uncategorized

1 and 2 May – a Long Walk Day and a Short Walk Day

May 1st we walked from Ayegui to Sansol, almost 27 kms with a fair bit of ups and downs. Our feet were so sore at the end of the walk! 

Here are some photos from the walk:


At the end of the day we got to eat paella. It was good:


May 2nd we took our time in the morning, slept in (or what passes for sleeping in on the Camino, get up at 7, start walking at 8). 

The view back to Sansol as we were leaving:


As a side note, the roof tiles in Spain are fabulous!


It was overcast when we left, but pretty soon we could hear thunder rumblings, then the rain came and we put on the ponchos:


It rained with lightning and thunder for the rest of the morning, while we hiked up and down through vineyards and other fields.


Here is my brother, in the rain, poncho on, trying to figure out how wine is made:


We got to Viana, our destination, at about noon. We heard from peregrinos coming after us that there had been a tremendous downpour with hail and wind and lightning, but we missed it. All peregrinos coming in, including us, were quite wet. The dorm rooms have wet clothing and gear hanging everywhere! 


That’s it for now. As they say here in greeting: “Buen Camino!”

30 April – A short walk day from Lorca to Ayegui

Today we walked from Lorca to Ayegui. It was a short walk, about 11k, more of a rest day after a couple tiring days.

These are the signs we follow. Often it is just a yellow arrow painted on the trail, or a building, other times it is just the sign of the shell.


We walked through Villatuerta. Below is a picture of the bridge going out of town:


A kind fellow peregrine took our picture:


We have been seeing so many poppies growing wild next to fields! They are so beautiful. 


There are also all these old buildings, really old they are, churches, monasteries … they seem to be just stuck out there, and I wonder, why were they built there? 


I asked a Spanish peregrino today if he knew why people built so many large buildings in the past. He told me, “Because it was cheap. Now it’s expensive.” I would have never thought of that.

Walking into Estella, a town just before our destination, there was a large church building being renovated:


Below two pictures of the river through Estella, walking in and then out of town:


Our destination, Ayegui, was only about a k further on. Tomorrow we have a long walk. 

28 & 29 April – The day the lights went out and the next day


Monday 28 April started quite normal, clear, cool and fresh.

We walked from Pamplona to Uterga over the Alto de El Perdón. Alto del Perdón, also known as “Hill of Forgiveness,” is a prominent peak and a significant landmark on the Camino Francés. Situated at an altitude of 770 meters, it offers panoramic views of the surrounding landscape and is marked by a monument to pilgrims. A metal sculpture on the summit represents pilgrims from different eras, symbolizing the historical and enduring nature of the Camino. 


When we got to the hostel at Uterga, we were told the power was out (no lights, no hot water, no washer/dryer, no wifi). The power was out in Spain and Portugal, maybe even all of Europe. The rumour was that it was a cyber-attack, Putin’s fault (it wasn’t). Trains, airplanes, banks, card machines, elevators, nothing was working. With all the weirdness currently in the world, it was a bit scary. But, we took a cold shower, had some food (yeah for gas stoves!), and by 9:30 everyone at the hostel was in bed and most were sleeping. 

Power came back on sometime during the night and things returned to normal by morning. 

29 April was an up and down and up and down walk from Uterga to Lorca, through fields of wheat, peas and other vegetable products. For some reason it was a very tiring day. Wifi is not too strong at the hostel here, but here are a couple pictures from today’s hike:


We have hiked more than 100 kms so far! About 1/8th of the hike to Santiago. I feel healthy and good, but very tired. Very tired. Good night!

27 April – to Pamplona


The day started with a good breakfast at the albergue. When we started walking, it was raining softly. It had rained quite a bit overnight. The river through Zubirí had grown and was brown with dirt-wash from higher up. All the creeks and rivers we crossed were like that. 

The trail was easier than yesterday for the most part, but still quite muddy and slippery in places. It stopped raining shortly afternoon, it was colder and windier than before, but it also had cleared up nicely by the evening in Pamplona. 

We made it to Pamplona by about 4pm, very tired, with sore legs and muddy shoes. All in all this was just a quiet, little bit slow day, no big surprises, no bad things day.

Here are a few pictures from today:

26 April – to Zubirí 

It was raining when we started walking this morning, and it rained most of the day, although right now, at about 5 pm, there’s a bit of sun. It was cooler than the first 3 days. The rain ponchos came in real handy. 


The first small town we walked through is Burguete-Auritz. It seems to have a lot of dairy farms close. One cow was drinking rain water:


Just a bit later we saw a horse eating …. chocolate?


I was surprised that the landscape is so lush and green, lots of beautiful trees, lots of wildflowers, distant hills and housing groups, just really pleasant. 


We had lunch at La Taberna del Dragón Peregrino – delicious! I had tortilla de espinaca (spinach tortilla), a coffee, and shared a small round warm chocolate cake filled with tasty melted chocolate with my brother. 


Walking on, we heard a cuckoo. I was so surprised – somehow I had not put it together that cuckoos are real birds, not just clocks. The birds sound just like the clocks. 

The trail goes up and down and up and down until the last steep down (about 3k) into Zubirí. This was rather treacherous, with slate outcrops and loose rocks and lots of slippery mud, and so far the least enjoyable part of the Camino. I was worried I would slip and fall and break my arm (again!), but luckily nothing bad happened. 


Now we are in Zubirí at the Albergue El Palo de Avellano. Next … dinner, sleep, and tomorrow on to Pamplona.

25 April – From France to Spain


This morning we took the Transport to take us to the place where we stopped walking yesterday, so we could then continue over the pass into Spain and down to Roncesvalles.

It was a glorious morning, clear blue skies, pleasantly warm temperature. The hiking was good. We saw faraway clouds in the valleys, horses on the green hillsides, and even a Food Truck with homemade sheep cheese, snacks and a variety of drinks.


Further on the trail became steep for a while, then we walked through some beautiful trees, went by water stations and found some lizards:


We made it to Spain! Yeah!!


And eventually, after some steep downs and some very beautiful woods we made it to Roncesvalles. The albergue is HUGE! The church beautiful. The bunk beds are comfortable, the air fresh and clean, and I am happy.

24 April – from St Jean to the Virgen D’Orisson

We are finally walking! 

The first stage of the Camino Francés goes from St Jean in France over the Pyrinees to Roncesvalles in Navarra, Spain. It is a steep 1210 metres uphill and 460 metres down. We decided to do this part in 2 stages. First day a bit less than 1/2 way to the Virgen d’Orisson at about 1100 metres elevation, take a transport back to St Jean, next morning take the transfer back to the statue of the Virgin and walk the rest of the way to Roncesvalles. So that is what we did. 

Some pictures from our first day as peregrinos: