Trepidatious traveller – camino blog | Camino de Santiago de Compostela – before, during and after

Day 13, 28 April 2013, Castrojeriz to Fromista, 25.5 km

Posted on 28/04/2013 by magwood

It was cold during the night. I eventually put the extra blanket provided over my sleeping bag, which I had been avoiding because I was using it to prop my legs so that I could lie on my back and my poorly heel could hang over the end and not touch the bed. Once I covered myself with the blanket I was warm but could not lie on my back and settle.

The new day varied between very cold, and absolutely bloody freezing. In fact it was literally freezing for the first 10 km, with a thick ground frost and puddles frozen over.

We set off just after 7:00 am and of course were immediately faced with the obligatory huge hill out of the village, but this one put all the others in their place. After struggling for over a kilometre we reached the top and walked across a totally flat plateau until we came to the next sign indicating an even steeper descent.

We were then back in rolling farmland walking on a decent sand track in lovely sunshine, but a bitter wind always with us. It took a while for my hands to become warm but once my fingertips had defrosted I was very comfortable in weather appropriate gear. There was quite a lot of cloud about but it remained fairly bright.

After 8km we came across a beautiful old building where a charming man was offering hot drinks to pilgrims and he stamped our credentials. We continued to the next village two kilometres on, hoping for some breakfast, but being Sunday everywhere was closed. So fortified by a few squares of chocolate, we wended our way to the next village, almost 20 km from our start point. We walked into the first (and possibly only) bar and I instantly thought of the tv programme “League of Gentlemen”. It was weird and very unfriendly and we downed a hot drink and were quickly on our way, battling the ever increasing bitter wind that was whipping over the open farmland.

A further kilometre or so the path ran alongside a wide canal which has sluice gates at regular intervals to allow water to divert into irrigation channels to serve the fields on the other side of the path. The wind was so strong now that I was glad it was blowing across the canal towards the path and not in the other direction, as it kept blowing us off course – it really was a battle.

We finally come to the outskirts of our destination and had to cross the canal at the lock gates.

We found a decent albergue for the night, and quickly saw to our ablutions so that we could adjourn to the bar across the road for a glass of wine and a plate of morcilla.

Today is my Mother’s birthday. I am doing this walk in memory of my old Mum. Although she was a very strong woman, and a great role model, she was plagued by major illnesses during her later life, undergoing a hysterectomy, removal of gall stones, double cataract removal, and then cancer took hold during her final years, first of all necessitating the removal of a huge cyst from her ovary which was marginally malignant, followed some years later by removal of lumps from her breast and lymph nodes from her armpit. One day, some time later she was getting undressed and whilst pulling a jumper over her head she broke her arm and discovered that the bastard disease has infiltrated her bones. She was in and out of hospital and on radio and chemo therapy, but the outlook was not good.

She never gave up, she always thought she would beat this terrible disease and was looking forward to celebrating her 80th birthday, this day in 2006. By then I was nursing her at my home for the last few weeks of her life and my dear old Dad who was by then suffering from vascular dementia and had very little short term memory, was also with us.

Mum survived her 80th and all the family came to help celebrate but she was very near the end and wasn’t really aware of what was going on. She died on 8 May. She fought for every moment of her life for the last few years and never lowered her expectations.

She was a great inspiration to me and my daughters. Because of the war and evacuation she did not get to take her matriculation, but was an avid reader and lover of the English language and a very professional needle and craft worker. Having always worked as a secretary she felt she was underachieving and at the age of forty she studied for ‘o’ levels, passed with flying colours and went to teacher training college, where she qualified as a needlework and English teacher. She was always writing poetry and produced a poem for every family occasion, be it a grandchild passing their driving test or a family wedding. She even wrote a poem to be read by my brother at her own funeral.

I owe my mother, Alice Woodward, a huge debt of gratitude for her fine example of what can be achieved by determination and hard work.

Thank you Mum.

This is the only photo I have access to here in Spain on the camino (thanks Jan), taken on her 70th birthday. Not my favourite photo. Will post a better pic later if poss

……and here it is – my favourite photo of my mum, Alice Woodward, with her grand daughters Ella and Rosie

Posted in Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Camino Frances, Walking the walk | Tagged Camino blog, Camino de Santiago blog, Camino de Santiago., Camino Frances, castrojeriz, Fromista | 8 Comments

Day 12, 27 April 2013, Tardajos to Castrojeriz, 30.5 km

Posted on 28/04/2013 by magwood

Not a good night’s sleep. It wasn’t cold in the room at all, in fact it was too hot. Consequently I was tossing and turning all night and adjusting my sleeping bag. Sleeping bags rustle when you move so I try to change position as carefully as possible to avoid making too much noise. I also don’t really do well with the restrictions of a ‘mummy’ shaped sleeping bag – I like to move my legs around and usually end up tying myself in knots. There is also a fear of bed bugs in the albergues, so I have a specially treated under sheet that lies over the mattress to form a barrier so that the little buggers can’t get to me. I am therefore cocooned by various layers of synthetic fabric which I really hate, although I do have a silk sleeping bag liner. I don’t actually sleep that well at home in the comfort of my own bed, so it isn’t surprising that I don’t often get a good night’s sleep in these primitive conditions.

So far, 6:30 am I have been up for forty minutes, but the rest of my room mates have not yet stirred, so I cannot start packing yet. I like to make an early start because I am so slow at getting my stuff sorted out with everything in its correct place. I have awful problems getting my sleeping bag into its compression sac – it needs to be rolled up extremely tightly and eased into the undersized bag, but my arthritic thumb joints make this really difficult. However all are now stirring so I can get started.

This albergue is not very charming, very basic and not well maintained, but the hospitalera (the woman who runs the establishment) is lovely, greeting us with hot sweet tea, and in the morning serving breakfast, all for a discretionary donation. I feel quite cross when one of the pilgrims, a woman who was boasting the previous day of buying only the best for her trek and paying £200 for her wet weather trousers, helps herself to as much breakfast food as she can stuff into a couple of serviettes and takes it for her journey.

When we left the bar last evening it had just started to rain and it seems it has rained quite a lot during the night, and is still coming down, although only lightly, when we leave this unattractive little village and head off for the day’s trek, starting on the country road and passing over a pretty river, before diverting onto a sand track leading to the next village only 2km away, a really pretty place which would have been much nicer option to spend the night.

The weather soon clears and becomes lovely and bright, although quite cold. Perfect for an early morning walk.

Sometimes and way markers are very difficult to find, and sometimes they are impossible to miss.

We are now back to rolling countryside and walk 10 km before stopping for breakfast in Hornillos del Camino. We set off again along a good track with the weather remaining very fresh but bright and don’t stop again until we have covered 20km and I feel the need to free my feet from boots and socks for five minutes.

With feet once again ensconced in my boots we set off for the final third of our journey and the sun becomes stronger and the wind drops and we stop to divest ourselves of our outer layers. The path returns to a quiet road and just as we approach the ruins of an ancient monastery it begins to hail, quite hard so we stop in the shelter of the ruins to quickly attire ourselves in wet gear.

The hail continues, harder and harder and I cover my face with my buff just leaving enough room to see where I am going. We walk through the storm for 45 minutes and accumulate a considerable amount of ice about our persons, more than enough to populate a few gin and tonics! It finally lets up just as we reach our destination, a sizeable town called Castrojeriz, having covered a total of 30.5 km.

The first accommodation we try is full so we walk further into the town and find an albergue with beds available in a very old characterful building, but having been allocated beds, and greeting the Hungarian girl we met yesterday, we realise how very cold it is in the building, so quickly shower, arrange for our laundry to be washed and dried and rush to the nearest bar which happens to be lovely and warm and where we devour a hearty and tasty bowl of ham and potato soup and down a couple of glasses of wine. Whilst we are in the bar it starts to snow very heavily, with flakes swirling around the street outside, but by the second glass of wine the snow stops and it begins to brighten.

We search out a supermarket and buy some meagre provisions to make some more soup which Ella does with aplomb.The albergue has comfortable communal areas, although the dormitories and facilities are rather basic.

Current injury toll:
toes – blister free;
right heel – compeed still doing its thing (whatever that is) plus new small blister yesterday in new position;
left heel – new small blister today, trying sheep’s wool;
right knee – rash improved with less sun and long trousers, but also problem with swelling and soreness not related to rash;
wellbeing – 100%;
satisfaction – 100%;
self esteem – pretty damn good.

Posted in Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Camino Frances, Walking the walk | Tagged Camino blog, Camino de Santiago blog, Camino de Santiago., Camino Frances, castrojeriz, Tajdajoa | 6 Comments

Day 11, 26 April 2013, Atapuerca to Tardajos, 30 km

Posted on 26/04/2013 by magwood

As promised it was raining when we left this morning, not hard and not actually for very long. It wasn’t cold but there was no way that the sun was likely to fight its way through the grey sky.

The initial steep and prolonged climb out of the village was over very rough and rocky pasture land. We passed a huge flock of sheep, all herded into a corner of their enclosure by a couple of mangy looking dogs. To one side of the rough path was a military area that was cordoned off with plentiful barbed wire.

We continued on a very decent descending track until we reached a village where we stopped for breakfast, continued past a couple more pretty villages and then walked along the road – for ever.

It was a really horrible day’s walking. We changed from walking along a minor road to a major road, skirted a huge airfield, crossed a motorway and then commenced the interminable drag through the outskirts of Burgos. Right alongside a very busy dual carriageway, past countless commercial and industrial estates for about 10 km. It was both soul destroying and sole destroying. The only bright side was that it wasn’t bright! It would have been even worse to do this in the heat of a sunny day.

Quite a few drivers beeped out to us and lots of passers-by wished us “buen camino”, which is always appreciated.

Just as we approached the city centre a Hungarian girl walked with us for a while, she had almost perfect English, but said that her German was better. She was on a very short time scale and had started walking two days after us so must have done some very long distances.

We stopped for a while around the beautiful cathedral and had lunch. I chose a bowl of Castilian style soup, which tasted like washing up water that had been used to rinse a chorizo pan and someone had let their old pieces of bread fall in. I also had a glass of wine and a basket of bread. I bet you couldn’t guess the price! 11.20-€. Really shocking.

The walk out of the centre of Burgos wasn’t quite as bad as the approach, the surroundings were not so grim, but it was still a long slog – probably 4 km. We then walked through rough pasture and along yet more roads until we reached the village of Tardajos where we found beds in a very basic albergue.

As the day wore on it became colder and colder and I think I will be wearing some extra clothes to bed tonight. I am so very pleased that I didn’t follow my instinct on day 2 or 3 and dump my sleeping bag because of the weight.

Although we only walked 30 km today it felt much farther and was very hard work.

We have found a tatty bar which surprisingly has wifi and a decent choice of food, so that is definitely good enough for me. A guy on the next table has just told us that lots of people caught the bus through Burgos. We knew it would be a horrible walk, but we would not have been tempted to cheat.

So, sorry that this is not a very inspiring post, but it has not been a very inspiring day.

Posted in Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Camino Frances, Walking the walk | Tagged Altapuerca, Camino blog, Camino de Santiago blog, Camino de Santiago., Camino Frances, Tajdajoa | 12 Comments

Day 10, 25 April 2013, Espinosa del Camino to Atapuerca, 21.5 km

Posted on 25/04/2013 by magwood

Breakfast served by Pepe turned out to be a drink of your choice and packaged fairy cake, so we set off for the next village, Villafranca Montes de Oca, about 3.5 km away and found a cafe for a proper breakfast.

Bo is walking with us today, a Danish guy who stayed at the albergue last night. I have a croissant whilst the others have hearty bocadillos.

As we leave the village we enter a wooded area and encounter a never-ending and very steep hill and I am very glad that I don’t have a heavy breakfast weighing me down. Generally I find the steep hills a real challenge – not so much in my legs, but in my lungs. I stopped smoking 32 years ago but still I feel the evil weed is affecting my performance. There again, it might just be my age! Anyhow, this morning I manage this huge climb more easily than usual. We have a short reprieve on the flat before the next massive incline hits us, and once at the top the path levels and is enclosed on both sides by thick forest – pine and deciduous trees that look like beech but are not very big. After a very steep descent we face our third slog uphill until the track levels again.

The track is compacted dirt, which is reasonably comfortable to walk on, except where it has been churned up in the rain leaving deep ruts. The forest thickens and we are totally enclosed with no views other than the trees to left or right. It doesn’t make for a very interesting walk and it continues for about 12 km.

There are signs throughout the forest ‘mushroom harvesting – it is prohibited to collect without authorisation’.

We stop for a drink at the village of San Juan de Ortega, 16 km into our day’s walk.

After Ortega the track opens up what looks like grazing pastures, although there is no sign of any animals, we haven’t actually seen any sign of farm animals since day three. There are cattle grids at regular intervals and I wonder how anyone horse riding the camino would manage to get over these.

There are masses of pretty blue flowers, which I think may be gentians, growing in swathes across the grass.

Finally we can see a couple of villages in the distance. The first is Agés, tiny and very pretty. There is a quaint sign, saying 518 km to Santiago. We have learned during our travels to completely dismiss such distance markers because they seem to pull the numbers out of a hat, you can walk for ten kilometres from the last sign and find one that says 15 km more than the previous one.

Also, all the guide books, elevation maps and other reference material seem to tell different stories and can’t be relied upon for accuracy.

We pass through Agés and continue for another couple of kilometres to our destination, Atapuerca.

Altapuerca is another pretty village with a very comfortable albergue, complete with garden, lawn, excellent laundry facilities, good kitchen, showers and loos and individual rooms with six beds, two singles and two sets of bunks. They are not full and so aren’t using the upper bunks. We have an elderly gentleman in our room and we at hoping he is not a snorer!

After the usual chores we find a bar for a light snack and a glass or two of wine and then return to the lovely garden to make use of the wifi and catch up on my blog posts.

Ella and Søren have gone out for supper, but I am fed up with stodgy food and have bought a few bits and bobs for a picnic in the kitchen.

This is my pilgrim’s credencial that gets stamped at each albergue, and a few other places on the way. You cannot stay at an albergue with a credencial.

Today was a nice easy day. A relatively short walk of just over 20 km. We plan to walk a greater distance tomorrow. My toe blister has more or less gone now – I shall try it without any tape tomorrow. My heel blister is gently seething under the compeed plaster. I am not entirely sure what is supposed to be happening under the plaster but the instructions say to keep it in place until it comes off of its own accord. It is still giving discomfort but it is bearable. I have also developed an aggressive rash on the inside of my right knee – quite uncomfortable. We will pass through the city of Burgos tomorrow so I will call into a farmacia to get some advice.

Some days I am fiddling with the straps of my backpack all day and cannot get comfortable. I am pleased to say that today was not one of those days. When it is sitting correctly it is not a burden, even loaded with an additional 2 litres of water, weighing 2 kilos. Unfortunately I can’t leave the straps as they are when it is just right because the next morning extra clothing means a different fit.

There is another class of camino walker who choose not to carry their own bags, but send them on to their next stop in a taxi. We can’t help but feel a certain contempt for them as we struggle on under the weight of our packs. However, everyone must walk their own camino, and I suppose we shouldn’t really judge others.

Posted in Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Camino Frances, Walking the walk | Tagged Altapuerca, Camino blog, Camino de Santiago blog, Camino de Santiago., Camino Frances, Espinosa del Camino | 13 Comments

Day 9, 24 April 2013, Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Espinosa del Camino, 32 km

Posted on 25/04/2013 by magwood

There are strict instructions in this albergue that no one is to get up before 6:30 am. However I want some peace in the loo so creep out of the dormitory at just about 6:00am and am confronted by a frenzy of people on the central landing getting ready for the off. So much for rules!

Ella cooks omelettes to take with us for breakfast, and we go downstairs to the bootroom. When the main door is opened I can hear a howl of wind from outside and we decide to put on all our gear. When we actually emerge onto the street we realise that the ‘howling’ was being made by a street cleaning machine, and the weather is beautiful.

We leave not long after 7:00am and are soon out of this pretty town and into the countryside.

We have similar scenery to yesterday but unfortunately it is interrupted by a motorway that runs beside the camino.

We stop at about 8:30am to eat our omelette rolls and then carry on, still alongside the very busy motorway, with huge juggernaughts ripping past. It is not the best environment for walking, but it continues for miles on end. Sometimes the camino moves a bit further from the road, but it is always within sight and hearing.

An hour later we cross from the province of La Rioja into Castilla y Leon and see no more vines from this point onwards!

At about 12:30pm after 23 km we stop at an albergue, planning to eat lunch but we bump into the Finish ladies who are eating ice creams which are very tempting, so lunch is put on hold and ice cream is on the menu. Søren arrives and joins and then we continue on our way.

I walk ahead whilst the others shop for lunch and after several kilometres I find a delightful picnic area to stop and finally eat lunch.

For the last two nights we have stopped at towns that coincide with the finish points of stages recommended by several guide books and consequently many people who are following the guide stop in these towns, with the consequence that the albergues at these points are very busy. So we are consciously trying to avoid these end stages and keep away from the masses.

With this in mind we have pushed on today past the 23km guide book end stage, not knowing where we will find a bed, and after deciding against the first option, and the second option being closed, we eventually find a tiny albergue in a village called Espinosa del Camino, with thirty inhabitants, run by an elderly gentleman of character called Pepe.

There are ten beds, I am in a room of four single beds and there is one other room with three bunks. One bathroom serves all. The charge of 16-€ includes dinner (paella, served promptly at 7:30pm), bed for the night, and breakfast. It is really just a large house, full of interesting mementos. We arrived around 4pm, having walked 32 km. We would probably have walked on to the next village, a further 5 km, but I was desperate for the loo and when I saw the albergue open I made a bee-line for it. Ella and I have so far avoided the inelegance of having to satisfy the call of nature on the side of the track, and I am hoping that this will continue for the duration of the walk, but today I was very close to giving in when this fabulous little albergue came into sight.

Having showered and done my laundry, I am now sitting in the only bar in the village. When I arrived Ella and Søren had a beer each, but the bar man had locked up and gone – for a spanish five minutes! About half an hour later he returned and I quickly ordered a large glass of white wine in case he disappeared again.

The three of us are now sitting in the bar with a Danish guy, a Danish woman, a Dutch woman who lives in Florida, a Dutch couple, and there is a German woman asleep in the albergue. We are all looking forward to our paella.

We have now eaten the great food that Pepe prepared and drunk the wine he provided. It has been a totally different experience to any that we have had so far and I am so glad that my call of nature led us to such an interesting place.

It has been a perfectly lovely evening

Posted in Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Camino Frances, Walking the walk | Tagged Camino blog, Camino de Santiago blog, Camino de Santiago., Camino Frances, Espinosa del Camino, Santo Domingo de la Calzada | 2 Comments

Day 8, 23 April 2013, Nájera to Santo Domingo de la Calzada, 21 km

Posted on 25/04/2013 by magwood

Just like buses – you wait for one for hours, and then three come at once! This is the first time we have had wifi for three days …….here’s one I prepared earlier…..

I was first up this morning at a few minutes before 6am and had the bathroom to myself which is a luxury. I then fumbled around in the dark for 20 minutes before others started to stir. Eventually six of the eight occupants in our room were up and also fumbling in the dark until I decided that the two odd-ones-out would have to put up with the lights. We didn’t get away until 7:30am. There was a steep climb out of the village and for the first time there are kilometre markers along the way. I am not sure if this is a good thing or not. We can see how far we’ve come, but also how far we have to go.

The snow capped mountains are back today, although we didn’t see them at all yesterday. The land in this area is very red and there are interesting rock formations.

The landscape soon opens up to vast fields of grain, stretching as far as the eye can see, interspersed with vines.

We reach the village of Azofra after 6km and stop for breakfast in a local cafe.

The way is marked by a variety of yellow arrows, painted on every surface imaginable, so it is difficult to go wrong.

Today is fabulous. Bright blue sky, early sunshine, a light cool breeze – perfect walking conditions. Suddenly the tack improves from rough gravel and stone to a perfectly graded surface, and after a couple of kilometres I can see why the track is so very good – there is a compactor at work, but once I get beyond it, the track returns to a poor condition which is hard on the feet.

Søren has decided to walk his own walk today, and left after Ella and me. Ella strides on ahead of me. She has developed a very strong pace and I find it difficult to keep up, but that is not a problem, we catch up every now and then for a break.

There are quite a few cyclists riding the camino, and it is often quite a shock when they pass because they don’t give any warning of their approach. We have also seen a couple of people with dogs. During day three and four we came across a German lady with a golden Labrador. At Los Arcos she gave the dog her sleeping bag to keep warm outside whilst inside she had to pile clothes on top of her to keep out the cold. The last couple of days we have seen a guy who I think is Spanish walking with a small mastif type dog, that is wearing boots on his front feet (the dog, that is)

After 14 km we come to a golf course, in the middle of absolutely nowhere. There is a huge housing complex built around it, hundreds of houses, all absolutely deserted. It is very surreal. Very soon after we come to the tiny village of Cirueña and then continue on tracks through fabulous open farmland.

As I walk I plug into music again, this time listening to a favourite old compilation of film sound tracks, from Quentin Tarratino films and The Full Monty, amongst others, and I remember fun times back in Bristol, with great friends at parties. Good days!

A welcome sight comes into view when I see our destination town in the distance. It doesn’t seem very far, but it takes another 40 minutes before we arrive at the albergue.

Santo Domingo de Calzado is an ancient town, the streets of which are classified a site of National Historic Interest because of its grand buildings, particularly the Cathedral of San Salvador.

The municipal albergue a very large and modern building in the centre of the town with 220 beds. We are in a room of about 20 beds, luckily I am in a lower bunk. The accommodation is spread over two floors with facilities on each floor, separate for men and women. We have five showers and two loos with six basins, all very clean. There is a good kitchen which pleases Ella because she is keen to cook for a change which suits me very well.

We shower and I wash out some socks and underwear before wandering off in the direction of a bar with a sunny terrace where we drink a few glasses of white wine and enjoy some olives and pork scratchings courtesy of the management.

We then decide it is time to take a look around the town and find a beautiful square behind the cathedral, and discover that there is a charge to enter the church.

There is a interesting legend relating to the cathedral which I shall copy below from my guide:

……….. The cathedral of San Salvador dates from the 12th century and is a mixture of Romanesque, Plateresque and Gothic. Inside you will find Santo Domingo’s mausoleum. At the rear of the cathedral there is an ornate chicken coup, the permanent home of a cockerel and a hen (which are replaced once a fortnight).

The legend behind the chickens came about through a story begun in the middle ages. It is said that a German family (parents and teenage son) were attempting the Camino and stopped in Santo Domingo for the night. A flirty barmaid took a fancy to the 18 year old son but the boy, probably because he didn’t understand the language or was overly pious, was having none of it and turned her down.

The scorned girl sought revenge and placed a silver goblet into his luggage (there are different accounts of exactly what was placed in the bag, some say it was a bag of money others say it was a chalice from the church). The next morning the goblet was discovered missing and the barmaid accused the young German boy of stealing. The boy’s luggage was searched and the goblet found and he was promptly brought before the local judge, found guilty and hanged.

The grief stricken parents continued on their pilgrimage and upon arriving at Santiago de Compostela, prayed to St James for the soul of their son. On their return journey they again decided to stay the night in Santo Domingo de la Calzada. Upon reaching the town they were surprised to find that their son was still hanging from the gibbet and more surprisingly, that he was still alive.

In memory of this miraculous event a snow white cockerel and a hen, donated by local farmers, have been kept in the ornate gothic henhouse in the cathedral ever since……….The parents rushed to see the judge and explained what they had seen. So incensed was the judge hat they had the audacity to interrupt his dinner that he proclaimed “your son is about as alive as these roast chickens I am about to eat”. At that moment the two birds jumped off the plate and began to fly, so proclaiming the boy’s innocence………..

We decide that maybe we will go to the mass in the evening to see the cathedral for free.

We walk towards the pardor which was originally an ancient hospital and decide to go inside and try out the bar, but although the hotel was beautiful, the bar was very unimpressive so we continued to wander around and came across a chocolate shop and bought a few truffles which were definitely up to standard, and then we went in search of a supermarket so that Ella could buy provisions for her cook-up tonight. As we walked back we came across Søren who said he would be very happy to join us in our meal.

So,we returned to the albergue to sit in the garden in the lovely sunshine and demolish a bottle of cava whilst talking to some ladies From Finland, a Dutch girl and an elderly Danish woman. And here I am at this very moment.

Posted in Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Camino Frances, Walking the walk | Tagged Camino blog, Camino de Santiago blog, Camino de Santiago., Camino Frances, Nájera, Santo Domingo de la Calzada | 3 Comments

Day 7, 22 April 2013, Logroño to Nájera 28 km

Posted on 22/04/2013 by magwood

My alarm woke me this morning. It’s the first time this has happened on the camino and is indicative of the excellent night’s sleep I have had. Normally I am awake long before getting up time, but happily not this morning.

We leave the lovely, clean, well run hostel just after 7:00am and set off through the city, most of which isn’t any more charming than I thought yesterday, although we do briefly pass through an older section of the city, and there is a lovely bridge over the river.

Each city has a different marker set into the pavement to indicate the way pilgrims should take. I particularly like the one in Logroño.

We stop at a bakery to buy something for breakfast and when the time comes I eat the tastiest croissant ever, whole meal with seeds scattered on top, perfectly light and not at all greasy. I am glad I bought two!

It takes us an hour to reach the city limit where we pass through extensive cultivated parkland and eventually pass a huge lake before following a gravel path that runs alongside a motorway. Here, on a chain-mail fence, pilgrims have woven sticks and twigs in the sign of a cross, which goes on for a long stretch.

Whilst in the city it was not particularly cold, but once we are in the open it is quite chilly, it is a bit of a grey day with no sunshine and a biting wind. It is not much fun walking so close to the main road which we have to do for quite a few kilometres.

Eventually the path leads through cultivated land, mostly vines, some on wire supports and some not. Then we can see the first village come into sight, Navarrete is some 11.5 km from our start point.

Before we get there we stop for a break at the site of an ancient hospital built in the 10th century to serve pilgrims of the day.

Just before we reach the village a Spanish man stops us and says that it is not necessary to follow the pilgrim signs up to the very top of the town, which will only lead you down again (reminiscent of the Grand Old Duke of York). He advised us to stay on the bottom road where there were shops and bars. Needless to say we took his advice and stopped in this pretty town to buy provisions for lunch and then refilled our water bottles from a fountain by the beautiful church.

We then set off again, back into vineyard territory, bypassing the village of Ventosa and stopping to eat our lunch at 12:30pm.

It remained cold all day, for the first time I didn’t remove any of my gear during the walk, and we only took very short breaks because we got chilled when we weren’t walking.

We came across this pretty stone hut, but could not work out its purpose.

We eventually reached our destination of Nàjera and by the time we had walked through the sizeable town to find our chosen albergue it was just 3pm and we had covered 28 km.

It is a lovely albergue, split into different rooms, Ella and I are in a room of 8 beds. Unfortunately there are only a few beds not taken and of course all the lower bunks have been bagged. So for the first time (and I hope the last, but am not very confident of this) I have to manoeuvre myself into a top bunk – not an easy feat – and I don’t remember ever having to do this so far in my life. Oh well, another new experience!

When I was in the shower Ella called out to me to see where I was. I told her I was in the end shower, but when she couldn’t find me I shouted for her to push the entrance curtain open. She then informed me that I was in the men’s section – I hadn’t even noticed there were different sections. No worries, it was a nice warm shower and I didn’t have to queue for the ladies’ section.

Peter decided to continue his walk alone today, and he left this morning before us. However we kept bumping into him during the day and even met up with him as we were nearing our albergue. He carried on walking a further 6km to the next village, so we may not come across him again. He is on a shorter time scale than us, only 30 days, and he wants to walk to Finisterre, so he has a very tight schedule. It was good to spend the first few days together and I wish him a fabulous experience on his continuing journey. So now we are three, but who knows for how long. Søren also has less time than us – 32 days compared to our 35 days.

Today was hard on my feet. I have a new blister underneath my fourth toe on my left foot (the little piggy that had none!). I think it started to form when I was doing my power walking the day before yesterday – thanks Shania! I can feel it with every step. And also the selection of blisters on my right heel still hurt, especially when we start out in the morning and when we first set off after a break. The sheep’s wool has kept my heel cushioned, but I have applied a compeed plaster this evening which I hope will aid the healing. It is time my heel was blister-free.

Much of the track today has been rough stone and gravel which is very hard on the feet. I don’t think the soles of my boots are heavy enough and I seem to be feeling every stone.

Søren saw a Chinese restaurant on the way through town, so we are planning a change of menu tonight – thank goodness!

Posted in Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Camino Frances, Walking the walk | Tagged albergue, Camino blog, Camino de Santiago blog, Camino de Santiago., Camino Frances, Logroño, Navarrete, Nájera, yellow arrows | 6 Comments

Day 6, 21 April 2013, Los Arcos to Logroño, 29.5 km

Posted on 21/04/2013 by magwood

It was cold last night. Freezing. I couldn’t get warm even when I zipped my sleeping bag tight around my head. As a result I didn’t sleep well, although the room was very quiet. When we all got up, Peter told us that it was just +1 C outside, so it is not surprising that we were all cold during the night. Back on day three, when I had not slept in my sleeping bag for the first two nights because it was so warm, I seriously considered jettisoning my sleeping bag and just using the silk liner. This would have been an enormous mistake and I am so glad that I didn’t do this as I have been cold on a couple of nights since.

Ella wanted to eat breakfast before leaving and the guys wanted to get started and eat after an hour or so. So Ella and I we went to find a cafe and then decided that she could eat her omelette bocadillo as she walked. I bought one to eat later and we set off from the church square at about 7:15am.

The sun was low in the sky behind us and threw up very long shadows.

The countryside was similar to yesterday, and before we walked the 8 km to the first village of Sansol we caught up with Søren and Peter. They bought a few supplies for breakfast in the village shop, and I ate some of my bocadillo sitting in the sunshine outside. We saw lots of pilgrims this morning, although yesterday we saw very few.

We do not pass through many villages today although after we leave Sansol it is only two km’s to Torres del Rio where we pass some farm buildings with chickens scratching about and a very barky young dog who was chasing a few pilgrim cyclists as they passed. We stopped to talk to the dog’s owner for a few minutes whilst we adjusted our gear to take account of the warming weather. Again, it was very sunny with a chilly wind.

The landscape now changes and there are more vines growing free from support as they do in our area of Spain, but here they are on flat land that must be so much easier to work. The scenery is more scrubby and the fields of grain are at an earlier stage – just knee high instead of thigh high as we have seen until now.

We come to an area where pilgrims have built stones into mini cairns on a bank beside the track.

We round a bend in the track and see in the far distance a range of snow covered mountains and wonder if we will have to cross these in the coming days.

We stopped to rest our feet for a moment and Ella took this pic to keep David happy, although when he sees what I look like every day, he will be glad that there aren’t too many pics of me.

We have to walk on the road for quite a while before reaching the charming town of Viana, 19.5 km’s from our start point, where we find a restaurant for some lovely lunch and enjoy the surroundings in the ancient church square.

We set off again for the last leg of our day’s walk and finally enter the province of Rioja and continue to the city if Logroño, the section we have walked through is not the most charming area, but I expect there is an ancient quarter tucked away somewhere that we may or may not see tomorrow.

Lyn asked for photos of albergue accommodation. Today’s albergue is very modern with accommodation for 36 in bunk beds, there are unisex facilities – three showers and two loos, and washing machine and tumble dryer. There is only one other pilgrim here when we arrive, Rosie from LA in California, and no more turn up. It was a difficult-to-find establishment which entailed a hike around the city, so I guess not many pilgrims bothered to find it, although it is well reviewed in guide books. It is also warm in the dormitory so hopefully a better night’s sleep is awaiting.

We have walked a total of 29.5 km today, on various surfaces. We are all very tired at bedtime. This is the first post I have made on the on the day it relates to – it is good to finally catch up, although my posts are entirely reliant on wifi being available in the albergue.

Posted in Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Camino Frances, Walking the walk | Tagged Camino blog, Camino de Santiago blog, Camino de Santiago., Camino Frances, La Rioja, Logroño, Los Arcos, Torres del Rio, Viana, vineyards | 5 Comments

Day 5, 20 April 2013, Estella to Los Arcos, 21 km

Posted on 21/04/2013 by magwood

Despite sleeping in a ‘donativo’ albergue last night with 13 others in the room, I had the best night’s sleep on the camino so far. We were off at 7am and it was very chilly. We crossed the river and followed the the scallop shells out of town and found a cafe for breakfast before continuing on our way.

It was a bright day, with a few clouds and soon after we left the town we had to make a choice about which route to take. We opted for a slightly longer route that took us through Iráche, where there is a monastery that provides a fountain to serve pilgrims. There are two taps, one for water and one for red wine.

There is a pretty square just beyond the monastery with some trees that are used a lot in this area. I think they are lime trees that have been pollarded and trained to join together, presumably to form a parasol of shade. They are very effective, although they have bare branches at this time of year.

We continue through open farm land with stunning views for a few km’s and then enter a cork oak forest that turns to pine trees before the path opens up again into vast cultivated fields. The sky is blue and it is sunny, although there is still a chill wind that makes walking comfortable.

We come to the pretty village of Luquin where we expect to find a shop to buy a picnic lunch, but there is no such shop and luckily we hear the horn of a bread van and buy a baguette to eat on our way. We stopped at 11:30 am to enjoy our bread with a few scraps we had left over from the day before, a very simple but enjoyable meal.

We reckoned that there was another 9km to cover before reaching our target of Los Arcos. It was a fabulous section of the camino, easy to walk on gravel track and the surrounding countryside was mesmerising, green in every direction, with tall crops rippling in the breeze. Ella and I powered on for quite a few km’s, leaving the guys behind, until I suddenly started to wane and slowed down. Ella plugged in her earphones and disappeared into the distance. I thought I could do with a bit of that so fished out my earphones and finally worked out how to access the music on my iPhone, which sadly took me quite a while. But once I was plugged into Shania Twain it suddenly seemed as if my boots had been powered by rocket fuel and I accelerated with a surge and ate up the track (thanks Shania). I finally caught up with Ella at the entrance to Los Arcos at almost 1pm and we waited for the guys to join us.

We found a nice albergue with 40 odd beds divided between various rooms, and washing and drying facilities. After showering we sorted out our washing and sat in the sunshine enjoying the rest. I opted to retrieve my washing before it went into the dryer because all my t-shirts and underwear are merino wool and I haven’t lost enough weight yet to fit into shrunken garments. However I mistakenly pulled out a pair of Ella’s leggings instead of one of my t-shirts and was then worried about the outcome. Thankfully my tumble dried t-shirt came out the same size as the sun dried one, so now I know I can tumble if necessary.

I used the down time to catch up on my blogging and then we went in search of a restaurant for dinner. The food they serve for the pilgrim’s menu tends to be sub standard in my opinion – plenty of it, but not very good. I shall not choose this menu any more.

I have just heard that the Napoleon’s pass up over the Pyrenees has been closed again, this time due to strong winds. We were so lucky to be able to pass that way, it was perfect timing.

There has also been news that the village we stayed on night 3, Uterga, has been hit by an earthquake. Good timing again. Perhaps disasters are following in our wake.

It had turned very cold during the evening and on returning from dinner we huddled around a wood burner in the common room until lights out at 10:30pm.

Posted in Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Camino Frances, Walking the walk | Tagged Camino blog, Camino de Santiago blog, Camino Frances, Estella, Iráche, Los Arcos | 9 Comments

Day 4, 19 April 2013, Uterga to Estella, 30 km

Posted on 20/04/2013 by magwood

Despite the luxury of a private room for the night I had very little sleep and was tossing and turning most of the night, probably due to a wine or two too many at dinner. It was also extremely windy during the night, which is probably the norm for the area, considering that there are dozens of wind turbines on the ridge that we crossed yesterday. The howling of the wind added to my restless night. Unfortunately it is still howling in the morning when we leave, compounded by light rainfall. So when we leave at a leisurely 8am, we are all togged up in our waterproof gear when we set off for the next stage of the camino.

We struggled against the elements during the first few kilometres until the sun won out and we had to stop to remove some gear. We expected to find a cafe for breakfast at the first village we hit but there was nothing open so we walked on to Puente la Reina, a very pretty town 7.5 km away, where we found a hostel where we could eat a buffet breakfast for a very reasonable 4€, although the waitress did decide to remove the buffet food when she had judged that we had eaten more than our share.

The walk was very pleasant, through rolling green fields of grain (not sure what type, perhaps oats?)

There were some challenging climbs but plenty of easy terrain. Half way through the morning we came into wine territory and the lush green fields become interspersed with vineyards.

We stopped in the village of Lorca for some lunch.

And then continued to the town of Estella where we arrived just after 5pm, having walked 30 km. We found accommodation in a parochial albergue, where we were invited to make a donation in lieu of set fee. Ella had developed an ankle strain during the walk and we all decided to take it a little easier the next day. After showering we went to find something for dinner but searched this good sized town for ages before finding the main square where there was a selection of restaurants, but all seemed overpriced. It does seem a lot more expensive to eat in the north of Spain than I am used to in Andalusia. We returned to the albergue in plenty of time for lights out at 10pm and slept in a room of bunks accommodating 14 people, who were all very well behaved, although I opted to wear ear plugs just in case! Not many photos today due to the rain – I don’t want to spoil my new toy!
.

Posted in Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Camino Frances, Walking the walk | Tagged Camino blog, Camino de Santiago blog, Camino de Santiago., Camino Frances, Estella, Lorca, Puente la Reina, travel, Uterga, vineyards | 8 Comments

Day 3, 18 April 2013, Larrasoaña to Uterga, 34.5 km

Posted on 20/04/2013 by magwood

First of all I would like to thank everyone who has made a comment on my posts. It is great to know that you are sharing my pain and joy. Please keep them coming, even if I don’t have time to respond. And also, I have amended the previous post to include photos. I have some catching up to do with my blogging. We have walked such long days that it is difficult to keep up. I will try to do better! (Written Saturday 20.04.13, please read on for day 3 post)…….

Today started with 30 people walking through my bedroom to do their ablutions, some a great deal less considerate than others.

My merry band set off at 7:00, stopping at the fountain to fill our water bottles.

The start of the walk took us on a track alongside a beautiful river and was very pleasant.

We stopped of breakfast after about 8 km. They were serving tortilla español sliced through and filled with a slice of ham and cheese in the middle. A great idea, but the omelette wasn’t good.

We continued through a pretty village with the sun behind us and I saw a great photo opportunity on the ground in front of us.

When the track led us up above the river the views opened out to the fabulous green landscape.

After 16 km we the crossed the wide river on the outskirts of Pamplona, and once in the city we did some lunch shopping and made our way through the modern suburbs and into the old section which was very characterful.

We had a short rest in a park before leaving the city and heading to Cizur Menor (21km) where we found some grass to sit on, take off our boots, and eat our lunch. We tried many times to phone ahead to the albergue at Zariquiegui, 7km on where we planned to stay the night, but there was no answer. So after lunch we set off first having to tackle a huge and never-ending hill where the path was alongside a busy road, and eventually into open farm land where the camino wound ever upward towards the village of Zariquiegui. The plan was to set off fresh the next morning to attack the enormous climb to the Alto de Perdón and then the steep descent the other side.

However, when we finally located the albergue, we were horrified to find that it was closed and there was nowhere else to stay the night. So at the end of a long day’s walk, having already covered 27 km we found ourselves having to continue for a further 6.5 km over the most difficult climb, rising 200 metres in 2 km and then dropping 300 metres over the next 4.5 km.

We all stoically picked up our rucksacks and got on with it. I was amazed at how well I coped and reaching the top was worth the effort as the wonderful iron figures came into sight at the peak of the climb sitting between two rows of enormous wind turbines.

It was extremely windy at the preak and quite cold so after a few photos we staggered down the other side and into the village of Uterga, where we found that the only albergue was full and the only option we had was to stay in private accommodation at 50-€ per double room. We were all very peeved at having to pay such a high price for the rooms and felt that we were being taken advantage of, but as we did not want to extend the walk, we had little choice.

We finally completed 34 km of difficult camino and were exhausted but ended up having a good meal in the albergue with plenty of wine.

Posted in Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Camino Frances, Walking the walk | Tagged albergue, Alto de Perdón, Camino blog, Camino de Santiago blog, Camino de Santiago., Camino Frances, Cizur Menor, Larrasoaña, Pamplona, travel, Uterga, Zariquiegui | 8 Comments

Day 2, 17 April 2013, Roncesvalles to Larrasoaña, 25 km

Posted on 19/04/2013 by magwood

I got up at 5:45am this morning before the general wake up call so that I could comfortably use the facilities before the mob arose. There were a few people up already, but not many. It is still taking me a long time to organise myself but I had a head start. We left pre-dawn before 7am and set off with our ‘camino family’ through lovely countryside once again. There are many horses grazing the hillsides – very sturdy animals.

We walked through farm land and had to dodge the cow pats. The path continued through more beech forests, with enough inclines to make it very hard work. I found the walking today very hard, nothing in particular hurt that much, I was just generally fatigued.

We stopped at 7:45 am, after 3.5 km at the first village, Burgete, for some breakfast. I had a croissant, but the others all had large portions of pie, and Søren even managed a second portion. He is a big chap and needs a lot of fuel!

We carried on to the next village and stopped for coffee at 10:30 am when we all took our boots off to wriggle our toes.

We continued through the forest until it was time for lunch and found a grassy spot off the track to eat our picnic lunch. By now it was getting very hot but whilst we were in the forest we were shaded by the trees.

We then slogged on to Zubiri where we crossed the stone bridge into the town and stopped for a beer at 2:30 after more than 20 km.

A lot of pilgrims finished their day’s walk here, but we decided to tackle the next 5 km of the camino and arrived at the albergue in Larrasoaña at 4:30 pm. The whole day had been a hard slog but this last stretch was really difficult and the sun had started to pound down on us. We all felt very weary by the time we arrived.

My ‘Achiles heel’ returned to haunt me halfway through the day when the blister I had suffered with previously started to burn again. Then I remembered that I had something in my bag to treat it. I had read on the camino forum that if you see some sheep’s wool stuck in a fence en route, you should collect it as it can be used as an excellent cushion for a blister. I had found some yesterday and had pulled out all the bits of twig and grass and put it in my pocket. So when we stopped for lunch I retrieved it, shaped it into a coin sized ball and taped it to my heel. It seemed to do the trick and helped me carry on for another 10 or 12 km, although after my shower I realised that it needed more attention, so at bedtime I pierced it with a needle and thread, leaving the thread ends running through the blister in order to continue to drain it. This is the advice given for treatment and I shall reapply the sheep’s wool in the morning.

We have gone from an exceptionally well organised albergue last night to appalling conditions tonight. The accommodation is on two floors, with 15 bunk beds on the first floor and two bunks on the ground floor where there are also separate ladies’ and gents’ facilities each with two showers and one loo. Ella and I found bunks empty downstairs and were sharing with two spanish guys. The beds were just a couple of metres from the loos and you can imagine the comings and goings with 34 pilgrims needing to use the facilities. Some very inconsiderate people returned to the albergue after everyone had settled for the night and were really noisy, and continued to shout and giggle for an age, and as soon as they quietened the trumpeters started – such loud snoring that I expect the whole village could hear. Poor Peter was sleeping in the next bed to the main culprit whose friend contributed in a different key and his wife joined in from time to time.

I had difficulty in sleeping because my heel hurt when I lay on my back and my thigh hurt when I lay on my right side from my fall the previous day and I found it difficult to sleep on my left side because my sleeping bag was twisted. All in all, not a very restful night.

Posted in Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Camino Frances, Walking the walk | Tagged albergue, Blisters, Camino blog, Camino de Santiago blog, Camino de Santiago., Camino Frances, Larrasoaña, Roncesvalles, Snoring, travel, Zubiri | 10 Comments

And we’re off! Day 1, 16 April 2013, St Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles, 27.1 km

Posted on 18/04/2013 by magwood

I had pre-arranged a taxi from Biarritz airport (which cost almost as much as my two flights put together) and watched eagerly as we passed by the French landscape. There were mountains on all sides and I wondered which one we would have to cross the next day. The houses are built in chalet style and the land is very green.

It is an hour’s drive to St Jean Pied de Port and it was 9pm when I arrived. Ella had already chummed up with a Danish guy called Søren. I had a quick bite to eat with them at the albergue that Ella had booked us into before going to bed in a dormitory of 14 beds, I think 12 of them were being used by all nationalities. There were two loos and two showers between us which didn’t seem to be a problem. There was a lot or rustling before everyone settled down to sleep and I set my alarm for 06:30 so that I could use the facilities before everyone else was up.

We had breakfast at 07:30 and then I had to go to the pilgrims’ office to get my credential (the pilgrim’s passport that gets stamped at each overnight stay). Ella had obtained her’s the previous day when she arrived. We then set out in search of somewhere to buy something to eat on our journey. There was almost nothing open – what a lack of initiative by the local shop owners – there are loads of people leaving town every day, and I expect most of them need food. We finally found a bread shop and a deli and we set off with Søren on the start of our trek. He is a very useful guy to have around – he is a guide for outdoor activities and so is very knowledgeable about how we should conduct ourselves.

It is 8:15am by the time we leave town and it is literally an uphill struggle that continues for 22km. Imagine la rampa in Cómpeta continuing for 22km and then turning round and walking down it for a further 5km.

The scenery is stunning, mountains in all directions, lots of farm animals close to town and further into the wilderness there were wild ponies roaming at will, all looking very well fed on the abundant grass.

Halfway through the morning we hooked up with a Dutch guy called Peter and the four of us stuck together throughout the walk. Ella found it really difficult to begin with and I gave her my walking poles to see if they helped. I must say that I missed them though. Søren walked slower than his normal pace in order to stay with us and under his instruction we stopped every hour or so for ten minutes and took our boots and socks off to air our feet.

We stopped at 12:30pm to eat some lunch and rested for half an hour in the sunshine before tackling the hardest part of the climb.

There was quite a lot of snow at this height, mostly on the mountain sides but we had to walk through quite a bit of it, and lots of very wet and deep mud. Our boots were well and truly christened. It was however a beautiful day, warm and sunny but not too hot, we were all walking in shorts and short sleeved T-shirts.

After crossing the border into Spain and Navarra We finally reached the highest point at 1,429 metres at 3:45pm and from here it was all downhill, some of it in snow, some in mud, both of which were very slippery. I almost went down in the mud, first of all skidding and then over-compensating and almost falling backwards. I did however end up on the ground whilst walking through a forest of beech trees, but not much harm was done, except to my pride.

Just before reaching our destination we came across the stone that had been placed in memory of the Brazilian pilgrim who had died a couple of weeks ago whilst attempting the route we had just taken.

We finally reached the albergue at Roncesvalles at just after 5pm. The building is an old monastery with accommodation for 180 pilgrims over three floors, with very modern facilities. The beds are in cubicles of four (two up, two down) with very clean and tidy loos and shower rooms.

After signing in and getting our credentials stamped, we showered, did our laundry and wandered over to the nearby bar where we ordered a beer and a pilgrims’ menu for 7pm. There are two sittings, and there were at least 80 people at the 7pm sitting, no idea how many at the later one. But there must have been at least 100 pilgrims who set off from St Jean this morning. I had no idea there would be this number.

After dinner I attended the pilgrims’ mass at the monastery church, not really my thing but I thought I should attend. I then set about writing up my blog but ran out of time to post this one. Wifi shut down at 9:30pm and lights out at 10:00pm.

It is now 10:45pm and I hope I can add photos to this in the morning and post it, so that I don’t get behind with my blog.

Incidentally the guy we are sharing our cubicle with is a very consistent snorer and I don’t know where my ear plugs are!

It has been a very hard day but we made it and hopefully we will get stronger each day.

Posted in Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Camino Frances, Walking the walk | Tagged albergue, Biarritz airport, Camino blog, Camino de Santiago blog, Camino de Santiago., Camino Frances, dormitory, Napoleon pass, Navarra, pilgrim's credential, Pyrenees, Roncesvalles, St Jean Pied de Port | 27 Comments

Almost there, 13-14 April 2013

Posted on 16/04/2013 by magwood

After my long walk on Tuesday I spent the rest of the week catching up on chores including a huge pile of ironing, pulling yet more weeds, and being creative with needle and thread. First, I made a newspaper pattern from a favourite pair of shorts. These are made of black linen, not a suitable fabric to be stuffed in a rucksack for five weeks. I made up a new pair from some tie-dye denim that was in my store cupboard. I then turned inventive and devised a way I could cut down my neoprene ipad cover to fit my lovely shiny new ipad mini (I am so in love with this new toy) and hang it from my bum bag so that it will be convenient to use as a camera during my travels.

Already my daughters are totally ashamed of me for my occasional use of the bum bag. I bought it for my trip to the Far East last year and it was so useful that it never left my hips. I have since discovered that it is an excellent way to smuggle extra hand luggage onto my frequent flights to the UK, either by concealing it under a coat in the winter or hiding it within a cardigan or scarf in the warmer weather. I used to always transfer the contents to a handbag when I reached my daughter’s house, but now I sometimes don’t get around to this and just carry the bum bag over my shoulder. Rosie hates it as much as Ella did. I am looking forward to Ella’s comments when she sees me wearing it with my ipad hanging from it – it is after all a mothers duty to embarrass her daughters at every opportunity!

I also made a clip fastening to attach my water bottle to the waist strap of my rucksack so that it doesn’t fall to the ground when I undo the strap.

I spent Saturday morning doing the final assembly of everything I am taking with me. Again, I have been quite creative with packing. Weight is the ‘be all and end all’ of backpacking travel, and I have cut everything to a bare minimum. I have decanted moisturiser, serum, face wash and hair oil into the little plastic containers that come in hair dye kits in which the protective gloves are packed (David likes to keep his hair a certain shade of grey, so we have plenty of these containers!!). I have also used these to store a supply of painkillers and glucosamine tablets, and all of these, together with a couple of small tubes (eye serum and the ‘never to be without’ eight hour cream) fit into a cotton bud box.

My only makeup is an eyeliner pencil and some lipstick which I may feel like putting on after a shower at the end of a long walk. My great luxury is my small 10x magnifying mirror with integral light and a pair of tweezers. All my other toiletries fit neatly into a sponge bag.

Walking clothes include
Boots
Lightweight waterproof jacket
two pairs of zip off trousers
Home made denim shorts
Merino wool T-shirts, two short sleeve and one long sleeve
Duck down body warmer that can double as a pillow
Fleece sleeves (I decided I didn’t need the complete garment but the sleeves would be useful)
Long johns
Merino wool underwear x 2
Bras x 2
Smart wool Hiking socks x 2
Merino sock liners x 2
1000 mile socks x 1
Fleece gloves and liners
Home made visor, using peak from baseball cap and a portion of buff
Buff (multipurpose head/neck gear to keep heat in or out)
I also purchased but have not packed some Chaco walking sandals, they are just too heavy

After-walk clothes
Beautiful silk skirt (which can double as a tent to get changed under!)
T-shirt
Cashmere cardigan (one I bought in a sales years ago and have hardly worn)
Silk scarf (that I bought for Rosie in India, but it goes so perfectly with my skirt that I have temporarily borrowed it)
Footless tights
Underwear x 1
Crocs (pretty ones). Never worn them before, they are so comfy
Extras packed at last minute: vest top, lightweight cargo pants

Equipment
Treated with bed-bug spray
– Backpack (Osprey Exos 34 ltr)
– Lightweight mummy shape sleeping bag
– Silk sleeping bag liner
– Under sheet (to put over the mattress on arrival at hostels to keep any bugs at bay)
Backpack rain cover
Walking poles (Pacer poles)
Camelback (water bladder that sits in back of pack with tube for drinking – I’m not keen on using this and might send it home if I don’t use it much
Reflective hi-viz vest, cut into quarters, two pieces each to pin front and back when walking on road
Light weight water proof bag – multipurpose for evening use, laundry bag, etc
Small headlight for early morning starts before daybreak (and for finding way to loo after lights out)
Compass
Whistle
Elastic washing line and safety pins to hang washing, piece of rubber for sink stopper
Tiny microfibre towel and strip of towel for hair
Dry bags to pack and compress clothes in backpack
Waterproof money belt
Sewing kit
Bum bag
Water bottle holder
Kitchen knife, ice cream tub lid for cutting food on, stainless steel mug, Spork (spoon/fork)

Technology
iPhone 3gs & cable
iPad mini & cable
Double USB charger plug
Amusing the iphone and ipad as camera to save weight

Total weight of packed backpack is just under eight kilos, not taking account of water and food

So that’s it, all packed and ready to go.

After my bon voyage party on Saturday we continued with our great friends Malcolm and Christine to eat at Curro’s, where they consistently serve the best fillet steak a available, cooked to perfection. Christine and I crossed over at Malaga airport when I returned from Bristol on 14 March and she was travelling to Bristol to see family and unexpectedly stayed away for five weeks. so it was great to see her at last before I left on my travels.

Sunday was spent pulling yet more weeds from our drive with Liana below us calling out for me to throw all the grass in her direction. David came out to help and suddenly I saw him jump in the air and his shoe flew across the garden. When I looked round I saw a large (10-12 cms) centipede scuttling across the drive. At first I thought it was funny until I realised David had been bitten and it was very painful. Luckily we had some suitable medication in the house, but he suffered for several hours and it was still sore this morning.

Anyway, David dropped me at Malaga airport this morning at 08:30 in plenty of time for my first flight to Paris CdG. Because I cannot take my walking poles on as hand luggage I have put everything in an old suitcase and checked it in, and I shall safely dump the case when I arrive at my destination.

I am now waiting in Paris for my flight to Biarritz where I have to get a taxi to St Jean Pied de Port and meet up with Ella. I am well and truly on my way!

Posted in A view of life, Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Preparations | 4 Comments

Bon voyage, 13 April 2013

Posted on 15/04/2013 by magwood

It is early on Sunday morning. I have just come in from feeding Liana and cleaning the stable on my last day before leaving for the start of my journey. David is having a lie in and all is quiet except for the chatter of the birds in the garden.

Before I walk the dog I want to take a few minutes to reflect on what a fabulous bunch of friends I have here in Spain.

After spending yesterday carefully sorting and packing all my gear for the Camino, we were due to visit Lyn and Jens-Kristian for a farewell drink on their terrace before going to meet friends for a meal in our favourite restaurant. David was insistent that we arrive on time at 6:30 pm sharp, and (unusually) I was ready to leave in good time. We can look across the valley to Canillas and see Lyn and JK’s house from our garden, and as we left home I looked over to see if they were out on the terrace already. But my eyes aren’t great at distances and I couldn’t make out if they were there or not.

Five minutes later we walked through their gate and I commented to David that they had put out bunting on the railings up to the front door which looked very jolly. I rang the bell and let myself in, as usual, and Kris was waiting at the other side of the door to welcome us. Lyn greeted us as we climbed the stairs to the living area and she pointed out a banner across the wall (that I had completely missed) saying ‘Bon voyage Maggie’. What a lovely gesture. Lyn was looking very glamorous and I assumed they were going out to dinner after our drinks.
I was ushered through the patio doors onto the terrace and was met by a chorus of ‘Bon voyage’ from a crowd of my lovely friends.

This photo was taken by Kim at that very moment and you can see the look of delighted surprise on my face.

After saying hello to everyone I gratefully accepted a glass of cava and stood by whilst Lyn made a lovely speech and Peter followed on with a few carefully chosen words in his usual witty style. And then we all continued to chat, drink, and eat the lovely food that Lyn had prepared. I was thoroughly made a fuss of and had a truly wonderful time. It was such a lovely occasion that must have taken a lot of organisation. I discover that David has been telling a few fibs about supposed errands he has been on whilst actually helping to organise the party, but I have been so wrapped up in my own plans that I have not thought to question anything. I am very happy to have such brilliant friends.

Here are a few more pics taken by Jens-Kristian