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Camino de Santiago

April - May 2024
  • Mike Orr
A 38-day adventure by Mike Read more
  • Mike Orr

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  • Spain Spain
  • France France
Categories
Self discovery, Solo travel, Spirituality
  • 1.6kmiles traveled
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  • Walking846kilometers
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  • 38footprints
  • 38days
  • 265photos
  • 180likes
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  • Mike OrrTravelerCamino de Santiago

    Café à Paris

    Apr 1–2, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    Rest day between travel days to start point.

  • Mike OrrTravelerCamino de Santiago
    1
    1

    Over the Pyrenees

    April 3, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 45 °F

    Wow. Did not expect today’s initial hike to be so hard. It was 15 miles and took 7 hours… it was like setting your treadmill on 15 for the incline and doing that straight for 8 hours. Tough day!!

    I know three things about this Camino journey: 1) I’m going to finish in better shape than I started. 2) I’m going to have to get comfortable being in my own sweat all day long (gross!) & 3) I will be sunburned even though I’m being careful (applied sunblock 4 times today)    Read more

  • Mike OrrTravelerCamino de Santiago
    12

    Roncesvalles to Zubiri

    April 4, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    28 miles done… 472 to go. Today I endured almost 7 hours of conspiracy theory talk by an Irish pilgrim with the gift of gab who decided I needed company on the route today. He never asked me about who I am or anything about me, other than where I’m from, but I know his entire life story now. Highlight though of the day was a random cafe with a death trap of a patio roof where I got a much needed coffee break. After descending into Zubiri, I fell asleep in a field of long grass and wildflowers on the edge of a river. I then enjoyed a “hamburger” (minced ham with an egg on a bun) at the one of two restaurants in town. Tomorrow is the trek to Pamplona. Holding out hope to run with bulls.Read more

  • Mike OrrTravelerCamino de Santiago

    Made it to Pamplona

    April 5, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    41 miles done… 459 to go. Walk was much easier than the first two days, though my calves were really feeling it after so many accumulated miles. This afternoon was dedicated to indulging myself: a whole pizza was devoured, I had a salt foot bath and feet and calves massage, I visited and toured the cathedral, and I imbibed with an old fashioned while people watching in the square. Tonight, I further indulged with scallops, sirloin, and local wine. And now, I plan to sleep for hours and hours in recovery from both the physical exhaustion and the meat sweats. Day of sightseeing tomorrow and then back on the Camino journey!Read more

  • Mike OrrTravelerCamino de Santiago
    1

    A Day in Pamplona

    April 6, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 73 °F

    Today I got up late and went from a coffee and danish, which I realize was late for me (10:00 am) but early on Spanish time. The town doesn’t really start to come alive until well after noon.

    I did laundry at a local place, then wandered the city to see the sights, stopping for a gelato, and accidentally crashed a wedding I mistook for a church service. I wondered why everyone was dressed so nice! I did get to run from bulls, but they were very slow; as if caught in a moment of time, statuesque.

    I came to a place for pintxos, where the bites were amazing, but the experience was so lost in translation that I’m not sure if I didn’t get charged for half my food, or if I was charged twice for everything. Either way, I’m full and I don’t think the waiter or I will never know the answer.

    Restaurants don’t open till 8 or 8:30 at the minimum for dinner, so to kill time, I took a nap. Wandered a bit more and the night started to come alive around 9:00 pm. Every generation, from very young to very old, partying in the streets… and oddly I feel safer here in a crowd than in any city event/crowd in the US.

    Tomorrow is a long walk from pamplona to Puente la Reina, completing 10% of my overall trek.    Read more

  • Mike OrrTravelerCamino de Santiago

    Pamplona to Puenta la Reina

    April 7, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    56 miles done. 444 to go. Today was a long walk, but provided some nice stops for coffee and lunch in small towns along the way. The scenery was spectacular.

    Today I unpacked a lot of baggage emotionally as I walked and it was heavy, but good, stuff. I guess this is what people talk about when they say the Camino not only challenges you physically, but emotionally as well. Without all the distractions that I have in my normal daily life, just walking by myself has given me so much time to focus, think, dwell, ponder, wrestle/struggle, question, heal, and pray.

    My albergue has two things I’ve longed for this past week: a bathtub to soak my sore muscles, and a ceiling fan. It’s amazing how something so little can provide such an opportunity for gratitude!

    As I was sitting out front of my hotel enjoying a glass on wine, I watched as an older gentleman stumbled (but didn’t fall), and was disoriented in what was going on around him, and then became agitated with the restaurant staff in the language barrier as he was needing directions to a laundry facility. I stepped in to help, but that was the beginning of a long journey of assistance all evening to someone who, for many reasons (physically, emotionally, technologically, common sensibly), is beyond his capabilities to continue his Camino journey. It was tough to both support and help him on the personal journey of discernment of what might be a better plan for him over the next several weeks as an alternative to a very physical pilgrimage that is beyond his ability. As I left him, we concluded our conversation on pilgrimage around having “gifts” along the way. I’m holding onto this conversation both in curiosity and hope… What gifts will I encounter along my way? And how can I be a gift to others on their way?    Read more

  • Mike OrrTravelerCamino de Santiago
    1

    Puenta la Reina to Estella

    April 8, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F

    87 miles done. 413 miles to go. Met a snail friend on the trail today bright and early. I was feeling a bit sluggish, but that could’ve been the fantastic Navarra vino blanco from last night. Met two guys on the trail walking together and joined them for the rest of the day’s walk. Good company, good conversation, good pace. Saw beautiful countryside filled with vineyards, medieval churches, and farmland. Rewarded myself after the long walk with a bacon burger, wine, and more pintxos (no idea what I ate, but all were tasty, although what I thought were onion rings were inedible after having seen My Octopus Teacher (Netflix, 2020). IYKYKRead more

  • Mike OrrTravelerCamino de Santiago

    Estella to Los Arcos

    April 9, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 43 °F

    100 miles done. 400 to go. 20% of the way!!

    Nothing starts the day better than a chocolate croissant, a fresh squeezed orange juice, and a cafe con leche. I’m getting so used to this daily routine, I may start having to incorporate breakfast into my mornings back home.

    You know what else starts the day right? About a mile into my walk, I found the Fuente del Vino. Yes that’s right, a wine fountain! I dumped out my water bottle and enjoyed a pretty good tempranillo over the next few miles of walking.

    Chilly and windy today but I kept my sleeves rolled up because the wind felt amazing on my arms and face as I watched the wind blow through the tall grass around me. The wind was swirling and dancing and it was kind of a magical experience. No, I wasn’t high. Just enjoying the combination of the amazing scenery, crisp air, muscle exhaustion, and tempranillo running through my veins.

    Bryan and I have always dreamt of owning a wine bar. Today, I’m thinking that if we did, we would obviously then have to travel the world sourcing great wine from vineyards… and those travel expenses would be a business write-off, right?    Read more

  • Mike OrrTravelerCamino de Santiago
    1

    Los Arcos to Logroño

    April 10, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    117 miles done. 383 to go.

    Lunch was “the pilgrim’s meal” as typically served in establishments along the Camino. Huge salad with a local cheese selection, perfectly breaded chicken breast with potatoes, a flambéed apple dessert, espresso, AND an entire bottle of local sauvignon blanc. 15 euros! That’s crazy, right? I only had two glasses of wine from the bottle because I still had 6 miles of walking post-lunch.

    Listened to 7 chapters of Nadia Bolz Weber’s audiobook, Shameless, while walking this morning and afternoon. There’s so much that resonates with memories of my upbringing in nondenominational churches in the 80s and 90s and thus my theological understanding shaped by purity culture, “kissing dating goodby,” WWJD, and then 8 years of reparative therapy that I was a part of, between Illinois and Colorado, by my own volition. There’s a lot to unpack with this book/audiobook, and if you’ve had a similar journey and would find it helpful to ever talk about God, faith, sexuality, fear, shame, etc., I’m glad to listen and share our life experiences together. I’m very grateful to those along the way that have been a lifeline to me… some of you who might read this know that you have been that for me, then, and still now. Thank you.

    Today was a super long walking day. Not challenging in the ascents and descents, but challenging in length… stamina of keeping moving over the long distance. I’ve started to notice others who are walking the Camino route limping, slowing down, taking more breaks, and changing out bloody bandages on their feet. I’m grateful my feet are holding up so far, though I’m prepared in case I start to get blisters or hurt myself. I’ve got my routine of stretching, massaging my feet and calves, and applying body glide where I’m feeling the rub. It’s worked…so far.

    But, in all the care for my feet, I neglected to care for the rest of me. And I got sunburned on the backs of my calves after hiking my pants up in the afternoon heat AND I had some sort of allergic reaction to the hotel soap this afternoon. So, there’s that. Not a fun combo. 😞 I gotta be more careful!

    Also, they mix red wine and Coca-Cola here as a cocktail. Kalimotxo is what it is called.
    I had to try it. The verdict is in… it’s good and odd. Sweet and tart. Different. Like me 😜    Read more

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