Navarrete

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