Camino Del Norte

Today was probably my hardest day of any Camino. Didn’t sleep but maybe 2 hours last night. It was hot in the room shared with like 20 people, snoring, trains coming in and out all night-the albergue we were staying at was, after all, the train station. A crying (wailing more like) man outside the window on the street around 2am, someone using power tools, the garbage collectors at probably 5am. It was awful and for someone who doesn’t write reviews, but relied heavily on them while planning our stops, I’ll definitely write one here. There were no other albergues in this town, so we were limited on accommodations. So starting out with no sleep and ohh ya I puked at about 3am for some weird reason. Maybe because how hot and stuffy it was?? So that stressed me out. Was I getting the flu? Nope, I woke up after patching together a couple of hours of sleep and we went across the street for coffee and toast before starting out. I’ve never hiked so hard for so long. We left at 7:30 and arrived at 3:30. It was continually up hill, steep, rocky, and the clay like soil thickly sticking to our poles & trail runners, but fantastic views. Expansive countryside that was just breathtaking. Uphill is my thing. I’m like a goat on hills. I don’t know how, but usually I can pass up the most experienced hikers. My legs just go. Today something told me to stick closer to the group, glad I listened because after about half way Nathalie pulled ahead of us and we didn’t see her until we arrived at the albergue. Before the last 10km Holly and I stopped for a picnic under a tree with food we had bought the night before. We took off our shoes to air out and cool off the feet and catch our breath. It was a beautiful rolling pasture land. Thank God we did. We had no idea how badly we would need that rest for the final stretch. Remember the rain we skipped out on the other day? Well the trail was full of mud and slicker than shit, for lack of a better term. Felt like a double diamond ski run, with no skis! Holly and I inched (not exaggerating) our way down this huge mountain, planting our poles to test each step. There were rocks that appeared like dirt but once we planted, the pole would slide forward telling us to try another spot. Both Holly and I have not so good knees, so personally I was terrified. But what can you do? Keep going, go slow, be careful. After what seemed like forever, and actually was, we made it to a church at the bottom of the mountain and I entered as if to ask for forgiveness for all my terrible language today! There were giant rocks in this church that they built it around. Obviously there is significance to these boulders, but I don’t have the energy for research or a history lesson right now.
I booked this albergue in town after reading reviews, in the apps it says it is 1.5Km off the beaten path and they would offer a ride from town. Holly and I were low on fluids and said the first bar (that’s where you get appetizers and something to drink at this time of day) we came to we would park our sorry bodies, catch our breath, and call the albergue for a ride. We WhatsApp’d Nathalie, who had arrived an hour before, and she said it was a wonderful place but only one guy running it who was busy making our communal dinner. She said she thought he was coming to pick us up, but she speaks French and English, not Spanish, so she wasn’t sure. After an hour, he didn’t come so we got a taxi up to the albergue. Yes, I said up. Everything is either straight up or straight down today. We didn’t have an ounce left in us for another 1.5Km up. Totally done. Feet throbbing, back aching, hips bruised from the backpack, and of course I am dripping sweat and overheated. My watch says I did 32,253 steps, 15 miles, and climbed 147 flights of stairs, 1781 calories burned. A personal record since buying this watch a month ago.
We are finally showered, and I’m sitting in this beautiful yard off by myself writing and decompressing. The smell of the communal dinner is cooking, and there are only about a dozen people here. It’s a small and special place. I’m have a twin bed and not a squeaky bunk. Cloth sheets, not a paper protector on a plastic mattress. Our clothes are next in the washing machine and we will then hang dry after. It’s all good. I can hear Holly socializing and laughing, so I know she is happy now. I told her at the end of the day that I was so glad we were together and didn’t just meet up at the end. We needed each other today. A lot. I don’t usually need moral support or a cheerleader, but today I needed my positive Holly. Glad I wasn’t alone. Glad she wasn’t alone. I had no idea today would be like this, but like I said, I had a feeling it was going to be one of those days, and it was. We are going to live. No blisters thanks to the most amazing invention ever, toe socks, and most importantly, no injuries. We did it. We pushed through like champs. I’ll take that pat on the back today.Read more