    Read more

  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023
    2

    Day 7 - Urtega to Cirauqui - 15km

    September 5, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Today was a much easier day. One reason is I was more prepared, I forced myself to eat and drink and second, Christina walked with me all day. It was very nice getting to know her today. She is from Denmark and has a 3 month leave from work.

    Had breakfast, if you can call it that, A piece of bread with butter and jam and a small croissant, but I am not complaining, at least I put food in my mouth. I set off just after 7:30am and was already on the wrong path within 10 mins. Not far though, so when I got back on track, Christina was just ahead of me. We walked about the same pace (though not on the uphills, she was faster.)

    We were thinking of doing the Eunate option but we got to Obanos and realized we missed the turn off. We had a nice break in Puente la Reina, where I had a coke and tortilla. We sat at a table with a lady who had sprained her ankle who was taking a taxi for a few days and her friends are walking.

    We stopped again in Maneru and I wasn’t hungry but had a small sandwich. We sat for a good 45 minutes, relaxing. Only 2.6km left and got into the albergue around 2. I am in the same room that Jörg and I were in but not the same bed. There is a nice couple in the bunk beds that we had who fell in love on the camino 4 years ago. How wonderful is that?!

    Ok. A little less stressed today. I am just waiting for dinner and relaxing some more.

    TTYL

    Throwback to 2009 from Julie’s Journal

    Today we started out by 7:15. Before we left, I listened to Desiderata with Joerg on the IPod.

    After the usual shower and washing of clothes, Joerg and I went for a little walk. At one point I told him to go on without me, I wanted to just find a quiet bench and write in my journal and read. So here I am. I was thinking a lot about this today. Joerg always walks ahead and I don’t really have the freedom to stop where I want. I sometimes stop and take a picture but if I wanted to stop for any length of time, I couldn’t because Joerg would be waiting. I am tempted to tell him that we should go separately and just agree to meet up at the next stop (i.e. where we are sleeping).

    The downside to this is that I do really enjoy his company and he takes care of me and I love that. I have never had someone do that for me before and I really like it. I have finally realized that I don’t need to always prove to myself and the world that I am strong and independent. I know it and so do most of the people who meet me. So why not enjoy having someone take care of me. One of the problems is that I love Joerg so much that it hurts. I know he cares very deeply for me and is showing me affection when he can (with hugs and smiles etc.) but I want more. I want a relationship. I want to kiss him, hold him and be with him.    Read more

  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023
    33

    Day 8 - Cirauqui to Estella - 16km

    September 6, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    I am in Estella again. I feel like this is Jörg’s and my town. There are other special places along the camino like where we first kissed, etc. but here we lived for 2 weeks as hospitaleros so I can feel his strong presence. I have decided to take my day off now. It is now 8 days of hiking so time for a day off, and this is the perfect place to do that. In fact, I am staying in a hotel right now with Christina. She had booked a hotel which happened to have an adjoining room so I am sharing it with her. What luxury, using real towels and just spreading my crap everywhere is wonderful. Tomorrow I am going to stay in the parish albergue where we were volunteers.

    We had set off just before 8am. The day was a pretty steady pace. I think I discovered today I don’t like hills. In the past, I didn’t mind going uphill, but I hated going downhill. Now that my knees don’t hurt going downhill, I can start to hate uphill. The funny thing is, of course, since the Pyrenees, everything we encounter is like an ant hill in comparison, but it feels like Mount Everest to me. It will get easier I am sure.

    We stopped in Lorca (in about 6km) for a breakfast break. I had my daily Coke Zero and I had a packed lunch from the albergue. We were then off again. Our next break was 4km again. This time we stopped in Villatuerta at a bar, which was clearly only locals, so you can tell they didn’t appreciate our company. We just had a coke and rest. It was meant to be a short break, but we got to talking and lost track of time. It was already past noon and we thought we would be in Estella by noon.

    We arrived at the hotel around 2. We showered, rested and then headed out to get a drink as we were planning to meet Kangmi (from South Korea) at 6:30 for dinner. We decided to stop by my parish albergue to see if there was a mass at San Miguel Church (Jörg and I went everyday when hospitaleros). She said no. We then wandered over to the church to see if we could at least go in and they said it was closed and then the organizer came and talked to us to say there was a concert tonight. She said there were still tickets. So we decided that was perfect.

    We went for a quick bite to eat and met up with Kangmi to go to the concert. It was awesome. It was only three instruments and one singer. The only instrument I could identify was the trumpet, the others were very unique. One was guitar like and the other was a type of horn I guess. It lasted just over an hour and was such a special treat. There were going to be 7 concerts this week at different venues. They are based on the 7 deadly sins and today was Pride/Vanity. The theme was perfume so throughout the concert (for each song), some ladies would wave over our head some cloth pieces that were soaked in different perfumes. Most of the time you would just smell them, but now and again, you would feel a drop. It was quite unique. At the end, when were leaving, we met up with the organizer again and she was excited to see us. Gave us all hugs and said “we hug here in Spain”.

    The three of us then went out for a drink after and met up with Cornelia from Germany. It was a nice evening chatting. I am still surprised when I see all the locals out so late. On the walk back to our hotel around 10pm there were children playing in the square.

    It was Christina’s birthday today and it was great to spend the special day with her. She will be off tomorrow so we will miss each other’s company, but I am sure we will meet up again somewhere along the way.

    Now time for bed. Check out isn’t until 11am so I am going to enjoy a slow morning.

    TTYL    Read more

  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023
    1

    Day 9 - Estella - Day Off

    September 7, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    I am kind of down today. It is my day off in Estella but I am really missing Jörg. I am staying in the albergue that we hosted together back in 2014. The memories are just flooding back. I feel kind of numb. I took a nap this afternoon thinking it may help a bit, but not really. Maybe a good sleep tonight might do the trick. Tomorrow I have 20km planned and it is around 20km for at least the next 5 days but I think I am physically ready (emotionally ready is another matter). I just want to be sure to get as far as I can before the heat of the day. The temperatures are consistently around 30. I am pretty sure tomorrow I will need to break out the hat and possibly the music.

    I didn’t really take pictures today so today’s pictures are memories from 2014.

    TTYL    Read more

  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023
    2122222

    Day 10 - Estella to Los Arcos - 23km

    September 8, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    My feet are so tired! I am in Los Arcos after almost 24km.

    I started out this morning around 7am and it was still dark. That was ok as we were walking through the city first. It was very hard leaving the albergue in Estella. I kept touching the walls to feel Jörg. I had a very strong urge to hug the building but I didn’t.

    Just outside of Estella is the famous fountain that dispenses wine. Even though it was only 8 in the morning, I still filled up my shell and drank from it. The shell I am carrying this trip is actually Jörg’s shell from 2009.

    The first 10km went pretty quickly. It was variable terrain and lots of shade so it was pretty good. I stopped at Villamayor de Monjardin. It was a place where Jörg and I stayed overnight in 2009. I visited the albergue and stopped and had lunch there.

    After that, the next 12 km was mostly gravel road and very little shade. I decided to put on my headset and listen to some music to get through it. At one point, the song “Country Roads” came on and I started to cry. It was the words “Country roads, take me home, to a place, where I belong ...” that hit me. I was crying because I feel like don’t have a home. Jörg was my home. Jörg was the place where I belonged. There is nowhere for those country roads to take me, but to just wander.

    At about the 16km mark there was a food truck tucked in some trees. They were offering food including Hagen daze ice cream, what a treat. When I approached to order, they asked me if I was Canadian. I said yes, and they gave me a Canadian flag pin. It turns out the owner is a Canadian from the Vancouver Area. Just when I was feeling like I didn’t have a home, and felling a little lost in this foreign country where I don’t speak the language, I was suddenly special because I was Canadian. Perfect timing.

    About 3km from the end, there was some more shade and some benches so I took the opportunity to rest again. My feet are tired and there are some blisters on my toes. The blisters aren’t too bad, just the tired feet.

    I have been reading my old journal from 2009 and it almost always starts with “I am in pain, back, ankle, calf ...”. I am really surprised that I only have tired muscles, no real pain. I was getting a type of burning in my left quad, but one night I did some major rolling on the area and it is no longer bothering me for now. I think the slow start was the best thing for me.

    I am in Los Arcos and the albergue is full. It was full when I arrived, but I had called yesterday to reserve. It really is crazy these days about the reserving. Tomorrow I plan to stop before Logroño, so it may not be so bad, but I have a reservation for Viana anyway. She says it is reserved until 2pm. Often people reserve a couple spots and then just cancel if they get something else, and just take the loss. The problem is, someone else who wanted that spot was told it was full and walked away. There’s got to be a better system.

    I am thinking about food now, but my feet are so tired, and it is about 2 blocks away ... I guess I better go.

    TTYL    Read more

  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023
    1

    Day 11 - Los Arcos to Viana - 18km

    September 9, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Today felt like a long day again, even though it was only 18km and I started at 6:30am.

    It was a rough night of sleep. It was so hot and lots of snorers in the room. I finally broke out the ear plugs and they work well. The only trouble, is I could also not hear myself, so I wasn’t sure if I was being loud with all my moving around.

    My plan was to leave around 7, but everyone was already awake at 5:30 and it was impossible to sleep anymore so I decided I might as well get going as well. At 6:30am it is still dark and I wore my headlamp. It was actually quite nice. Just the right temperature and the path was a straight gravel path so easy to navigate. The one downside is all the moths and flies that hang out in front of your face because of the light.

    I was at Sansol (7km) before 9am and stopped for the daily Coke Zero and a banana. I didn’t eat the banana, I instead ate the chocolate muffin I had bought yesterday along with the bread I had left over.

    I was off again, with a few rest stops and had a bigger stop with a sandwich at a food truck about 5km from the end. I arrived in Viana just after 1pm. I still felt the effects of the sun as if I had been walking all day in the sun. I have to be sure to drink lots of water today, perhaps I am suffering a bit of heat stroke.

    I was originally going to go 22km tomorrow, but I have decided to break it up to two days instead. I have a few blisters on my toes that are bothering me a little so giving them a break should be good.

    I took a nap this afternoon (I don’t often do that), so maybe that will help. I am in a top bunk today in a room of woman, hopefully I will catch up more on my sleep.

    TTYL

    Throwback to 2009 from Julie’s Journal

    Today was hell!!! I am in such a bad mood at the moment, I am hoping this beer will help. We were up at 6am as usual and again as usual, I was in a ton of pain. I packed by 6:30 and was down for breakfast. Today was a day for tears. We were off by 7am. Most of the walk today was on gravel roads which was hard because it was kind of boring. …

    I convinced Joerg to stop in Torres del Rio and then do the 20km to Logrono tomorrow. I am going to stay in Logrono an extra day. It sounds like Joerg does not want to so it may be where we part. I thought he understood that I wanted to stop once a week. I guess he didn’t. Anyway, we will see. My heart is aching as I love him and I love his company but I cannot keep his pace. I think it is time to let him go.

    Well, the rest of the evening was fine. I am determined to get a hotel room tomorrow. We went for a little walk then dinner. We were pretty quiet after the fight we had at the entrance to the hostel. I said something along the lines that tomorrow would be our last day together and he said that was fine as there were lots of other woman on the trail. I then said “That is fine, I have been trying for 10 months now and I give up.”

    Anyway, when dinner was complete we were sitting alone and I apologized for not being nice and he apologized as well. After that we were better. Dinner ended about 9pm, we then headed off to bed.    Read more

  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023
    1

    Day 12 - Viana to Logroño - 10km

    September 10, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    I am in Logroño, the city that wouldn’t accept Jörg and me. This was the city that I had decided to get a hotel but after going to a couple and them saying they were full, we decided to leave the city and make the extra trek to Navarrete.

    It is Sunday so most things are closed except the restaurants and patios which are full of people. I arrived around 11:30am but the albergue didn’t open until 2, so I had to just wander around (however, I could leave my backpack). I have very little energy and am missing Jörg like crazy today.

    After checking in, I took a shower and settled in. I wanted to wash my clothes but there were people waiting to shower, so I decided I will do it tomorrow in Navarrete. I realized when I unpacked, that I left one of my walking t-shirts in the last albergue so now I only have one shirt. I will just wear it again tomorrow without washing.

    When sitting in one of the plazas, I accidentally left my phone behind. My watch had sent me a warning that I have been away too long from my phone then I realized exactly where I left it. I quickly walked back there and the people who were sitting near me had found it and picked it up for me. I could hear Jörg’s voice saying “You are so lucky Julie”

    It is 4:30 now and I am bored out of my head. I really don’t enjoy the big cities along the camino. If I was here in different circumstances, I am sure I would visit lots of tourist things, but I don’t want to walk too far. I want to conserve energy where I can.

    I ran into Kangmi and we may have dinner together. Other than that, I am signing off now. Tomorrow is a special day (which is why I think I am feeling a little down today). Navarrete is where Jörg first kissed me. But you will need to wait to tomorrow to hear all about that.

    TTYL    Read more

  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023
    2

    Day 13 - Logroño to Navarrete - 13km

    September 11, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Today is the day. I am in Navarrete and I have decided last minute to stay in the same hotel as Jörg and I did 14 years ago.

    I was full of energy this morning and ready to tackle any hike, and it turns out that the walk today was quite easy, mostly paved pathway. It was also cloudy and a little wet from overnight thunderstorms, so the heat wasn’t a factor either. All perfect to arrive in this perfect place.

    Can I take this opportunity though to rant about a pet peeve I have. I usually like to break every 4-5 kms - after 8-10 kms I like to take off my boots for a bit. It helps ease the muscles and rest the feet and gives me strength to keep going. Invariably, almost every time, someone asks me “are you ok?” I don’t think I look that worn out or sore. Today someone asked me when I was sitting on a bench, eating an apple, after only 5kms. I know I didn’t look worn out for sure this time as I just started and it was an easy part. My pet peeve is I am sure that they wouldn’t ask a man sitting alone or a young athletic woman. It isn’t only men who ask, women ask as well. And really, has anyone ever answered “no, can you help me?”. I would understand if they just saw me fall or something, but just sitting and taking a break on the trail, it is a little too much. Ok, rant over.

    I am sitting waiting for my laundry to be done. They wash clothes here, but don’t dry, so I am waiting to get them so I can hang them out on my private balcony to dry. Then I am going to wander around town. Jörg and I didn’t see much of the town as we arrived late in the afternoon so by the time we showered and had dinner, it was dark.

    It turns out the hotel hung my clothes for me in their laundry room so I went out and had a pilgrims meal early. The usual time is around 7pm but then it is so much food just before bed. I then went in the church in the town and lit a candle for Jörg. My last stop was to the Pharmacy. I have pimples again (at age 55, they are never ending), plus I have a few small blisters so I wanted to ask the best way to treat them (so many different views on this subject). Basically, I keep doing what I am doing, but got more supplies.

    I am in for the night. I have decided to treat myself and ship my bag for tomorrow. I am doing a 20km day and they said rain so why not. So many people do it now. It will be a big help for me tomorrow.

    TTYL

    Throwback to 2009 from Julie’s Journal

    Right now I am in a hotel room (1 star mind you) in Navarette. When the day started, it was our plan to go to Logroño which was 20km. The morning started as usual with pain. I had woken up every couple hours and at 4am I decided to take an Aleve.

    We wanted to stay in Lograno but when we went into several hotels they took one look at us and my bed bug bites and said they were full. Rather than try and find a hostel in town we decided to just keep walking. Navarrete was 12kms more.

    When we arrived in the town, Joerg turned to me with arms open wide waiting for a hug. After we hugged, he took my hand and held it for a good minute. At one point, I could see he was a little shy so he started to swing the hand he was holding. Once we got into town, it was like a big family reunion. So many people we had met along the way were here.

    I still wanted a hotel room and we saw a one star place and I decided to let Joerg take a look. It was good and only 25E. They are actually doing my laundry right now for 5E. After we checked into the hotel and we were sitting on the edge of the bed, I told him it wasn’t the hotel I originally wanted, but it was nice and I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

    Throwback to the next morning in Navarrete

    Well, today my life has changed forever. I woke up at 7:10am and it was nice not to hear people packing bags and not having to pack my bag by flashlight. Joerg woke up too and we both said “one more hour” and he kissed me. When we awoke again, we just lied in bed and relaxed. It was only a kiss, but I know it was a big step for Joerg. It moves our relationship from friends to something more.    Read more

  • Julie RosenthalCamino Frances 2023
    1

    Day 14 - Navarrete to Azofra - 23km

    September 12, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    The day without my backpack was a pretty good day. The forecasted rain didn’t materialize until now (it is almost 4pm). In fact, the afternoon got a little sunny and hot for the last 6km.

    I woke up at 6am to my alarm. I wanted to be on the road by 7am at the latest so I could get ahead of the rain. It was still dark so once I left Navarrete, I needed to put on my headlamp again for about 15 minutes.

    The province of La Roja (which I am in now), is known for their wines and I feel like the last two days has been almost all vineyards. I am not complaining though, the grapes are beautiful to look at, especially on the rolling hills.

    I took an option today to go to ventosa. It is about an additional 1km, but it had a cafe and a bathroom which I desperately needed. It was 7km before we reached the cafe and I had my first rest. I was definitely walking much faster without my big backpack and wondered if it would catch up to me at the end of the day. After I used the facilities and nourished myself with tortilla and Coke Zero, I was on my way.

    I reached Najera around noon. I stopped there and had a longer break as I had 6km to go and the rain didn’t look like it was threatening at all. Most people will be staying in this larger city, but Jörg and I weren’t fans the first time around, so I decided to not stay this time.

    I arrived in Afofra around 2pm and my backpack wasn’t here. I wasn’t too worried as I have an AirTag inside the bag and it said it was about 8kms away. It showed up about 10 minutes later which was great. I showered, washed clothes and headed into town for food. The restaurant wouldn’t feed me. They said they have a pilgrim meal at 6pm so I went across the street to the supermarket, which was the size of my bedroom, only a few people could fit at a time. I picked up some snacks for the trail tomorrow and enjoyed a small bag of plain potato chips.

    Now I am just waiting for my laundry to dry and the pilgrims meal. I am going to take my backpack with me tomorrow. As much as it was easier to walk, I missed it. The day pack I have is only built for carrying things in the evening, no ventilation so my back got hot and wet real fast! In fact, my back started to hurt a little and I wondered if it was the smaller backpack as well, as all the weight would be on the shoulders instead of the hips.

    I haven’t made a reservation for tomorrow but I am not too worried. I am only going 15km and I am 6km ahead of the rest of the people who are going to try and stay there. I get to see the church with the chickens, but I will tell you about that tomorrow.

    TTYL    Read more

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