Ever think about living with 30-100 people you don´t know? Thats the Alburgue life, some days it´s good, some it´s bad, the place I stayed last night left a lot to be desired, 100 people crammed into one room, but it was free, today I´m living the dream, the Alburgue in Santo Domingo is the best by far, the rooms only have about 10 beds, the place was recently renovated with a new cocina, large living room with sofas, vending machines that dispense beer for a dollar and wine. One thing you have to get used to is at times is the sharing of facilities, for example in Pamplona the men and woman both used the same bathroom , the showers were a bit larger to accomodate that unique aspect, maybe it´s a European thing. The people that you meet make it worthwhile and make the experience fun. Some people opt for the hotels, so far I haven´t felt the need.
Now that I´m 10 days into this journey the routine is setting in, up at 6 AM, pack the bag, hit the road for about 3-5 km, take a break, try to get into the next Alburgue stop before 1PM, get settled in, wash the clothes, talk to those you haven´t touched base with all day, make plans for the evening, get ready for bed and call it a day at 10PM. Some people save time by washing themselves and clothes at the same time, I tried it, it works! Suffered my first injury yesterday, my achilles tendon is a little tight, besides the blisters (which I don´t take part in) achilles injuries seem to be the most common pain, everyone walks around looking a little too old for their actual appearance. But for some strange reason by morning we are back to normal and ready to walk.
One of my early walking partners ended his Camino on Saturday and had to head back to Madrid to the real world, your world. For the past 3 days I´ve joined a German contingent, they seem to be the one country with the most Pilgrims. A German comedian wrote a book a few years back that has put the Camino on the map in Germany. One (Roland) is a teacher from near Munich, another (Isabella) is a dental tech from the south, a mother (Sylvia) of 2 from near Frankfurt, a young lady who will be working for the German railroad soon (Judith) our group also has an engineer from the Czech Republic, Petr, a female police officer (Melanie) from Switzerland and a Naval Officer from Italy. I´ve been cordially invited to visit Germany and Prague after my Camino, so more time in Europe! I´ve finally come across some other Americans on the Camino, Matt from LA, who had been studying in Madrid and a judge from St Louis, we aren´t well represented but that´s fine with me.
The scenery has really changed from the early part of the Camino, I´ve gone from high mountains to forests to farmland with little trees, I am now in the La Rioja province which is the wine region, so for the past couple of days vineyards as far as the eye can see. We soon move into the Maseta, long days with no shade, it´s going to be hard but fun. I plan on taking a rest day in the next big town of Burgos, that will be nice Well, the pueblo is calling, so I will say goodbye for today.
I´ve updated my photos on facebook, hope you like them!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Corrida de Toros- Zubiri Pamplona y Puente de la Riena
Prior to coming to the Camino I read everything I could find, and to finally see it in person is truly a unique expericnce. Like St Jean and the Pilgrims on horses today I encountered a Pilgrim with a donkey, chalk another up for the journey that is like no other. The morning is a great time to walk, the weather is cool, you´ve recovered from the previous day, the birds are chirping and the farm animals set the ambiance with their aroma. But thats OK, it´s all a part of the Camino.
Today I am in the pueblo of Puente de la Reina. Todays walk was one of the easiest so far for the simple fact I sent home about 12 lbs of things I don´t need. So let this be a warning for you when you do your Camino, be careful what you pack cause you gotta carry it!
Over the past couple of days my stops have been in the pueblo of Zubiri where I originally had not planned on staying, but I ran out of water about 45 minutes before I arrived and needless to say when I got there I was done. I sat down in the pueblo plaza and the Camino gave me the gift of the pueblo water fountain. A few minutes later a Spaniard I had met the previous day came into down and he directed me to the Alburgue. The Alburgue was quite a bit smaller than others but still getting used to sleeping with pèople you´ve never met is unsettling for some, I´m a little used to it from my other travels and my time in the Navy. Monday in Zubiri it was so hot! Kind of like those Santa Ana days we get in San Diego, you didn´t want to move, and that´s why the Spaniards shut down everything for a couple of hours in the afternoon, all stores close, nothing, I think they have the right idea!Since Zubiri I´ve teamed up with the Spaniard in my walk and with another Spaniard, the funny thing is they both have the same name, Augustin, makes my life a little easier. Yesterday we arrived in Pamplona, after being in the mountains, on the trails and in the little pueblos the big city was quite a change. It was nice seeing the home of the running of the bulls, too bad that isn´t till July, but I heard it´s a madhouse when it occurs. Today we walked up to a peak called Alto de Perdon. The climb on paper looked tough but we were up before I knew it.
I´ve come to find out I can do about 20-25 km a day which takes about 6 hours give the occasional breaks. The beauty of the Camino though is the people, there are so many from all part of the world. In the past couple of days besides the ones I´ve mentioned in earlier posts I´ve met a Brazilian who had to stay in Zubiri to recover from a severe blister. A young lady from Portugal who always has a smile on her face. I just met a woman from South Africa our room in the Alburgue looks like a United Nations convention. For the most part everyone walks alone on their Camino, to me this is one of the reasons it exists. Today I was thinking the blessing I have that I can do this, good health and the means to do so, so many in our world don´t. I´m often asked how long will you be here, my response I am under no timetable, that is truly a blessing. When there are couples it tends to be the older set, OK my set and older. I don´t think I´´ve seen one in their 30´s or 40´s but that group is well represented by people walking on their own. When we pass a simple ¨Buen Camino¨ is exchanged But when the day is done and we all meet at the Alburgue the friendships continue with sharing of stories of the Camino and life in general.
When you´re on the Camino you have no responsibilties other than to yourself, it´s your walk, your camino, you do it as you please, for as long or short and in pain or good health, fast or slow. I´m holding up well compared to others, probably the biggest injury is blisters, I haven´t had them yet, and from my prvious hikes I don´t tend to get them. Well enough for one day, one of the things I promised myself is I wouldn´t spend too much time on computers and such, and as you all know that´s not my cup of tea anyway. So bye for today, hope you all are all well and thanks to all for the encouragement I get in the emails!
Buen Camino,
Barry
Today I am in the pueblo of Puente de la Reina. Todays walk was one of the easiest so far for the simple fact I sent home about 12 lbs of things I don´t need. So let this be a warning for you when you do your Camino, be careful what you pack cause you gotta carry it!
Over the past couple of days my stops have been in the pueblo of Zubiri where I originally had not planned on staying, but I ran out of water about 45 minutes before I arrived and needless to say when I got there I was done. I sat down in the pueblo plaza and the Camino gave me the gift of the pueblo water fountain. A few minutes later a Spaniard I had met the previous day came into down and he directed me to the Alburgue. The Alburgue was quite a bit smaller than others but still getting used to sleeping with pèople you´ve never met is unsettling for some, I´m a little used to it from my other travels and my time in the Navy. Monday in Zubiri it was so hot! Kind of like those Santa Ana days we get in San Diego, you didn´t want to move, and that´s why the Spaniards shut down everything for a couple of hours in the afternoon, all stores close, nothing, I think they have the right idea!Since Zubiri I´ve teamed up with the Spaniard in my walk and with another Spaniard, the funny thing is they both have the same name, Augustin, makes my life a little easier. Yesterday we arrived in Pamplona, after being in the mountains, on the trails and in the little pueblos the big city was quite a change. It was nice seeing the home of the running of the bulls, too bad that isn´t till July, but I heard it´s a madhouse when it occurs. Today we walked up to a peak called Alto de Perdon. The climb on paper looked tough but we were up before I knew it.
I´ve come to find out I can do about 20-25 km a day which takes about 6 hours give the occasional breaks. The beauty of the Camino though is the people, there are so many from all part of the world. In the past couple of days besides the ones I´ve mentioned in earlier posts I´ve met a Brazilian who had to stay in Zubiri to recover from a severe blister. A young lady from Portugal who always has a smile on her face. I just met a woman from South Africa our room in the Alburgue looks like a United Nations convention. For the most part everyone walks alone on their Camino, to me this is one of the reasons it exists. Today I was thinking the blessing I have that I can do this, good health and the means to do so, so many in our world don´t. I´m often asked how long will you be here, my response I am under no timetable, that is truly a blessing. When there are couples it tends to be the older set, OK my set and older. I don´t think I´´ve seen one in their 30´s or 40´s but that group is well represented by people walking on their own. When we pass a simple ¨Buen Camino¨ is exchanged But when the day is done and we all meet at the Alburgue the friendships continue with sharing of stories of the Camino and life in general.
When you´re on the Camino you have no responsibilties other than to yourself, it´s your walk, your camino, you do it as you please, for as long or short and in pain or good health, fast or slow. I´m holding up well compared to others, probably the biggest injury is blisters, I haven´t had them yet, and from my prvious hikes I don´t tend to get them. Well enough for one day, one of the things I promised myself is I wouldn´t spend too much time on computers and such, and as you all know that´s not my cup of tea anyway. So bye for today, hope you all are all well and thanks to all for the encouragement I get in the emails!
Buen Camino,
Barry
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Le Chemin de Saint Jacques
It took 2 days but I have conquered the first stage of the adventure! Imagine doing cardio for 2 hours straight, well that´s what climbing them was like, and that was only the first day! The second on paper looked even more ominous but in actually it was easier. My first big thing to do when I get to a town with a post office is send some items home or on to Santiago. I was going to do it in St Jean but they wanted 50 euros or 75 dollars to do it. The people are amazing, I´ve walked with Swedes, French, Mexicans, Koreans, South Africans to name a few. The first night I stayed in an Alburgue on the side of the road called Orisson, I went from sharing a room with 3 people in St Jean to 6 in Orisson to over 100 tonight in Roncevalles, but for 6 euros(about 8 dollars) I can´t complain and it´s part of what I came for. They are mainly farmers with a uniique little horse, most of them had recently given birth, imagine a fold the size of a Ladrador Retriever. It took about 5 hours to walk 18 km today, pretty good pace for walking uphill for at least half of it. The Pyrenees also has vultures, they circle the sky looking for dead Pilgrims, glad to say they didn´t dine well the past 2 days. There is a German woman I met who works for Germany´s National Public Radio, she is doing a story on the Camino and will be doing live reports back to her country. Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez recently wrapped up a movie about the Camino, I believe it´s going to be called ¨The Way¨. The storyline as I understand it is the son of the character Martin Sheen plays dies on the Camino, in fact the part I just finished, he comes to retrieve his son´s ashes, he is then inspired to continue the journey his son started.
I forgot to mention earlier that I´ve yet to run into any Americans other than Jonie Miller whom I came over with. I did meet some students on the flight but they were starting from where I am now. Mountain bikers, for some reason the locals like to take their bikes for walks in the mountains, these hills are a little too steep for riding, though I will give credit to some that did, there was an Italian group of 6 cycling the Camino, they plan to do it in about a week, unlike me that will be here happily for 7 to 8.
I forgot to mention earlier that I´ve yet to run into any Americans other than Jonie Miller whom I came over with. I did meet some students on the flight but they were starting from where I am now. Mountain bikers, for some reason the locals like to take their bikes for walks in the mountains, these hills are a little too steep for riding, though I will give credit to some that did, there was an Italian group of 6 cycling the Camino, they plan to do it in about a week, unlike me that will be here happily for 7 to 8.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
L'esprit du Chemin/The Spirit of the Way
After 30 hours of travel I've arrived in the French village of St. Jean Pied du Port. The reality of the adventure I am about to begin is setting in. The climb (in the shuttle) up the Pyrenees to St Jean made sure of that. To think I'm about to set out and walk over 500 miles is a daunting feeling, but with the encouragement I am getting from all of you gives me strength. Today, May 20th is a day to recover from the travel, to a tiny bit of housekeeping, repack and ship items I don't want to carry to Santiago de Compostela, my ultimate destination. This morning is absolutely beautiful, there was a bit of concern before arriving, the weather reports were not good, but we lucked out in that regard, tomorrow the first day of climbing there is 1300 feet of elevation to do. Good to get the tough stuff out of the way I guess, but there will be more of that I know. The plan is to only walk 13 km the first day to the village of Orrison. Oh, BTW, I want to mention this typing is being done on a French keyboard so there may be some typos, some keys such as the A, M, W and punctuation are in a different place, so I apologize in advance.
The alburgue (hostal) here has set the bar high, it is called L'sprit du Chemin (google it), I shared a room with 2 others. The other Pilgrims I met were from England, France, Belguim and a lady from Australia but originally from Brazil; We only pay 9 Euros for the room, the ambiance is what makes it unique, imagine waking up to and spending the evening listening to Geogorian Chant sung by females, it really sets a atmosphere. This morning when I came outside 2 pilgrims were setting off on horseback, I'd read that some do it this way but to see it on the first day was a gift. I want to post some photos but I don't have access for the computer and more importantly others are waiting for the computer.
In closing I want to thank a few people who helped me get here and begin this journey. Senora Anna Camacho, my Spanish la maestra, whose calmness and positive instruction helped me leanr the language, well learned somewhat, Samantha Pfeiffer, my pilates instructor who got me into great shape for my walk, Polo who I bounced my limited spanish skills off of, my neighbot Stacia, who btw is graduating from SDSU this weekend for getting me a camera so I can share this adventure. And most of all just friends and former coworkers who haved provided positive energy toward my goal of doing this, thank you all. So bye for today and Buen Camino.
You can view some photos at my Facebook page.
The alburgue (hostal) here has set the bar high, it is called L'sprit du Chemin (google it), I shared a room with 2 others. The other Pilgrims I met were from England, France, Belguim and a lady from Australia but originally from Brazil; We only pay 9 Euros for the room, the ambiance is what makes it unique, imagine waking up to and spending the evening listening to Geogorian Chant sung by females, it really sets a atmosphere. This morning when I came outside 2 pilgrims were setting off on horseback, I'd read that some do it this way but to see it on the first day was a gift. I want to post some photos but I don't have access for the computer and more importantly others are waiting for the computer.
In closing I want to thank a few people who helped me get here and begin this journey. Senora Anna Camacho, my Spanish la maestra, whose calmness and positive instruction helped me leanr the language, well learned somewhat, Samantha Pfeiffer, my pilates instructor who got me into great shape for my walk, Polo who I bounced my limited spanish skills off of, my neighbot Stacia, who btw is graduating from SDSU this weekend for getting me a camera so I can share this adventure. And most of all just friends and former coworkers who haved provided positive energy toward my goal of doing this, thank you all. So bye for today and Buen Camino.
You can view some photos at my Facebook page.
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