16 miles!

We were able to your packed and leave am going to buy 5 am.  Our Albergue was about a mile in a half of the trail so it took sometime to get back on the trail.  Free pass a first down after am phone, and started to see pilgrims from there starting to walk. The morning was cool we made good time before hitting the big incline.

You knew it was going to be a long day as we had to climb the Hill of Forgiveness and walk 15 miles to Puente La Riena.  On our walk two years ago, we didn't make the albergue until 4 pm.  This time, we were able to make it to town with relative ease. 

At the top of the Hill of forgiveness, Marion was able to order a rice milk mocha with raspberry. Julie had a yogurt smoothie.  A lady was handing out flyers about an albergue with a swimming pool, bungalow for 4 people with private bath for 50 euros.  We were sold!

As we arrived in town, we were at our limit. It was starting to get really hot, in the mid ninety's. We passed the first  albergue, looking for the one with the swimming pool.  The map to the albergue was confusing, and I didn't realize it was half a mile beyond town up a very steep hill.  It was a mile too far.  We were exhausted.

We barely had the energy to shower, swim or eat lunch.  Our bungalow was nice, but it was hot and filled with flies.  Marion fell asleep at 7 and would not wake up for dinner.  I was the only one with enough energy to go to town to buy food.

We all fell asleep early and when the alarm went off and no one stirred, I knew it was time for a rest day.  So we took it easy, recuperating and are getting ready for 13 mile walk tomorrow.

Pamplona!

I guess there are some benefits to jet lag.  Since we still haven't adjusted to the time change, we been waking up early, beating the heat, and getting to our next location early. This morning, we were able to get up by 5 a.m., and on the trail by 5:30 AM.

This is by far the earliest that we have gotten out on the trail and the quickest that we have ever got ready in the morning. With temperatures projected to be in the mid nineties to low 100's next week, it's going to be imperative that we are off the trail by 1 p.m.

As we emerged from our Albergue at 530, we needed a flashlight for about the first 30 minutes. The trail was clearly marked in the walking relatively easy, so we were in no real danger of getting lost.

We didn't see anyone on the trail for about the first hour and a half until we came upon the next town and met with some late risers just getting on the trail. at the next town, we stop for some breakfast and coffee at a cafe that caters to pilgrims.  We see lots of these on the Camino.

It was a nice 13 mile day into Pamplona.  We found our Albergue by 12pm, showered, shopped, cooked, eat and slept....our routine.  Now that we are in the swing of things,  we can focus more on our spiritual journey,  being thankful for all of our blessing.   You're looking at this pilgrimage in three aspects: spiritual growth, fellowship amongst our family and other programs, and helping out fellow pilgrims.

It is also different because now we are at our starting point from our last Camino and things will not be new to us.  We know what to expect from the upcoming towns. Tomorrow, Sunday, will be difficult because many of the shops and restaurants will be closed.   We are also looking at a 15 mile day tomorrow up the hill of forgiveness. We're going to strive to be on the trail by 5 a.m. and be done by 1 p.m. before the 90 degree heat kicks in.

Over the hill?

After settling into the albergue yesterday,  a German woman in her 40's arrived, a Polack in his 30's and a Spanard in his 60's.  To only have 7 guests total in an albergue is unusual, but we were in a small town that is in between the main stages in the most populat guidebooks.

As we sat outside talking with the German, she showed us a terrible rash she had developed prior to even starting the Camino.   From experience anf talking with the woman, Gisela was able to diagnose that it was related to a mosquito bit.  We offered to take her to the pharmacy to get some medicine.

One common practice in Spain is that many shops have odd hours.  The pharmacy in Espinal was only open from 8 to 3, and it was already 5pm.  Not to be deterred,  Gisela called "112" which is Spain's emergency number for all medical conditions.   She was able to book an appointment for 5:45 in the next town.  The owner of the Albergue drove them to the doctor.

Gisela was able to translate and get her the proper medicine, doing all the translation and reassurance. They returned to the albergue,  and we all shared dinner together...sandwiches, olives, peanuts, cheese and chocolate.  It was a lot of fun getting to know our new friend.  She was disappointed that the doctor told her to rest for 2 days.  We will probably meet up with her in Pamplona.

We woke up early this morning and were on the trail by 6 : 30.   After 10 miles and 5 hours we arrived at Zubiri.  We had planned on walking another 3 miles, but the village was beautiful and has a stream running by the edge of town.  Concerned about pushing ourselves too much, we decided to call it a day.   After all, it's my birthday,  and I wanted to relax a bit.

We found a small albergue (24 beds), checked in, showered, did the laundry,  and went out to lunch.  After a "pilgrims menu," which consists of three courses,  salad or paella,  chicken or other meat,  and dessert or fruit, we walked down to the stream and cooled our feet down.  It was nice to sit back,  relax, and ice down our tired feet.

Zubiri is a main stopping location in the guidebook,  and the small town is filled with pilgrims.  It is quite a different feel from the last two days.  More pilgrims to meet and stories to share.  Off for Pamplona in the morning.  The running of the bulls is not for another two weeks, so it shouldn't be too crazy, but it is Saturday night.

Our German friend

Strram by Zubiri

Zubiri

Baby lamb.   Birthday dinner?

Up and over the Pyrenees

Thank you to our trainer Kathy LeSage, we were able to go up and over the Pyrenees today without much difficulty. we woke early at 5:15, ate breakfast, and were on the trail by 6:15.

We knew that this would be the hardest day physically of our Camino with the greatest climb of over 2,000 feet.  The first part of the trail ascended only slightly for about the first two hours. Then we hit the steep section amount of continuous uphill climbing for the next two and a half hours. Fortunately, most of the trail was in the shade in the morning was still relatively cool.

At the summit was a12th century Church that was right off the highway. We met a cyclist from Ireland who had been riding from Amsterdam. There was also a group of Spanish tourists looking at the church who gave us hazelnuts and chocolate and wished us a Buen Camino.

After reaching the summit, we have plenty of energy to continue on for another five miles to the town of Espinal. A total of 12 miles hiking today. We are still in the heart of the Basque region and see the Basque language everywhere. we checked into the albergue and went to the restaurant for Marion's promised steak and french fries. A little incentive is always good to get her up a hill.

I couldn't be more proud of my family. Gisela tripped on throughout the day up the hills, even though she prefers the flat sections.  Juliana was strong throughout the day and carried extra weight to ease others loads. Marion has made great strides since two years ago and was able to complete the stage with little difficulty... And the promise of a steak.

The last two nights, we've been staying at smaller villages the most pilgrims don't stop at. it's been nice and quiet for some family time, but we miss talking to a lot of other pilgrims.  We will be playing it by ear and see how we feel going forward, and not sticking to any set plan.

At the summit

Marion at a Camino marker

At Roncesvalles

Roncesvalles

On the trail

Morning in Valcarlos

Passing through a herd of cattle

Town of Espinal

Pilgrim's Cross

hiking through the Pyrenees

First Day Walking, crossing into Spain

Yesterday afternoon, boarded the bus and arrived at SJ PDP. We walked around town for a bit and finally settled on the Albergue that opened at 2. 

Although we were in France, the woman who checked us in was originally from Peru. It was nice to be able to speak Spanish and get all the information in the language we could It was nice to be able to speak a language that we could understand.

We were put in a room with the six beds.  Our roommates were from Argentina in Korea. Once again, Gisela and I were the oldest two people that we saw in the albergue, and Juliana and Marion were the youngest. I started to second guess myself.

We showered and did laundry and we're ready to hit the town. St Jean Pied de Port is it nice little village. There is a supermarket that we were able to buy dinner at and cook in the kitchen of the Albergue.

We were tired and still jet lagged, and were barely able to stay awake during the 7 pm mass.  Who were all fast asleep by 8 p.m., but awake by 2 a.m.  We all struggle to try to get back to sleep but to no avail. we finally got up around 5:30, ate breakfast and hit the road.

We scheduled the light day because of the jet lag and our physical condition. we had a beautiful walk through a nice Valley at the base of the Pyrenees for about 7 miles endingin the town of Valcarlos by 11 a.m. It felt great to get back on the trail. 

the albergue in ValCarlos is self service. we let ourselves into the Albergue, shopped for lunch and prepared a nice meal of chicken, rice and zucchini.  After lunch, we all took a nap trying to catch up on the lost sleep from the night before.

Tomorrow is our big day when we crossed the Pyrenees. we're getting mentally and physically prepared for that. for now, we're just enjoying the town. everyone's in a good mood after a nice short day on the trail. We'll see if that lasts through the Pyrenees.

Getting to SJPDP

so couldn't have been a smoother trip to get to France. our flight from San Francisco is delayed slightly, but it ended up allowing us to sleep a little bit longer on the plane. so when we arrived in Paris, we went directly to rent the car to drive to Bayonne,  France.

things were going smoothly renting the car, until some French. Men showed up, cut in line, and started yelling at the agents. They proceeded to yell at them for about 15 minutes. they really need to go on a pilgrimage and learn the virtue of patience.

So after a brief delay, we found our small Toyota with a sticker on the back in English that said made in France. it made me realize that Toyota miss the point on that one. 

So after an 8 hour drive, and some help from my sister through some texting, we found a nice hotel in Bayonne France.  our last night in a nice hotel for a very long time. from doorstep to doorstep, it was only about 26 hours.

This morning will jump on a train, and will arrive in st. Jean Pied de Port to start our pilgrimage. We will start walking tomorrow.

Before we left, everyone wait there packs. we were all right around 14 or 15 pounds without food. I think we will be close to 18 pounds as we threw in a few last minute items and some food.  it's always so tempting to add something to your pack "Just in case."  we are all trying to resist that temptation.

Back to walking, this time the entire Camino

We had always talked about walking El Camino again, hopefully with the kids and the entire route.  Reflecting back on our experience, the heat was our most painful obstacle, so we were planning on starting either earlier in the year (May 2016) or late fall (October 2016).  All seemed well for a year away, until Gisela, my wife, pointed out that most likely Juliana would be spending next summer abroad in a college program.  If we really wanted to walk again as a complete family, this summer was our only guarantee.  Besides, my consulting business was relatively light and was a good time to schedule some time off.

With that, I started looking for flights, planning around the kids schedule.  We were able to book a flight leaving on Fathers Day which would get us to St. Jean Pied de Port on Tuesday, June 23rd starting our walking on June 24th, two days prior to my 48th birthday.  I couldn't ask for a better present than being able to spend time with my family on El Camino.  We have roughly 43 days allowed for walking which should give us plenty of time to complete the entire Camino, as long as we are injury free.

So now that we had the trip scheduled, time to start training.  Well, between work, school, the kids work schedule, getting a nasty cold that hung around for 3 weeks and life, we didn't get much training time.  Good news is that the kids are two years older and much stronger.  The bad news is that Gisela and I are two years older and in worse shape.

However, we have wisdom and experience now.  Although we aren't completely packed, I am estimated that Julie and I are going to reduce our pack weight by about 10 pounds.  We both have smaller, more light weight packs and are eliminating numerous items that we didn't use last time.  I feel like the veteran athlete that has lost some of his skills, but gained tricks of the trade to make up for the loss.

So, from Santa Barbara we head off once again.  No I-pads this time, so the blog will be limited to posts from my phone.  Therefore, it will be more pictures than words.  If you haven't read about our previous trip, you can read some of the earlier posts to get a flavor and feel of what we did.