For my friend, XM

Please come back to the forum, xm! We miss you!

Pictures!

It took me a while, but I finally got my slideshow together! Enjoy!

To Madrid via a slow train to China

Well, not that slow, but it did come to a complete halt somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Eventually, we got to Madrid, where I arrived without a reservation for tonight & so had some fun going from hotel to hotel asking "Hay habitaciones esta noche?" and wandering on like a one-woman Posada.

The old town in Pamplona is nice & rather easy to learn your way around. I did find the route of the Encierro ("The Running of the Bulls"), and walked the pathway marked on the map obtained from the Tourist Office. I pretended that I was being pursued by a slow-moving cow who likes to window shop & a good thing too because I found a great "Going out of business" sale along the way.

Did you know that they release the bulls at the bottom of a long, steep hill & only let the drunken idiots get ¨chased¨ by them once the bulls reach the relatively flat & straight Calle Estafeta?? Talk about rigging the game!!! If these guys were really all that brave, they´d start at the bottom too!!!! GO TOROS!!!!

I have some thoughts on the Camino & what I experienced which I shall post later, but I really have enjoyed this trip (despite the crabbing about the weather, mud, etc). I met some really great people from all over the world & I look forward to coming back in September to continue on the Camino.

Camino Part 1 is over

Boo hoo. I stopped walking in Logrono to go to San Sebastian with Seamus & Mary. The walk to Logrono from Viana was one of the easiest so far & only took us about 3 hours, including the half hour we spent at Felisa´s Border Post. Mary & I got the famous ¨Higos Agua y Amor¨ stamp for our passport, but Seamus who was ahead of us walked on by as he was trying to shake some Italians. We told him that when he comes back in September, he´ll have to walk back to Felisa´s to get the stamp. Seamus insists he will never do the Camino again, but you know what happens when you say ¨never¨right?

Yesterday, we took the bus to San Sebastian & realized the bus was retracing in about an hour what it took us almost a week to cover on foot! Look--there´s Villamayor! Look, there´s Irache!! Look, pilgrims!!! It was weird to realize that we could be seen from the highway even though we weren´t near it or on it.

San Sebastian is a nice old town, full of interesting bars, restaurants, & shops. It is one of the stops on the Camino del Norte (I think; someone will correct me if I¨m wrong), so we saw a few peregrinos. The weather turned very nasty, however, so instead of walking the beach or up to the top of a hill to get a better view of San Sebastian, we simply walked around the old quarter & visited the Aquarium. Of course, today it was nice & sunny when we left.

I am now in Pamplona & I hope that Seamus & Mary got to Biarritz in time for their flight home to Dublin. It´s weird walking the streets of Pamplona, seeing pilgrims arriving in Pamplona & on their way to Cizur Menor or further. I´m at the Hotel Eslava & it´s quite nice. I have room 42, a small single, but it´s next to 40 & 41, 2 double rooms with full baths & small balconies (for drying laundry, hint hint). My room is 37 Euro per night & the place has an elevator. Later, I´m going to collect my laundry & during siesta, I plan to walk the streets where they hold the Running of the Bulls.

And on to Torres del Rio

I got an early start from Hotel Irache at 6:30 a.m. to make Villamayor in the cool of the day. My friends had gone there yesterday, so were ahead of me all day. The plan had been to stop at Los Arcos, but Seamus carried on to Sansol. The walk was pleasant, mostly downhill & along fields with dirt tracks. However, my right thigh started acting up & now is sore. When I got to Los Arcos, Mary had moved on as well, so I stopped at the bar she recommended & had a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice, a sandwich (the barista told me it was tuna, but turned out to be fried egg) & a pan de chocolate. MMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmm. Because of my leg, I stopped a pharmacy & got ibuprofen gel to rub on it & also the number of a taxi service, Taxi Conchi. I was picked up very quickly & then we took a detour for another passenger. I was in no hurry, so it was fine & wonderful to see other parts of the Camino, older towns, churches, & monasteries, that you can´t see from the pathway. Met Seamus in Sansol where the albergue wasn´t open. Neither of us liked it, so we went on to Torres del Rio. On maps, they say it´s 2K. In reality, it´s practically around the corner & down the hill. The regular albergue is closed. Someone asked why & was told that they have not been able to get anyone to run it, so we moved on to Casa Mari. Very good choice!!!!! The hospitelera made Seamus take a room upstairs because he was tall & also a man, while I got a bunk in the back, also upstairs, but with its own terrace. The hostel is very clean & nice, & has blankets for the beds. Mary arrived shortly after & got a bunk in my room. Then the place filled up & all that´s left are mattresses on the terrace. Not sure what we´re doing for dinner, but there is a bar here, so surely they´ll serve some food.

I have also decided to stop walking on Sunday in Logrono. Seamus & Mary leave that day, so I might go to San Sebastian with them or stay in Logrono before taking the bus to Burgos & on to Madrid.

NO VINO POR LOS PEREGRINOS!!

As everyone knows, there is a wine fountain at Bodegas de Irache that is supposed to be for pilgrims ONLY! Tell that to two full busloads of tourists who sucked that fountain dry in no time flat, leaving nothing for those of us who arrived on foot! The bastards even laughed at us, then took pictures of us like we were some damn Disneyworld tourist attraction!! Grrrrr. I realize the folks at Bodegas can´t always police their wine fountain, but it pisses me off that their generosity to the pilgrims is stolen by assholes on buses who know nothing of walking in the mud, muck, heat, rocks, up up up & down down down with a backpack, sore feet & screaming tired knees & ankles.

I made it to Hotel Irache. Very expensive, but I need more hours to rest & get my laundry done. I stink to high heaven & my hair looks like hell.

What a time on the Camino!

The pathways are so horrible because of the bad weather (now in the past, it´s sunny now, but the mud & muck are still with us in places, plus all the rocks loosened in the water run-off). It´s taking even the strongest peregrinos hours longer than usual to complete each stage. Even though I wanted to stay in Lorca, because I was completely spent by then, I pressed on to Estella. The 116 bed Municipal refugio had only one place left. I paid for it, then saw where my bed was & left. Even Richard, a very strong & fast-moving peregrino, looked completely blasted when I saw him there & he arrived hours before I had!

To hell with my schedule. Tomorrow, I´m only going as far as Irache, if that.

The Camino is like life

Each day, we struggle hard to make it to the next town, sometimes going through hell & back to get there. It made me think today, the first day I´ve had a chance to ¨nave-gaze¨instead of constantly thinking ¨how the hell do I get myself out of this in one piece?¨that each day represents our lifetimes. We have ups & downs (mostly ups right now---argh say my ankles & knees), we meet friends, pause at bars & have a rest, then soldier on to the final stop for the day. Then we rest, shower, meet up with our friends, & have dinner & enjoy each other´s company. It seems to me that this is what our lives our like, & Heaven a refugio where we meet up with our wonderful friends, enjoy a meal, & then a nice, long sleep. Although, in Heaven, no one snores.

I´ve met many people: Con from Ireland & Carsten from Germany from my first day out of Valcarlos, without whom I would not have made it to Roncesvalles. Mary & Seamus from Ireland, friends walking the Camino to Burgos (maybe), who are a joy to meet up with on the road, at bars & for dinner at the end of the day. Richard from Oz (or should I say Tazzie?) who just reappeared today at the Alto del Peron quite to my surprise! Felicity from B.C., who got to learn with me how to mail something to yourself in Spain. And so on, many angels so far & only 2 devils, 2 women who refused to share a bench with me yesterday or help me get enough change together to get a much-needed bottle of water out of the vending machine. The Camino gives back to you ten-fold what you give to others, good or bad.

Pamplona at last!!

We left Zubiri early, all happy because we were all meeting in Larrasoana for breakfast. HA HA HA! Larrasoana was locked up tighter than a drum & from that point on there was no food or water except a vending machine after you cross the bridge. Take coins with you if you cannot buy anything in Zubiri the night before. Zubiri in my opinion, is a much better place to stay than Larrasoana.

More mud & muck on the trail, but today I had the smarts to send my bag via taxi. It is way too heavy. I think the cats put invisible rocks in it or something. My feet hurt, my shoulder is killing me, but when we all get to our destination, we take our showers & then it´s off to find food.

If my mother were still alive, she would be having fits by now. In Roncesvalles, I wore flip-flops to church. Today, in Pamplona, I´m staying in a convent. In a room full of men. And I took a nap on my bunk without my long pants on. Modesty & vanity are the firsts thing to go on the Camino. But everyone is in the same boat today who came from Zubiri--tired, hot, thirsty, hungry. Until those needs are filled, we really didn´t give a damn about anything else.

I´m still alive

Short blog. Made it to Zubiri today. If anyone says that only sissies go to Roncesvalles via Valcarlos, I´ll beat them with my now well-used & trusted walking stick within an inch of their lives. It rained almost the entire way yesterday & with all the rain they´ve had here, the way off road was very muddy, mucky, & dangerous. And cold. The other way wasn´t so good either because folks who walked over the mountain said it snowed AND hailed on them, as well as thunder & lightning. Today was a slip & slide down hills, almost bought it too if it weren´t for my stick. Stayed to the road after that & after about 2 hours on the flat top, a local took pity on me & brought me to Zubiri. I was about 2 km short when he picked me up. God bless him & all his family. Answer to my prayers & he wouldn´t take a dime from me either.

I just got word that my friend Patsy (who deserted us for El Paso) PASSED THE BAR!! Everyone please send her congratulations!! Patsy, there´s an opening in Laredo, btw. (hint hint)

I'm here already!!

Well, at least in Europe. I got to Paris early this morning, with only about 2 hours' of solid dozing time on the plane (brand new AVOD--over 290 movies to watch,in COACH no less, how could I pass up the opportunity?). Took a short nap, then went to find the Tour St. Jacques as suggested by Sil. Only to find that said Tour is covered in scaffolding & very un-medieval plastic for renovations. :(

And I have a blister on my foot. I haven't even started the Camino yet!

Observation coming from the airport, upon seeing red poppies by the wayside: "In Flanders fields, where poppies grow, and there the crosses row by row now mark our dead." (google is your friend) Happy "Mission Accomplished" Day, folks. /sarcasm off. God save our troops, because as He knows, no one else will.

I'm on my way!

My bag is packed & ready to go. The cats aren't happy (they know the signs which lead to my departure). I still need to get something to eat, since my ride is coming for me in an hour. Getting dressed might be a good thing too, huh?

I probably will check in once I get to Paris, but I don't think after that I'll have internet access until I get to Pamplona next Monday. Behave yourselves!

Special shout out to Patsy: GOOD LUCK PATSY!!! WE'RE ROOTING FOR YOU HERE IN LAREDO!!