slocamino

Yesterday we stayed in a 400 year old albergue. The structure was made of stones, large interior wooden beams and an old tiled roof with flowers and ferns growing from it. We are constantly amazed by the ancient ruins and centuries old towns we visit and pass through. It is something we just do not see in the states.

Dinner was served family style and we enjoyed a delicious meal with pilgrims from Holland, Columbia, Germany and Latvia. The three of us were also fortunate to have our own private room again with an beautiful view of the village and church.

Infirmary is the title of this chapter because our only concern at the moment are Linda’s blisters and her right shin. In fact they were causing her so much pain that we stopped in at the doctors office in Los Arcos. There they prescribed pain medication and gave her a pain cream for her shin. We are hopping tomorrow is a better day for her.

The terrain we passed through today was farmland, vineyards and small villages. We are stopping a little early to rest up and heal up. Tonight we are staying at an albergue that is public, which means it’s a little cheaper, but many more people. In fact a group load of students just pulled up on bicycles (about 20 of them) and are staying the night here. There is much laughter, loud talking and games going on. One thing for sure is that we never know what to expect day to day on the Camino and that is something we all are enjoying.

Yesterday we decided to venture a little further and stay in the small village of Cirauqui. The night before in Zarquiegui, we stayed in a dorm style albergue with 9 other pilgrims. Unfortunately for Linda and Loretta there was a symphony of snorers that kept them up most of the night (I heard nothing). So arriving in Cirauqui, we were looking for a private room and we got it. We felt such relief knowing it was only going to be us three staying in the room and hopefully getting much needed rest…gratitude.

The “Lady of the House” served a delicious meal of veggie soup, salad, pasta, bread and a yummy custard with a chocolate cookie. It was such a treat and she was one of the sweetest women I have ever met, making sure we had plenty to eat and doting on us. There was only one other diner with us, a 71 year old German man named Klaus. He was taking the Camino in stages. Walking ten days, returning home for a while and then coming back to where he left off. He is quite an inspiration.

We started out the next day at 7:00 feeling rested and ready to hit the path. The day was cool and the sky was cloud covered which made walking/hiking a little easier. In Estella there was a wine fountain along side of a water fountain. We had heard about it, so it was fun to see it. In some of the small villages, school children ran up to us wanting an interview. It must be a school assignment or something? It was fun talking to them and hearing them try to speak English. They were very sweet.

We are staying in Monjardin tonight. Above our albergue is the ruins of St. Stephen’s Castle and across from us is the 12th century Dan Andres Church. Both beautiful backdrops to this quaint village.

We have walked through about 8 villages, up hills, down steep declines, and over rolling terrain. The beauty of the landscape, the Spanish people, quiet moments have made us beyond grateful.

As you probably remember Loretta and I came to Spain in 2014. We had started in St. Jean Pied de Port, France. On our first day out, climbing the Pyrenees Mountains for 13 miles in sweltering heat, Loretta had an unfortunate accident. She had slipped on a muddy rock and shattered her elbow. We flew back to the States and she had surgery within 5 days. Below is what she currently has in her elbow.

Fast forward to 2016 and now we are back in Spain and again attempting the Camino de Santiago. Fortunatley for us, another childhood friend, Linda, was able to join us. We knew at some point we would be back. As the saying goes, “You need to finish what you start”.

We are currently on day 3 of the Camino. Here are a few photos we’d like to share:

We started the Camino at Notre Dame Church in St. Jean Pied de Port with a prayer. The church was everything we had imagined-dark, musty smelling, prayer candles burning, beautiful stained glass and an old docent in robes cleaning. Very authentic.

Notre Dame Church in St. Jean Pied de Port

We started walking the most common route, the Napolean way. It starts out quite steep, but we knew that. Along the way one of the locals offered us coffee from his cafe and of course we accepted. The coffee was cold and served in a juice glass-ha, but so sweet of him.

As we continued to ascend the 11.5 miles to the top of the Pyrenees, we met many pilgrims along the way. Germans, Hungarians, Mexicans, Canadians, Koreans, etc…were all traveling the Camino. We were surprised to see many women traveling it and many women traveled alone.

Before long the continued ascent became very difficult. Let me rephrase. It was so physically grueling and I mean that by every letter of that word. Lanny and I would go many miles without talking to each other just to reserve our energy. We stopped many times to catch our breath and take our packs off for a bit. If you live in SLO all I can compare it to is High School Hill and parts of Bishop Peak. Up to an elevation of 5000 / 11.5 miles. As extremely difficult that it was, we were rewarded with incredible beauty. Hills were dotted with sheep, lush meadows, incredibly breath taking views, wild horses, thick woods, Griffon Vultures with 8 ft. Wing spans and pure silence.

The summit

The descent

Once we reached the summit, we knew we only had 2 miles to go to reach our Albergue in Roncevalle. It was very steep and a bit muddy. If we were snow skiing the path down would be considered a Black Diamond run. We traversed the path to have better footing and then the unexpected happened. Lanny slipped on a muddy rock and broke her arm. We were .5 miles away from our albergue. We thought…what the heck are we going to do!? I could not physically carry my pack, her pack and guide her down. We sat for a moment and contemplated our situation. Thankfully two Hungarians were coming down the Camino and stopped to help us. Peter and Hans became our angels. If it were not for them, our situations would have been much more difficult.

Heading back home

Right now we are in Paris hoping to catch a flight in the morning back to the states. The doctor in Pamplona said that she shattered her elbow and needs surgery.

As difficult as it is to leave the Camino, we both know that this was not our time to be on it. We are at peace with going home. But…we both would love to come back.

This is our last post.

Buen Camino, Lanny & Deb

We are finally in St. Jean Pied de Port. Good grief! We wanted to travel by rail to Bayonne and then take the mountain railway to St. Jean. Unfortunately there was a rail workers strike and we only got as far as Bordeoux. Had a 3 hr layover and then the workers stopped striking. Hopped on an already packed train had to sit in the aisle with people stepping over us…not too much fun. Then we arrived in Bayonne and had to take a bus to St. Jean. This has been quite an experience. We arrived in St. Jean at 8:00 pm after leaving Paris at 7:30 am. A very long day today.

We checked into our Albergue and started sight seeing around St. Jean. This a a very quaint town with cafés, old churches, a citadel with a dungeon and a river that runs through the town.

Excited and anxious for tomorrow as we actually start the Camino and have heard the journey through the Pyrenees is difficult.

Buen Camino,

Lanny and Deb

Lanny enjoying breakfast in Paris

Deb at our hotel in Paris

Sitting in the train aisle

In St. Jean

St. Jean Pied de Port

Well we sure needed the 11 hrs of sleep we got last night. We were pretty exhausted from our travels and the lack of sleep the night before. Today we got up and went to a little cafe for breakfast and then headed out to see Notre Dame Cathedral and the Louve Museum.

The Cathedral was spectacular! We were fortunate to arrive just before 12:00 pm and stay for noon Mass. The Mass was beautiful, spoken in French, but we were able to participate and know what the message was. Our Catholic upbringings definitely helped us.

The Louve is gigantic! It is so huge there is no way anyone could see it in one day. Unfortunately for us, it was closed today-bummer.

We stopped for lunch at a pizzeria. It was so cute…we sought shelter from the rain under an awning and across the alley was the pizzeria. Standing in the doorway was the maître d. He started serenading us with a French song and yes, these 50 year old women could not resist. So we had lunch there-ha!!

The Louve

Notre Dame Cathedral

After an uneventful flight (thank goodness) Lanny and I met at Charles de Gualle.  We took the rail into Paris and then tried to transfer rails, got turned around and started heading back out of Paris. Thankfully we realized our mistake and got headed in the right direction. Checked into our hotel and then set out to go sight seeing.

We must have walked 6-8 miles in our hiking sandals…and yes, we both have blisters. Not a good sign.

This is a beautiful city. Tree lined streets, street musicians, parks, cafés and incredible architecture.

Lanny at the Dome of Les Invalides.. Yes, a former hospital.

Deb at the Eiffel Tower.

Lanny checking the weight of her pack.