FINALLY ON MY WAY

After great dinner with Istavan and Barbara, it was off to bed by 8. I was beat. I was the only guest at the pension so I had a double room to myself. I tossed and turned for several hours thinking about my start in the morning. But the last thing I heard was the church bells ringing the 11 o'clock hour. The next time I heard anything was when the bells struck 7. So, get up, pack, down to breakfast and out the door by 7:45. Part of the service with Istavan and Barbara is a ride to the beginning of the Camino at St. Jean Pied du Port on the French side of the Pyrenees.

 

I bid farewell to my hosts and my first stop is the Pilgrims Office, to learn of the trail conditions. The Napoleon Route is now open I was told and there is only 1.5 kilometers of packed snow and with all the trail markers exposed. I picked up my scallop shell at the Pilgrims Office and tied it to my pack.(more about the shell later) The weather is great, with clear skies, so the Napoleon route it is.

 

I walked through the town gate as the clock in the tower stuck 9, and I was off, climbing up the hill out of town. After about half a mile up the hill I took my first drink of water out of the hydration bladder in my pack. Fitted with a tube so you can drink as needed, I got about one swallow of water, then, nothing. Maybe the tube came disconnected from the reservoir. So off with the pack to take a look. The bladder was empty even though I had filled it last night. I think when it was in the back of Istavan's car the drinking tube must have been under the pack and it drained all the water out. What to do, go back down the half a mile into town, or.......?

 

Not wanting of walk downhill when I was supposed to be going up, I walked up someone's driveway where it looked like no one was home and borrowed some water from a hose in the garden. Problem solved.

 

On this the first day I am only walking for 5 miles to the Refuge Orisson, where I have reserved a bed. I had read many descriptions about how steep this section of the walk was. People talk about the difficulty of this first 5 miles. Yes, it was steep, and yes my legs hurt, but in the big picture of things it wasn't all that bad. On the road most of the way, I arrived in 2 and a half hours or so.

 

Beautiful views around with green hillsides with sheep and cattle on the way up. Other pilgrims always say hello and ask where you're from. After few words, most past me by. I met Dan from Australia, a women who's name I forgot from Germany, Mimi with her sister Judy and brother John all from Colorado and Jen from Halifax. So far my roommates in our six man bunk room is Lee, from Singapore and a older German, Dutch or something a-rather who's name I did not catch as he speaks no English and I don't speak whatever it is he is speaking. I later learned that he was German and 77 years old. He also snores and kept me up most of the night, even with ear plugs. One of my reasons for doing the Camino was to meet people from around the world, and that I'm doing.

 

You get a token for a five minute shower and I had heard that sometime before everyone gets a shower the hot water gets all used up. Knowing this information before hand I figured I better get one of the first showers. Turns out I was the first so I was thinking I has scored. But as it turns out the hot water heater is a long way from the shower head, so the first half of my 5 minutes was in cold, and I mean very cold water. Such is the life of a pilgrim. Be thankful for what you get.

 

It is customary here at Refuge Orisson that everyone eats at a communal meal at one long table. A three course meal with all the wine you want. So, vegetable soup, pasta with short ribs and for desert Basque Cake. Great food and conversation. At the end of the meal, each person stands and introduces themselves, tells where they from and if the want to, say the reason for walking the camino. There were Germans, and nun from Germany walking in her habit, Spaniards, Koreans, Canadians, Australians, Italians, an Englishmen, one gal from Denmark, and me the lone American. Twenty four people in all. It was a great evening.

Tomorrow is up and over the Pyeernes to my next stop in the village of Burguete a distance of 12 miles. I got smart and booked a single room.

 

 

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PLANES, TRAINS, AUTOMOBILES, AND A BUS FROM HELL

I'm sitting in the Atocha Station in the heart of Madrid as I write this. Everything went according to plan getting this far. Left San Diego on British Air on time and arrived in London ahead of schedule by 10 minutes. Traversed terminal 5 at Heathrow and got to my Madrid flight with time to spare. If you've never been to Heathrow you should know it's big. Follow the signs to "connecting flights", down to the underground train, take the train to the last stop, go up and through security, then walk to the terminal and wait till your flight appears on the electronic board. Flights are posted usually 1 hour before departure. As one would expect, my gate is the furthest away from where I'm sitting.

 

Arrived in Madrid and traversed it's airport. More of the same, go down to the train, take the train, which by the was seemed like we were traveling all the way into the city. Go back up, go through passport control, (no line by the way), walk to baggage claim. The suit case arrived, thank you British Air, find the bus into town, pay 5€ and get ready for an E-ticket ride. After a good 10 minutes of terror, we arrive at another terminal to pick up more victims. I figured we'd be in the city by now, but no, still one more terminal pick up. I probably shouldn't have sat in the front of the bus, but I made the mistake of wanting to see where we were going. It was a near death experience as Senior Mad Man weaved his way through heavy traffic trying to set an new land speed record. It was lucky that no one was injured or killed as suitcases and backpacks were flying out of the luggage racks.

 

We arrived in downtown Madrid in one piece and I walked the couple of blocks to my hotel. Nice room, but air conditioning is out of season here in Madrid. Dropped of my bags, and went to McDonald's for something to eat. I know, but it was late and I was starving. Finally hit the sack about 11:30 for some much needed sleep. But that didn't happen, I laid there and tossed and turned for most of the night in my nice but stuffy room. I think I managed about 3 hours sleep.

 

The next morning, up at 7:00 am, took my walking sticks from my suitcase and squeezed them in my back. By pre-arrangement, I walked to the B&B that Cathie and I will be staying in at the completion of my camino. About 15 minutes from my hotel, up the hill and up 4 flights of stairs. You could tell I was tied and hungry as the stairs about kicked my butt with both backpack and suitcase. Cathie is going to love this place, being on the top floor and all. Then back down the hill to a small cafe I spied on the way up, for my first cafe con leche and a croissant all for the price of just under 3€. Boy did that hit the spot. Then the short walk to the Atocha Train station to wait for my 11:30 departure.

 

Now at Corazon Puro Pension as I write this. Except for the lack of sleep, things worked out according to plan with no hiccups. Tomorrow I start for real,

 

 

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THE TRAINING IS OVER, TIME TO GET MOVING

Well, I guess I'm ready. In five short days, on Easter Sunday, I will be leaving for Spain. Until recently I've had some trepidation about walking the Camino de Santiago. This usually occurs when I wake up in the middle of the night and say to myself, "what was I thinking?" Actually I would say, "what the #$^#%^@ was I thinking?" Luckily that feeling has now passed and I'm really excited about my trip. I am no longer nervous about making my connection in London nor catching the train in Madrid to Pamplona. Things will work themselves out and I'm not going to worry myself sick about it. If I have to start the Camino a day later, so be it, it's no big deal. Receintly there has been a lot of snow in the higher elvations over the Pyrenees, but the weather has been improving. A couple of days ago the pass was still closed due to deep snow. If the pass happens to be closed when I get there, I'll just walk around it.

My training is complete. This past month I walked 104 miles and rode my bike 293 miles. When you add it all up since I started my training, I walked with my pack for 443 miles and rode my bike a whopping 1732 miles. I think I'm done training. I've packed my backpack various different ways to get the weight distribution just right. It no longer bothers me to carry the pack and I have no back pain. Since I learned the correct order in adjusting the straps on my pack, it actually feels somewhat comfortable on my back, so that is a good thing. My boots are well broken in and don't hurt my feet. In fact I've been a little concerned that I might wear them out before I get to Spain. After the shot of Cortisone, my shoulder has improved, although it still pains me sometimes. I'm not gonna let that bother me nor slow me down. I am ready.

I don't intend to blog every day while walking the Camino but only when I feel like I have something to say. So I won't be doing daily updates of, "today I walked X-number of miles from point A to point B." I'll keep the blog updated on my progress but not day-to-day. If you follow me on Facebook, I'll also be posting some photographs there on occasion. A lot will depend on when I have Wi-Fi. But please bear with me when I post on the blog as I will be doing so with an iPad app called Blogsy. I've used this app a few times and I'm still trying to get used to it. It does not have spell check. Also I'm going to be trying to dictate my narrative, so we'll see how that goes.

I feel that I've done all the preperation that I can do. So, lets get to it and see if it pays off.

 

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16 DAYS TO GO

Well, I've been continuing my training at a more relaxed pace, cutting back on the miles.  I feel that I'm in pretty good shape and have learned to live with most of the annoying aches and pains that go with walking 12 to 15 miles a day.  My shoulder has been the exception, so yesterday I paid a visit to my doctor who gave me an injection of cortisone.  Seemed to do the trick as last night was the first time in weeks that I have been able to sleep on that shoulder.

The other day my Pilgrim Passport or Credencial del Peregrino arrived. The credencial is a document that identifies the bearer as a pilgrim, with space for stamps from accommodations and sites along the Camino.  A pilgrim passport is required in order to use the Camino's system of albergues and serves as proof of completing the pilgrimage.

The Compostela is a document of completion awarded to those who walk at least the last 100 kilometers to Santiago.  One presents his completed credencial at the pilgrim office in Santiago de Compostela in order to get your Compostela, written in Latin and personalized with your name and date of completion.

I'll also be carrying this guide book with maps and a description of the route.  It also gives the pilgrim information on places to stay, eat, where to get water and information about sites along the Camino. There are other guides, but I liked this one the best as the maps had more detail than the others.   You could get by just following the yellow arrows which mark the route.

A app developer read my blog and offered me a download of an app he developed called A Wise Pilgrim Guide At first glance it looks pretty good and with the exception of the GPS feature, it works without internet, so I've loaded onto my iPad Mini which will be going along.

I've been watching the weather along the beginning of the Camino, especially over the Pyrenees. Right now the Napoleon Route, or the high route is closed due to snow.  There is a lower route one can take, but most of the off highway trails are impassable, so one must walk on the road.  Currently the weather reports call for rain and snow for the next week.  But a pilgrim must be flexible, so depending on the conditions when I arrive will go into my decision on where to begin my Camino.

Here are some photos of the current trail conditions.

36 DAYS TO GO, THE TRAINING CONTINUES

This months numbers are, 94 miles walking and 286 miles on the bike.  All goes well with the training with some minor adjustments made to my pack.  My back started hurting right between the shoulder blades when I had my pack on, so I've been making some adjustments to it to see what works best.  If I don't get any improvement soon, I'll be making a trip to REI to talk to the experts. The pack weight is right where is should be at just over 16 pounds, before I add the 1.5 liters of water that I will start each day with.  The water is in a hydration bladder in the pack with an attached drinking tube.  I like this best as I drink more water this way since I don't have to take the pack off to get to a water bottle.  

This is what's going in my pack: Rain jacket and pants, lightweight sleeping sack, fanny pack for day use and valuables, (1) long-sleeve tec T-shirt, (1) short-sleeve tec T-shirt, (1) long-sleeve hiking shirt, wool beanie, pair of gloves, mesh bag with toilet articles and medicine, iPhone, iPad Mini w/charging cables, (1) pair convertible hiking pants, (1) pair lounge pants, (2) pair underwear, (2) pair double layer socks, sandals and Camino guide book.  I will add a small first aid kit, clothes pins, small pocket knife and the all important corkscrew.  This list does not include what I'll be wearing.

AND IT ALL GOES IN HERE

Last year I postponed going on the Camino because of painful bursitis in my left shoulder.  Most likely due to carrying the pack, but it's starting to hurt some again.  Not to the point of another postponement, but enough that I've made an appointment for another injection of cortisone.

I still haven't been able to do a real test with the rain gear.  I walked once in light rain an it did fine.  I may have to go stand in the shower to do a real test.  There has been a little rain here in Southern California.  When I started my training walks, I posted this picture on the blog of our brown hills.

Here's what it looks like after a little rain.  Being Southern California, it will soon be brown again.

For the reader (s) out there, feel free to post comments or ask questions in the comment section.  If you have my e-mail address you can use that too.  

64 TO GO, BUT WHO'S COUNTING

This months training included 104 miles on foot and 243 on the bike.  I am now able to power up the hills on my hikes, but I'm still pushing the bike up.

I bought new Keen Boots and have been breaking them in.  I've worn Keens for years and they have never given me problems with one exception.  When walking to Yuma 2 years ago, my feet swelled due to all the walking and I got blisters under a couple of toenails.  So this time the boots are a half size larger and that seems to be working.  My new rain gear was tested in a light rain and it is working better that the previous rain jacket.  Hope for some heavy rain before I leave, or I'll just have to wear it in the shower.  Walked on a couple of cold mornings and with a fleece and the rain jacket over it I stayed warm.

Besides the airfare, which was purchased some time ago, I been making other arraignments to get myself to the start of the Camino in St. Jean Pied du Port on the French side of the Pyrenees.  If all goes as planned it will go something like this:

Arrive in Madrid on 4/6 and spend one night in a hotel near the train station.  In the morning, the B&B that Cathie and I will stay in at the end of the Camino has agreed to store a suitcase for me with my non-camino stuff.  Then take the train to Pampalona where I will be met by Istvan.  Istvan and his wife run a small pension that caters to Pilgrims on the Camino.  He will take me to his pension, feed me dinner, breakfast in the morning and then drive me to St Jean Pied du Port where I will start.  Here's a link to their place. CORAZON PURO 

On the first day of the Camino, you can either cross over the Pyrenees on the Napoleon Route or take the route at a lower elevation which follows the highway.  Weather permitting, I am opting for the Napoleon Route as the views are said to be spectacular.   The route is steep with an elevation gain of about 4,000 feet.  I will do it in two stages only walking about 5 miles on the first day to Orisson where I will spend one night in the Refuge there. REFUGE ORISSON.  The next morning I will cross the Pyrenees into Spain.  After that the only plans are to keep walking.

A little unsettling new is that the employees of the Spain's airports intend to going on strike on pre-set days in the next few months.  One of the days they selected to walk off the job is April 6th, my arrival date.  Here's hoping.

95 DAYS TO GO

I keep at it, the training that is.  I've increased the distance hiking and slightly reduced the miles on the bike. Christmas helped as it fell on a Thursday, a normal bike day.  So for December the mileage was, 87.2 hiking and 370 on the bike.  Starting at the first of the year I'll be doing some back to back hikes to see how my feet hold up.  As I walk along I feel different parts of my body reacting to my hike.  OUCH, a twinge in the knee, OH, my hip hurts, or pain in the ball of my foot.  Several years ago I was diagnosed with Metatarslgia, which means, "Pain in the Ball of the Foot".  That's why at times my feet hurt. Anyway I intend to keep moving forward as I expect that because of the mileage traveled, I will always have some pain.  That's what they make Ibuprofen for, which is known on the Camino as "Camino Candy".

I continue walking on trails around my home, and have started putting some hills in the mix.  Here's some photos of the scenery along the way.

Typical Southern California brown.  We did have some rain this past month, so I was able to finally test out my rain jacket.  A little rain jacket history first.  A couple of years ago I bought a Marmot Precip jacket.  It leaked.  Big time.  Then in England a couple of years ago, I bought some inexpensive rain pants.  On the same trip and while in Germany I bought an Icepeak  rain jacket, which was made in Finland and came highly recommended.   With the recent rains, I took out the rain gear for a test.  The cheap rain pants preformed well, keeping the bottom half dry.  The Jacket started out fine, but after 40 minutes of steady rain, I was pretty much soaked through.  So, back to the drawing board.  Actually, back to REI, where I've been spending much of my free time, not to mention money.

This time, with the help of the fine folks in the store, I selected a Outdoor Research Foray Jacket, made with Gore-Tex, so we shall see.  I should mention that my Tilly Hat worked well.  Shading my face, ears and neck in the sunshine and keeping my head dry when in rains.

So, you want to know more about the Camino?  Just mention it in my presence and I'll be happy to fill you in on all the details.  It some how enters many of the conversations I have.  It seems that it occupies most of my thoughts as of late.  Now if you don't want to know about the Camino, then it's best not to start a conversation with me.