Too tired to post today. Lots of up and down, lots of rocks. 13.5 mi. Beer, Nice shower and bed at end. Will post more later.
4:00 am update:
After a solid 8 hours of sleep I'm able to reflect on yesterdays travel. We say "the camino provides" and it does. I have been given so many unexpected gifts in our first two days. Yesterday I felt like I experienced the forgotten side of the equation "the camino will test you". I was tested. All day. I dont think I passed all of them, but as we made our way down out of the rolling foothills into Zubiri, at the end of the day, The camino provided me with a ham and cheese sandwich on a baguette, 2 Estrella Galicias and a chance to laugh and love.
We thought our hard up and downs were done, I had foolishly forgotten to look at the map and realize that we were still in the foothills. There were many uphills, all unexpected, surprising and maddeningly soul sucking. We were of course rewarded by pastures and quaint, tidy little villages.
I tried to stay on pace, stay on my hydration and snacking plan, but damn, it was tough. And if the first 6 hours werent tough enough, the final hour downhill into Zubiri was an indescribably tricky outerworld torture path of slippery, dusty ledge, rock and ugh!
After we all made it back and made our way to little Bar Valentin I sat shell shocked, not clear on my emotions, knowing that I had certainly been tested. I wasnt given a score, but i know one thing... We are *doing* the camino!
That first beer was the best beer ever.
The ham sandwich was the best ham sandwich ever.
Kathy, Javier and Melanie...best trail buddies ever.
May 3, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F