Month: August 2022

Walked: Today 6.9 mi /Camino 2022: 45.8 mi

We took a taxi to Zaraguiqui, where we finished our walk from Pamplona on August 14. Our walk began at first light (7:01) and the clouds were covering the top of the Alto de Perdon. As we climbed up the steep grade, we snapped photos looking back at Pamplona… it seemed like the higher we climbed the more the clouds lifted, giving us clear views of where we had been.

We reached the top, took photos, (with the help of a lone bicycling pilgrim), recharged our bodies with a pain au chocolat, then began the difficult journey down the other side of the mountain.

Elena, the owner of Casa Raichu and our delightful hostess, created a wonderful Camino memory for us today.

We arrived early (11:40), but when Jim rang the doorbell, she answered the intercom promptly and when he told her his name, the door opened and she welcomed us inside. She gave us a choice of rooms, checked us in and asked if we would like something to drink. A few minutes later, she returned with a tray of chips, a glass of chilled green tea and beer. She asked if we had clothes to wash and left us a sack for dirty clothes to leave outside our door to wash, dry and fold later in the afternoon, (8€).

Later in the afternoon Elena knocked on our door with two slices of a spinach tarta she had just taken out of the oven… which became our lunch.

She prepared and served us a delicious dinner at 6:30 (not waiting until the standard 7:00)… of mixed vegetable salad, a scrumptious pasta dish and simple pineapple/peach dessert. Wine and water were also included. (14€ each).

Walked: Today 3.1mi /Camino 2022: 38.9 mi

As planned, today was an easy walk, mostly flat, all sidewalks, thru several Pamplona suburbs to the Maisonave Hotel, our base six days ago.

We have been building up our stamina and strength the past week as we successfully took on the challenges of the first three stages of the Camino Frances, sans backpacks, as part of our paced approach. Today, we both carried our full backpacks for the short walk to provide a little extra body building push.

In 2019, Linda transported her backpack (18lbs) most every day, while carrying “essential” items and water in a Camelback daypack. Jim felt more secure continuing to walk with his full backpack (26lbs including 4 lbs H2O). In 2022, until today, we both have been transporting our packs and wearing only the camelback day/hydration packs during our walks. Our plan in 2022 will be to transport Linda’s backpack daily and Jim’s also daily, for now. The additional cost is 5€ per pack/per day… but well worth it.

We walked over the 12th century Magdalena Bridge, circled the huge walls of the fortress, crossed the drawbridge and entered the city gate into the old city, stopping at the Santa Maria de las Asunción Cathedral to get our pilgrim credential stamped.

We then walked another 500 meters to the Hotel Maisonave , our home for the night.

Tonight’s our last night in Pamplona for Camino 2022. We’ve spent a lot of time here since 2012. It has added so many positive experiences to our Camino’s and has become a place in which we feel very comfortable. Hopefully, we’ll find our way back here again.

Walked: Today: 6.4mi /Camino 2022: 35.8 mi

Although today was a shorter walk, it still presented some challenges.

Because Bizkaretta is not a primary stopping point, we had the Camino to ourselves from the time we left at 7:05 until arriving at Zubiri just before 11:00. All the other pilgrims were either behind us or ahead of us. We encountered less than a dozen pilgrims along the way!

We walked in forests most of the morning, eliminating the heat of the sun as a factor.

One challenge came from a relatively short but steep climb out of Lintzoain (200 ft rise over 0.2 miles) on a textured concrete surface.

During the walk, we initially encountered paths/washes that provided difficult footing, but their short duration was not a major hinderance.

The next 3-4 miles were very manageable walking surfaces with short duration and mild elevation changes.

The most difficult challenge came during the 2 mile descent into Zubiri. We encountered frequent sections that were washes, not paths that featured sharp ridges of shale and loose stones that created opportunities for Camino ending injuries.

While tackling the last wash, we sneaked a peek at the tops of Zubiri buildings through the trees and breathed a sign of relief! We exited the forest and a few hundred yards later we crossed the medieval 12th century Puente de la Rabia, into the village of Zubiri ( pop. 435).

We stopped at a cafe for some refreshment and breakfast items. We decided our legs needed a break and some recoup time, so Jim called for a taxi to take us into Villava, a suburb of Pamplona, where we had reserved a room for the night.

We checked-in to Hotel Villava/Pamplona at 1:30, crashed for a bit, then ordered an early supper delivered to our room. Salmon for Jim, spaghetti for Linda, Navarre wine and an apple crepe for dessert.

Reading, blogging and napping filled the remaining hours of another satisfying day on the Camino.

Walked: Today: 7.8 mi/Camino 2022: 29.4 mi

We left Roncesvalles this morning at first light (6:48, 53F and no rain!). Our walk was a pleasant relief from crossing the Pyrenees.

An hour or so into the walk, we stopped for breakfast at a favorite bar just before entering the small village of Burguete.

We walked on into Burguete, a picturesque village….

…exited directly into farmland… then forests, then back onto pavement, thru another village, back into pastureland, back into forest, etc. …you get the picture? If not see below:

We got to La Posada Nueva, a Casa Rural, much like our B&B type lodgings in the US. It was early, at 11:45, but in our experience, the owner will let us check in, or at least have access to the property to wait until our room is ready, which they will often expedite.

Blogger’s note::“Posada” means “hostal” in Spanish, an inexpensive hotel, where mostly, private rooms are rented that usually have private bathrooms. “Hostels” mostly rent beds, in shared rooms and renters as well share bathrooms, common areas including communal kitchens.

Today, we were not so lucky. Jim knocked on the locked front door and shortly a lady answered and in Basque, we guess, explained clearly that she was still cleaning and we could come in at 2 pm or after 2 hours, we think. Jim then negotiated in Basque? sign language and got the wait time reduced to either 1:00 pm or “ in an hour”. The lady said there was no place to wait, so Jim suggested the “jardin”, which yielded the first smile by the lady since the initial encounter. She pointed in the direction of the side of the house… and quickly disappeared behind a newly locked door.

We said gracias and found a large gate and discovered a small area beside the house with an outdoor table and chairs… our makeshift lobby.

It was still quite cool outside so Linda donned her jacket and shifted her chair to a sunny spot. Jim decided to skip the jacket, but also moved into the sun. After 30 minutes, Jim impatiently decided to explore the village on foot, needing some more exercise after our nearly 8 mile walk. When he returned, the lady was sweeping the dust off the door stoop and Jim moved toward the door and received what was assumed to be a welcoming nod. Welcome to the Camino!

For lack of a better option, we agreed to have dinner in the Posada, even though it will not be served until 7:30. So, after doing our “after the walk“ routine, we read, blogged, dipped into our “snack stash” and reviewed the “plan” for tomorrow, until dinner time.

We were the only guests dining tonight in the Posada. We were served a traditional meal of two eggs over easy, french fried potatoes, two thick slices of ham, sliced baguette, a simple, but tasty tomato and lettuce salad (fresh from the owner’ garden) dressed with oil and vinegar and melon for dessert. We also has local Navarra red wine… always good.

Tummy’s full, we headed back to the room for a good night’s sleep.

Back in July, we booked 2 days in Roncesvalles as a precaution in case we needed extra time to get over jet lag and to adjust to the time change. This was in keeping with our paced approach to Camino 2022.

Fortunately, we have overcome the jet lag and we’ve settled well into the Spanish time zone… plus we are recovering quickly from the intense “workout” of the previous two days, tackling the Pyrenees. So, today will give us some additional time to get over the sore muscles. It also rained all last night and it continues this morning. The forecast for today is 99% rain! Tomorrow, the chance of rain is 5%!!! Nothing beats a good plan.😉

Our temporary home, the Casa de los Beneficiados (Hotel Roncesvalles), was built in 1725 for clerics ( beneficiados) who helped the Roncesvalles based canons in their ecclesiastical work. During the 500 years before that, it served as housing for pilgrims, was destroyed by fire and rebuilt and was used as temporary headquarters for a Napoleon general in 1813, who shortly and hurriedly returned to France, freeing it again for los beneficiados. The interior was completely renovated and converted to a hotel in the 1920’s by the Principe de Viana Institution, responsible for the conservation of the cultural heritage of Navarre.

We just took it easy all day and stayed inside to avoid the downpour. We prepared an “opportunist” lunch in our apartment, consisting of croissants (saved from our breakfast) and refrigerated, leftover Carrilleras de Ternera (veal cheeks) from last night’s dinner. Yum!

Tonight we had dinner once again in the Hotel Dining Room featuring a scrumptious ensalada for Linda and baked sea bass for Jim,

Before calling it a day, we re-packed our backpacks for an early departure tomorrow morning.

Walked: Today: 7.0 mi/Camino 2022: 21.6 mi

We had planned to have our taxi return this morning to the Virgin de Baikorri, where we finished yesterday. But on our trip up the Pyrenees by taxi, we decided to cut ourselves some slack for today’s walk. Our driver, instead, drove 2.2 miles past the Virgin to the Croix de Thibault, located at the point where the Camino leaves the pavement and heads upward toward Spain. So the Croix (Cross) is where we began today’s walk.

Immediately, the path became very steep and more like a wash of deep rock laden gullies. This continued for nearly 30 minutes until we finally reached a wider path/ narrow farm road that took us to the Fountain of Roland at the Spain/France border… which was a cattle guard/gate (unattended).

Several miles later we passed the emergency shelter that we and a dozen other pilgrims used in 2012 to get a half hour of relief from gale force winds with horizontal driving rain. dense fog and 50F shivering temperatures. We always stop here for a few minutes, to take a break before the final steep climb to appreciate the beautiful clear, blue sky, refreshing breeze and be thankful for this special, strategically placed refuge.

For the next half hour we climbed a final steep, pebble covered road, passing a beautiful Basque horse (we bet our grand- niece, Abbie, would like to ride) and continued until we reached the summit of the Col de Lepoeder, to begin the trecherous descent into Roncesvalles.

The most difficult 1/2 mile of the Camino, thus far, was the struggle to maintain footing and avoid a major leg injury on the initial descent down the mountain from Lepoder toward Roncevalles. We used our trekking poles to hold us back and maintain balance over the root and rock covered wash-of-a “path”. But even with this extra precaution, each step risked becoming a potential Camino ending disaster. When we finally reached a more manageable walking surface our legs had become like jelly, near collapse.. and we struggled the final few miles into Roncesvalles. Our photos, don’t adequately portray what we experienced. Our photos are also limited because we were too involved trying to survive, to let go our our poles to free our hands to hold a phone to take a photo!!

Our backpacks were waiting for us at our hotel. We began to recover as we sat down while checking in and then made the way to the our room. Our room was roomy, upscale and comfy. The recovery process continued as we lay down and within a half-hour we were seated at our table and eating a ham & cheese baguette we brought with us from SJPDP.

Hot showers followed by a short nap and some blog writing got us to 6:00 p.m. when we sat down for a delicious dinner. Soon after, we retired for the day… still alive… a bit sore… and hopefully getting stronger.

Walked: Today: 7.6 mi/Camino 2022: 14.6 mi

Yesterday, we walked to the Pamplona bus station with our packs and boarded the noon bus to SJPDP. The 90 minute, 40 mile ride on multiple switchbacks up over the Pyrenees Mts then back down into SJPDP left us resolved to never come this way again even if it requires a circuitous detour in order to reach SJPDP by train instead.

Upon arriving at our hotel for the next two nights, we found a note on the locked door informing us that the owner would not return until 3p.m.!!! An annual fete was underway in SJPDP with hoards of celebrants filling restaurant seats everywhere we entered and to make matters worse, no food could be had until 7:00 p.m. … refreshing our memories of this frustrating European tradition.

We finally found a small “dive” nearby and ordered drinks and some frites (french fries) and to use as a base while waiting for our room to become available. We passed the time searching for a restroom and passing by the pilgrim office to get our Camino credentials stamped.

Our room was basic but adequate and overpriced at 76€ per night. We crashed in the room, then ventured out at 6 pm and found a creperie and had galettes for dinner… the only food offering in town. Back in our room, we organized our stuff for our walk this morning.

We began our trek at 6:30 a.m. to take on the most difficult section of terrain on the Camino Frances.

For the next 4 hours, at our “paced” rate of 35-40 minutes per mile, we covered 5.0 miles on foot while gaining over 2000 feet in elevation. We arrived at the Orrison Refuge at 10:30 and collapsed into chairs on an outdoor deck, overlooking the Pyrenees Mts.

At noon after a light lunch and time to recoup a bit, we set out again for another 2.6 miles at an additional gain in elevation of 700 ft. We arrived at the Virgin of Baikorri, 45 minutes earlier than expected and dodged occasional raindrops, enjoyed the cool breeze and the rest, until our punctual taxi driver arrived for our pre-arranged ride back to SJPDP.

Shortly after we photographed the Virgin up close, two frenchmen arrived in a van and went to work on removing the paraphernalia left behind by pilgrims. As they were leaving, I suggested she looked much better. One of the men smiled and said she had been desecrated and showed me a bag of the trinkets and other items they had removed. I asked him where he was taking it. His response was “ poubelle”, which is french for “trash can”.

The most accurate medical description of our condition after our walk was “ pooped”. But since it didn’t kill us, we believe it must have made us stronger. We are also feeling very good about what we accomplished today, having wondered if we would be able to do it.

Walked Today: 7.04 mi Cummulative: 7.04 mi

This morning we unofficially began Camino 2022, walking from our Hotel in Pamplona to Zariquiegui. Though still in transition mode, today we logged some miles over a variety of terrain, at near our targeted 7.5 miles/day pace with less than full backpacks.

We’ll be heading to SJPDP, France tomorrow, via bus to begin the actual first stage of the Camino Frances the following day. When we pass thru Pamplona, several days later, we’ll get a taxi from Pamplona to Zariquiegui, and begin walking where we finished today.

Today’s 7.0+ mile walk was nearly twice the longest distance we’ve walked during our training, which began in early July. The elevation gain over the 7 miles was over 800 feet… over 8 times the typical elevation gain during our training. Our pace was about 6 minutes/ mile slower than our average training pace.

Since we were not overly tired when we finished the walk today, we are feeling pretty good about our strength and stamina at this point. And our fitness level should improve, gradually, as we continue our paced approach over the difficult terrain we’ll face in the next 4-5 days, crossing the Pyranees Mts from France into Spain.

We rewarded ourselves with a delicious lunch at Cafe Iruna, located on the Plaza del Castillo, just a few blocks from our Hotel and located in the center of the medieval fortress of Pamplona and along the Camino de Santiago.

After a 30 minute weather delay, our flight left CLT on August 11 for an incredibly smooth and eventless journey across the Atlantic.

We landed in Madrid on August 12 at 7:03 a.m., essentially on time. In spite of the smooth flight, nice inflight dinner and breakfast, we slept lightly and fretfully(typically), for at best, a total of 2 hrs during the 7 1/2 hour flight.

Clearing customs and retrieving our backpacks took an unusually fast 30 minutes. A free 20 minute train ride from Madrid (MAD) T4 terminal to Atocha train station in central Madrid went smoothly, allowing us a couple of hours to get a second breakfast of cafe con leche and tostadas. Our train departed at 11:35 and delivered us to Pamplona on time at 2:55 p.m. A short 15 minute wait in the shade for a taxi, seemed longer in the 99F heat. Five minutes later, we were delivered to Hotel Maisonnave, our base for the next three days.

The three days in Pamplona are to give us some transition time to recover a bit from losing a night’s sleep, to adjust to crossing 6 time zones and to make a few final preparations on our way to St Jean Pied de Port, France.

Blogger’s note: As we walked out of the Pamplona terminal wearing our backpacks, a gentleman greeted us with “are you the people who are walking the Camino for 68 days”. He (Paul? from Miami) had discovered our blog and was beginning his first Camino. Ironically, his wife has speculated that maybe he’d see us. Perhaps we’ll see him again. A nice way to begin our Camino.

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