Author: lakewooducc

Day 11

We walked from Santo Domingo de Calzada to Belorado. “We” is Sue, Mark and Jeff. Kim and Malcolm took the bus since Malcolm was still not up to walking with his abscess and infection in his belly button. It took about 20 minutes on the bus to go the distance that the walkers covered in about 6 + hours!

As Malcolm and I waited 2 hours for the bus, we saw Michelle from St. Pete again at the bus depot. Crazy to run into someone from home, again. We took a short walk around the town only to realize that we left our walking poles at the albergue that we had stayed at the night before. They close and lock the albergues usually at 8 am to clean for the group arriving in the afternoon. We went back and knocked and knocked on the door. Finally someone came who had been mopping the floors and he let us in and let us get our poles. Whew!
The albergue that we stayed in at Belorado had a swimming pool. A great relief after all the walking.

Day 12

We walked from Belorado to Villafranca Montes de Oca. Malcolm was still not up to walking so he and Jeff took the bus. We walked through one small, sad town, only to come to another, that was worse, and the third that was really bad. Many villages seem virtually deserted. One Irish girl that we talked to who is walking the Camino suggested that you would have to be born into that small village environment to be able to adapt to it. If you came from anywhere else, you would not be able to adapt to the remote, isolated lifestyle. Malcolm has suggested that you would have to have a LOT of hobbies!

We stayed at an albergue owned by a man who has walked the Camino, and actually also walked to Rome, and Jerusalem, and over 60,000 kilometers as a pilgrim. He was busy working on his hotel and albergue and he gave us a notebook of newspaper articles in a host of languages about his many kilometers of pilgrimage. Amazing!

Day 13

We walked from Villefranca (these Villafranca towns are places where French people who walked the Camino decided to settle on their way back) to Atapuerca. At this albergue, we all stayed in one small room.

Atapuerca is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because in caves nearby, the oldest human remains in Europe have been found. They date back over 900,000 years. There is an active archeological site, and a visitors center, as well as tours of the site.

We booked a tour for the next morning.

Day 14

We got up and prepared to leave the albergue with plans to head to the archeological visitors center for the tour of the actual archeological site where the oldest human remains in Europe have been found. We planned to take the bus to Burgos following the tour, but there is only one bus a day at 8:30 a.m. Then we met Fernando, who was also staying at the same albergue, going on the archeological tour, and heading to Burgos. He told us that we could take a bus from the archeological center into Burgos. When we got to the center, sure enough, we were told that after the tour to the site, we could stay on the bus and it would take us to Burgos. The archeological bus goes to the Museum of Human Evolution in Burgos that is associated with the site in Atapuerca. So, with the help of Fernando, an art teacher in Avilla, Spain, we were able to see the archeological site and proceed to Burgos.

The site was great. The tour was led by an archeology professor. Unfortunately for us, it was all in Spanish. There was an audio visual presentation, and we saw the archeologists digging through the dirt, and there were interpretive exhibits about the life style of the early humans, as well as information about the find and the exploration process. It was very interesting.

Then, the bus took us to Burgos, less than half an hour away, a major city in the region. When we got off the bus, we made our way to a small albergue, then headed to the cathedral, a must see in Burgos. We spent about 2 hours there and were grateful for the audioguides in English. It is an amazing church. One unbelievable chapel after another. Varying styles of art and architecture. My favorite part of the cathedral was the amazing clear glass star in the ceiling in the middle of the nave. Spectacular!

While I was saturated with Atapuerca and the cathedral, Jeff had the energy to go to the Museum of Human Evolution. He said it was amazing, tracing biological evolution as well as immigration and more.

Day 15

We all walked today. Malcolm finally back up to speed. His abscess has drained and is healing, the pain gone, and his strength returning. He had been hoping that the infection would lead to his being sent home, but no such luck. (He misses his friends, the beach, his friends, St. Pete, his friends, his home, his friends, and all things American. . .) We walked from Burgos to Hornillos del Camino, about 21 kilometers. We went through several towns and wheat fields, wheat fields, wheat fields! The walking was exposed with no shade. When we got to Hornillos, we headed to the albergue and got signed in. Jeff and I arrived later than Sue and Mark and Malcolm, and they worked on first come, first served, so Jeff and I were assigned to a different room. No problem. We went out to eat, and then back to the albergue to play spades, which Malcolm is teaching us.

The albergue faced a small town square, where there were benches. About 6 older people from the town sat on the benches and watched the pilgrims. These crazy people from all over the world who are walking hundreds of miles to Santiago, right through their village of some 70 residents, if that! The world comes to them, and they are taking it in!

Day 16

Today we walked about 20 k again, from Hornillos to Castrojewiz. Wheat fields and wind farms all day. It is a beautiful testimony to the harmony of humanity and nature. It was sunny and windy, so the temperature was pleasant. In fact, it was so windy our laundry blew off the line and we had to go chasing it on the terrace and the sidewalk below! Our guide books tells us that we are 460k from Santiago, or 285 miles. We might actually make it!

Here´s an update on the last week or so. Sorry that it is so long
between emails. Our days are busy, what with getting up with the sun,
preparing for the day, walking, walking, walking, arriving at our
destination for the day, recovering, and taking care of business –
like laundry, food, blisters, etc. Then it´s bed time so that we can
be ready to do it all again the next day!

Day 3
We walked from Roncesvalles to Zubiri. The end of the hike was a VERY
steep downhill grade on loose rock scree. It was awful at the end of
a long day. We arrived tired and aching. Malcolm said his feet hurt
more than they ever have in his life! Zubiri was a bleak town. Few
places to eat. A temperamental ATM. We ate at the snack bar at the
sports complex, which was actually quite good. We also had breakfast
there. Again, very good, and the only game in town. The hostel was
large and busy. Bathrooms, showers, and laundry in a separate
building. 28 people sleeping in each room, on bunk beds, which are
standard fare every night. We were too tired to care much about the
comforts of the accommodations and slept well only to get up early and
do it all again.

Day 4
We walked from Zubiri to Pamplona. It was a fantastic hike. Gorgeous
woods along a river, gentle rolling hills, a path along a river,
through charming towns, and some dirt roads through the waving fields
of wheat. Jeff and I walked most of the day with Gino, a very nice
young man from Manchester, GB. He just closed a catering business and
decided to walk the Camino to give him time to figure out what to do
next. We hear this a lot from people. They are walking the Camino at
a time of transition, and are trying to figure out what to do next.
In Pamplona, we stayed at the pension that we had stayed at the week
before. Malcolm wanted a room with a TV so that we could be sure to
watch the final game of the Euro Cup Soccer tournament -Spain against
Italy. We ended up watching the game in the main square on a large
screen in the middle of Pamplona. I think every teen ager in town was
there! And, as you may know, Spain won! It was quite a celebration.
We ate dinner at the Hemingway Pizza Kabob Restaurant, which turned
out to serve neither pizza or kabobs, but wonderful pita wraps. Quite
delicious!

Day 5
We were up and out on the late side. We had a variety of things to
get done in Pamplona, and we headed out separately – Mark and Malcolm
together, Sue, and Kim and Jeff together. While Jeff and I were
looking for a phone store (a long story) we were off the Camino trail.
Four different people stopped us and gave us directions back to the
right path. Very helpful. It was a beautiful walk up to El Perdon,
where the statue-sculpture of the pilgrims shares the hillside with a
ridge of windmills. (This sculpture is featured in the movie ¨The
Way.¨) There are many windmills lining the hills and mountains of
Spain. And we find them quite beautiful. It was windy at the top of
the hill. And there was a small homemade shrine to the Virgin of
Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico. That is the first sign we
have seen of her here in Spain. Getting to the top of the hill means,
of course, an ensuing descent. So, it was down, down, down.
This is the first day that we noticed many people biking the Camino.
I don´t see how they do it on the rocky, dirt and gravel paths, and
given the extreme inclines and descents, yet bike it, they do.
Jeff and I brought up the rear today arriving at the lovely albergue
in Uterga as Sue, Mark, and Malcolm were in the middle of dinner. We
knew where they were because Malcolm had made an arrow with our zebra
striped duct tape on the sidewalk in front of the albergue. Our sign!

Day 6
We walked from Uterga to Lorca. It was hard walking. Very long, and
there was a very steep, long uphill grade at the end, when you are
exhausted. It didn´t help that the temperature was 102! The bright
spot was a huge map of the world made out of used tires on a hill side
that was done by a school in honor of world environment day. We were
really spent when we arrived at the albergue. We were somewhat
revived when we headed to dinner in the albergue. Four other guests
came to dinner, too. We were at a table for 6, so another pilgrim
joined us. Turns out she lives in St. Pete on 4th Street. Crazy. We
have seen her several other times since. After dinner, Malcolm, who
said this was his worst day, revived himself by skyping and
facebooking with his friends on the free computer. The rest of us
played UNO on the patio.

Day 7
We walked from Lorca to Villamejor de Monjardin. It was long and
slow. (What else is new?) But the walk was lovely. More wheat
fields and vineyards. We stayed at a Dutch albergue. They said grace
at dinner, and after dinner we went to a lovely Jesus Meditation.
Very relaxing and peaceful. Today, Malcolm let us know that his
bellybutton was getting much worse. It was infected, a condition he
has had before, but it had progressed and become quite painful. So it
was time to deal with that problem.

Day 8
We took the bus to the nearest town of some size, Los Arcos, where
there is a medical clinic. We got off the bus and asked two older men
standing near by where the clinic was. One told us, and the other
walked us there, just 2 blocks, but a bit confusing. Very kind of
him. The people in the clinic were very kind and helpful. After
giving the introductory information, we were sent around the corner to
the bank to pay 88 Euros. Then we went back to the clinic, and
Malcolm was seen by the doctor, who spoke NO English. He examined
Malcolm. Took his temperature and blood pressure. Normal. Then they
shaved his bellybutton area and put on cream and a large bandage.
They gave us more bandaging and tape, and 2 creams. We were sent to
the Farmacia for an oral antibiotic and ibuprofen for the pain.
Since we had yet to walk that day, we decided to just take the bus to
the next town and proceed from there the next day. So we spent the
night in Logrono.

Day 9
Today, we walked from Logrono to Ventosa. We walked means that Mark,
Jeff and Sue walked. Malcolm was not up to walking, so he and I took
the bus to Ventosa. The walkers left the albergue at 6:30 am.
Malcolm slept in until 8. Then we walked to the bus station in
Logrono and got tickets to Ventosa for 10:00. The clerk selling the
tickets made sure to explain to us that the bus did not go all the way
to Ventosa. It stopped about 1 km away from town and we would have to
walk into the town. 1 km – No sweat! The bus left at 10:04 and we
were at a cafe in Ventosa at 10:30. The bus ride was less than 25
minutes. My brother, our fastest walker, did not arrive until almost
12 noon. So it took just short of 6 hours to walk what the bus
covered in less that 25 minutes! That gives you some perspective!
Mark arrived and we sat at the cafe until Sue and Jeff arrived in the
early afternoon. The albergue, the only one in town, did not open
until 2, so we hung out until then. The albergue was very nice. We
went to dinner at the only restaurant in town. On the way back to the
albergue, we passed the town square where the people were celebrating
the Festival of the White Virgin. There was a stage and a dj, and
there were several dances performed by groups of children, shades of
the many dance recitals we attended when Angela took dance lessons!
It seemed as if everyone in town was there. There were all ages.
There was free wine served, and the townspeople made sure to include
us. They were very welcoming. At a certain time, the music stopped
and all the people headed to the church. It was packed. They sang
and the women came forward and brought flowers up to place near a doll
of the Virgin Mary. When that was done, everyone headed back to the
square and partied until 4:00 a.m. Our albergue was locked at 10:00
p.m. (a common practice) so we were in by 10. This evening, the woman
who runs the albergue gave Mark some kindly advice about how he was
walking the Camino so that he would learn that he does not need to
control everything, to learn to trust, to not worry about what he can´t
control, and to know that things will still be ok. Malcolm and I
witnessed this encounter and we had to keep ourselves from laughing
out loud and shouting Amen! It was great! Very funny. Mark took it
all very well, controlled, as usual!

Day 10
This was our longest walking day. We walked just over 30 km. It was
mostly gently sloping terrain through the wheat fields and vineyards
and a few towns. Jeff said he felt like we were walking across Iowa!
We stopped in Santo Domingo de Calzada. Got to the albergue,
showered, did laundry, found a food store for some provisions for
tomorrow. Then we headed to dinner. Malcolm walked today and seemed
fine, but by dinner, he said he felt sick. He has a fever and his
bellybutton still hurts. He said he feels like he has the flu. It´s
awful to be sick away from home. And here he is sick in a hostel,
sleeping in a room with almost 30 other people, in bunk beds. So,
tomorrow, I will take the bus with Malcolm again, and we will stay in
more of a hotel, we think. It will be a larger town, so we can get
medical care again, if needed. We all feel very sorry for Malcolm.
This isn´t his dream trip under the best of conditions, and sick, he
just wants to come home. I don´t blame him. We will miss being at
church tomorrow and hearing Angela preach. I will try to send another
update in a few days.

Just a quick note to say we are all well. Walked from Pamplona to Uterga today. Last night we watched the Euro cup match between Spain and Italy on a big screen TV in the square in Pamplona. Great fun! The day before we walked from Zubiri to Pamplona.

All beautiful! Fields, forests, great vistas, lovely wild flowers. How they coax wheat and sunflowers from the rock-ridden soil is miraculous!
Sore feet and tired legs, but all in great spirits!

We miss everyone and think of you all!
Much love!