The good news (I hope) is have a charger and I’m still online.

Before I start today I have one more thing from yesterday. As I sat out in the very nice garden behind the albergue enjoying my wine a group across the way called out for me to come play a card game. I figured why not. It was an Israeli physical therapist, an Italian nanny and an American guy that looked like Jesus, he was a mathematician that had come on the walk because he didn’t like teaching college calculus to students that were required to take the course. An amusing group. It was the Israeli girls game that consisted of colored cards with animals. You had to match colors and animals as the play went around. However you also had to make the sound of the animal as you played and when you had to draw you had to say a word that supposedly was a very inappropriate reference to someone’s mother (in Hebrew). I lost big time the first round but when I shuffled they all thought I must be a Las Vegas dealer. I think I psyched them out and won the next 3 games.

On to today…..

I must be getting used to sleeping with 20 people, I slept we’ll through the night and got up around 7:00. I walked down to the bar for a coffee and tortilla (egg, potato casserole) and was on the path by 7:30. As I looked back the sun was rising behind the town.

The colors were great in the vineyards and along the path.

I arrived in Najera with a shopping list. iPhone charger, compeed (plasters for blisters) and an ATM. Well the chineese electronics place I’d heard about was out of business. So I went to the pharmacy and found the compeed. The Pharmacy girl sent me across the street to an “electronics” place that looked to specialize in cooking equipment. I waited about 15 minutes for it to open. The lady looked hopeful but didn’t have what I needed. She sent me down the street to another pharmacy (maybe with a mobile phone center). On the way I passed a place with Apple equipment in the window. I stood there looking at it when a man came up and opened the shop. I pointed at what I wanted. He had the plug part but no cable. He talked a lot but I said no comprendo. He suddenly left, went upstairs and came back with an unpackaged cable that looked right. We plugged it in and it worked. So I’m back in the iPhone business.
Down the street I found an ATM, so I was 3 for 3!!

As I happily left town the view reminded me of Durango Colorado with the red sandstone rocks behind the town. This is actually the red clay ground that makes the great La Rioja wines of this region.

I had decided that I would head off the camino today. It was a two fold purpose. It was first to see a Cistercian Abby that was about 6km away and second to reward myself for 10 days of walking and stay in a hotel (a room to myself). Once in Azofra I broke rank and headed down the highway away from the camino. I feared sirens might sound like a prison break but nothing happened. I walked along a two lane highway with the occasional car speeding by at 60mph. It made me appreciate how the camino avoids walking on a road. Finally I could see the Abby in the distance.

The Abby is famous for it’s alabaster windows that make the inside very bright. The village is very small but it has a hotel/restaurant right across the street.

I wandered into the bar getting odd looks from the 3 old guys there. I told the woman behind the bar I’d like a room. She pulled out a book flipped through the pages and said she thought they could accommodate me (I don’t think anyone else is staying here). I got a small room for €22. After a short rest I went and toured the Abby. It was all very interesting. I spent about 90 minutes and was literally the only person there. The worker lady kept running ahead of me to open doors and turn on lights.

At 8:00 I went down for dinner. Again the bar lady switched on the lights and I took a seat, she became the waitress and cook. Instead of a menu she brought a page of food translations and we worked through making my selections. It was pretty funny. I ordered a bottle of wine and a nice dinner. Mixed salad, carne guisada and a tart.

I’m now laying in my bed, drinking the remainder of my wine, it’s after 10:00 and the lights are on!! I’m living on the edge. I’ve told them I’d be down for breakfast at 8:00. Then I’ll make my way on to rejoin the camino. I hope I haven’t caused a rift in my camino karma. It’s been a nice day but I think I miss the way.

22.9 km
34631 steps

I’ll keep it short today. I lost (left) my iPhone charger so power is now precious. I borrowed a charger today when I arrived so got a full charge and can hopefully buy a replacement tomorrow. Today started in the city and went through the city streets to the outskirts. I had trouble at times finding the markers. The path went through many parks and by a lake where I stopped for coffee. Next came the countryside walking through the vineyards of La Rioja. I met several interesting people today including a young Spanish fellow that was an airplane jet mechanic. I decided on a shorter walk today and stopped in Ventosa at a cute albergue. It is all new people that I don’t know from all over the place. I’ve bought bread, cheese, olives, soup and wine to eat in tonight. The albergue has a kitchen. It was a great day and the little village is a nice change after Logrono. As I walk around I saw an old couple roasting red peppers, an old guy shucking walnuts (they have a green hull around the shell) and another old guy spreading out almonds (still in the husk) to dry in the sun. This was about all the activity in this small town. It was very nice. Hopefully I’ll find a charger tomorrow (the lady at the albergue said there was a Chinese store in the next town with everything). If I go dark for a few days don’t worry.

20.3 km
36003 steps

Though the room was small I had my best sleep yet. And a bonus was the albergue provided a great breakfast. Coffee, hard boiled eggs, juice, cereal with bananas, bread with jam and Nutella and homemade coffee cake. I ate well unlike yesterday. I set off at 7:30, my new favorite time. There were a few pilgrims out but not many. The morning was cool and the sun was rising.

The path moved through gently rolling farm land. At one point I came upon some men spreading nets under trees to harvest something. I thought it was olives but it turned out to be almonds.

The path continued. It was really a nice day. The sky was clear but it was cool with a light breeze. I used my gps to learn how long it took me to walk one km (I’m trying to move beyond miles). I walk a mm in about 11 minutes or 1250 steps. As I walked I came to an area where pilgrims and made little rock cairns with messages and mementos.

The walk was long today and I walked through the suburbs for a while before arriving in the city. The path is well done to avoid to much roadway, somehow winding through pathways and delivering me to the old city. The municipal albergue is 3 stories with several rooms of 24 beds each.

At 4:00 I walked around the old town, it was dead like something from an apocalypse movie. I went back and rested. At 6:45 I went again, the streets were alive. People walking, street performers, food stalls … The place had come alive, the Spanish take there siesta time very seriously.

Walked 28.9 km
51903 stepsa

Two things from yesterday: First we crossed a bridge that marked the 100km mark.

Second there was a bodega that provides a free wine tap to pilgrims. Martin and I passed it in the evening but it was dry. So this morning at 8:00 I passed again and partook in a bit.

The albergue last night was different. It was after the other places and was in a community center complete with a euro handball court. The bunks were downstairs and not very full. I snagged a bed in the corner with no one around. I slept pretty good. I left about 7:30 but there was no coffee and no towns near. It was my first coffee free day in a long time. I took another alternate path that went higher for great views with very few pilgrims. Once rejoining the other path we continued through rolling pastures and vineyards. It was a great walk. The weather was overcast , cool with a nice breeze.

After a relatively short day I arrived at Los Arcos, a cute small village.

I selected a private albergue with 3 bunks in each small room (but they provide a breakfast!!).

I’ve been craving fresh vegetables so I went to the small square and had a great salad.

While sitting there I saw other pilgrims that would stop to chat. I skipped dinner tonight and visited with one of the crazy Irishmen from a few nights ago. The weather seems to have turned cool. I had to put the legs back on my shorts and break out my light jacket. The night was clear so tomorrow may be sunny and hot. All is well.

20.4 km
32185 steps

During the night I woke and saw lightening and heard the rain. In the morning it was still raining so it was time to prepare for wet. I have a rain jacket and a cover for my pack. The rain was a steady drizzle. Left about 7:30 and started walking. The air was cool and as the started it was gray and wet. I walked to the next town and went through a great old town and crossed a bridge across the river.

The path went through small villages, farm land, vineyards, and olive groves.

I met up with Martin and Jane from the UK and with Halley from Edmonton Canada. We walk for a while talking then stop in a small village for a light lunch.

I left and walked alone for awhile. It was still cloudy but no rain. It was cool and walking felt good, unlike yesterday when the warm temperature made me tired. I decided to take a detour from the path that went up to the ruins of an alburgue from the 1500’s. As I was stopping for a drink Martin, Jane and Halley came up. Martin asked if he could go and we detoured away sending Jane and Halley forward to meet up later at an albergue. Once off the main path there were no other pilgrims. Martin and I told each other about our journeys until we got to ruins.

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It was very cool to think that pilgrims had stayed here hundreds of years ago.

I slept great in my little pod. There was a decent breakfast and no rush to leave. I rolled out about 8:30. The streets were empty.

I walked up to the cathedral before leaving.

As I walked from town I passed two elderly woman pilgrims that commented on my long legs. We laughed about my speed and I continued on. There were markers on the sidewalk showing the way. After a bit I realized I wasn’t seeing markers, I was off track. I spun around looking for pilgrims and saw some off in the distance. I turned and headed toward them. Back on track but then I had to pass the two women who chuckled that I was not making as good of time after all. Very quickly the city sidewalks gave way to paths through farmland. In the distance huge windmills were on the horizon. From my book I knew this was the halfway mark for the day (zoom in on the picture to see them).

As I continued I saw what looked like huge buildings but were actually stacks of hay bales. It reminded me of the scene in The Way where they meet the Irishman.

The trail continued to climb with the windmills getting closer.

Finally I reached the top of Alto de Pedrón. There is a art piece there representing pilgrims.

But don’t think I was there alone. It was Sunday afternoon and it was a popular place.

Down the other side the trail continued through farmland. I took a detour to an old church out in the country. It had a octagonal cloister around it.

I then walked into the next small town and found an albergue for the night. 18 bunks in one room.

I had a beer with an interesting British couple. The woman is retired from IBM and the man is self employed. We went to a pilgrims dinner and the table was very fun. A mother/daughter from Edmonton Canada, the British couple, two elderly French guys, and a graduate student from Montreal. We had a barley broth, a good bean and vegetable soup, fish in a good tomato sauce, potatoes, cake and wine. All good for 12€. The French guy kept referring to how big I was and seemed to be saying I had been well fed as a child (which I guess is right). I get breakfast in the morning and I’ll try to leave around 7:30 when it is cool. Today was rather hot by 3:00 so maybe I can stop earlier tomorrow.

Last nights room consisted of 7 bunks and 14 people. None the less it was the best sleep yet. But at 5:30 the stirring started. I refused to get started in the dark so I stayed in bed as more people got going. The albergue required we be out by 7:30 so I eventually got started, had a cup of machine coffee loads the pack and started, one of the last. It was just starting to be light. I took a picture of the place as I left.

The morning was cool and very quiet. I left the small village and the trail went along a small stream.

After about 3km I arrived at a small cafe by the stream. I had a coffee con leches and a tortilla (scrambled eggs on delicious bread). I continued on as the terrain continued to change. Forest to rolling hills. I passed through several cute old villages.

Slowly I approached the out skirts of Pamplona. I’d been walking alone but as I approached town I caught up to a group of three. I walked with the for awhile. The daughter was about 50 from Bellingham and she was with two elderly men, one her father about 75. He was a farmer in the Okanagan Valley of BC. He had raised apples and other produce. He was very knowledgable about the wine industry that has grown very fast there. Eventually they stopped to buy a SIM card. We were now firmly in the suburbs.

I then walked the rest of the way into town with an Irishman that was a retired principal. As we approached town we came to a nice park so I stopped and say by the river. It was about 11:00. At noon I walked in to the old city and stopped at the first private alburge, one I had read about. I was greeted by Ceasar and very enthusiastic Spanish man. He helped check in to a very clean modern place. It reminded me of hotels I’ve heard about in Japan that are very small bed rooms.

There was storage for our stuff but we had to put our packs downstairs.

I did the routine, the facilities were great, I even splurged and used the washer dryer for 6 euro. I rested, I read, I napped. Very nice. Later I walked around old Pamplona. It was a very European old city. Cathedral, squares, shops, cafes and bars. I ran into one of the Irishman from last night and a woman I met the first day. I sat with her (ate her French fries) and talked about which pilgrims we’d seen. Later I stopped for tapas and wine before heading back to the Albergue. I had great wifi so I face timed with Carolyn, mother and Kathleen. I don’t have to leave until 9 tomorrow and breakfast is provided. I’m seeing a slow start to my day.

Walk 15.8km
Steps 37357

First a feature of my blog is located in the menu item titled About. If from time to time you look at the About menu you will see a map of my progress. It appears to work best if you click on “map” to turn off the satellite view. It also seems to work best on a computer.

Last night the lights were switched off at a 10 and quiet fell over the albergue. At 6:00 the lights came on and the place came alive. The sun doesn’t rise until 7:45 so what to do? I could think of nothing but walking. So I put on my headlamp and started down the path…in the dark…without breakfast. After 45 minutes I came to Burguete and found a bar (cafe) open. As the sun rose I had the most wonderful tart of cheese, sausage and potatoes along with two coffee con leches. Delicious. Today’s walk was through a variety of landscapes. Pastures, rolling hills, small villages, scraggly under growth, old forest and pine forest. Today was a long walk and I passed the preferred stop to go on 5km to get closer to Pamplona for a shorter day tomorrow.

I arrived in Larrasoaña, a very small Spanish village, and checked into the municipal Albergue. For comparison last night was the Four Seasons, tonight the place that was a Motel 6 thirty years ago. But it was a whole new group of people. As I waited in line this older Irish gentleman kept asking what the manager was saying. I had no idea, she was speaking Spanish.
I started my routine and when finished. Walked down to get some bananas for tomorrow. On my way back one of the women from Holland I knew waved from the patio outside the only bar. She was with the Irish guy I’d met (and that was in the bunk above mine). I stopped for a beer. Soon two other Irish guys joined us and the Holland lady left. The Irish guys were a riot. They had an amazing knowledge of American TV, movies and 80’s/90’s music. They were interested in US affairs and had a great time with all things Texan. (JR and Dallas). They kept going to buy pints of beer and would bringing me a small glass of beer. They said they were protecting me from the Irish way… No complaints from me. We finally went to the pilgrims dinner and I had wine, garlic soup, beef stew and ice cream. Afterwards after one more glass of wine I headed back to the albergue to find a interesting sing along from the albergue crowd underway. It sounds goofy but was really fun to watch. I have some video.

Today was a long walk, my upper thighs were tired. Tomorrow will be shorter.

Walk 27 km
Steps 42447
Elevation up and down.

I’ll start by explaining something I got several comments about and that was the short nature of yesterday’s walk. There are many books that outline the route and suggested stages for the camino. Each is slightly different. The one used by many English speaking pilgrims outlines 33 stages. The first stage is considered the hardest of all. 25km with a 1500m climb and a steep decent with very few intermediate facilities. After a 20 hour trip to get here it can be grueling. Orisson (where I stayed) is one of the alternate stops but it is small and usually fills with reservations. So I chose this as my first night (reserving in advance …the last reservation I have). Great decision because it was a beautiful location and the communal meal was very nice.

Also I have gone back and posted some additional pictures from yesterday since I had very poor reception at Orisson.

Last night I slept well until about 1:00 then woke up. It was very hot in the room and after awhile I put on my jacket and went outside. Above I could see the Milky Way very clearly and off in the distance I could see huge thunderclouds with a great lightening show. I went back to bed and was able to get back to sleep. This morning after a light breakfast I set off at 8:00 as the sun came up. Today I was toward the back of the departures.

The road headed up climbing toward the top of the Pyrenees.

Eventually the path headed up a steep trail. I passed sheep, horses and cows along the trail.

Finally I reached the top and started back down. The terrain changed from open countryside to forests. The trail got progressively steeper working a new set of muscles.

Finally I broke out in Roncesvalles my destination for the day. It is an old Monastery that has housed pilgrims for centuries. They have added a new wing in recent years.

This albergue is different from the private ones of the last two nights. This is a community albergue and is very large. There are 3 floors with 70 bunks each. So there are lots of new faces and lots of people. It is actually nice with cubicles of 4 beds each. I’m on top bunk tonight, so far my dismount has not been pretty.

Tonight I went looking for a glass of wine and came upon a mother/ daughter from BC Canada. I invited myself to have a seat (the mother was a hoot….loud, funny and a great story teller. They had been at Orrison and slowly a group of others joined. They were all going to the Pilgrims dinner (dinner/ breakfast isn’t included at community albergue) at the place we were at so I joined up. It started with so, so pasta (containing a some good chorizo sausage), followed by a very good whole trout and fries, with yogurt for desert and of course wine. I talked to a really cool retired teacher from Oregon. She had just retired 1 year ago. She immediately came to Europe for the first time and has been traveling ever since. She was 67 and was really fascinating. Afterward I went “home” to make my bed and organize my stuff before people started going to bed (it was 8:15). Sure enough while I was there the Irish couple that were across from me came back and went to bed (I anticipate they’ll be early risers). I’ve now at one of the two bars for one more glass of wine and to finish writing. So far my shoes are great. (No blisters), the pack feels good (though I could feel its weight in my knees going downhill) and I haven’t lost anything (I don’t think). I’m off tomorrow with no specific plans.

Walk 17km
Elevation change 600m up/600 m down
Steps 33844

Last night as dinner ended big storms blew through with lightening and wind. However, this morning was cool with mostly clear skies. I slept pretty well. Laszlo and Gabor started moving about at 6:30 so I decided to get up. There was a small breakfast downstairs of cereal, bread, jam and coffee. I messed with my stuff awhile and decided to get underway. I was the first one out of the albergue at 8:00 (slow group I guess). As I looked down the street I could see a few pilgrims headed out of town.

And so I started to walk. It was mostly uphill but I just took it slow and steady. I’d exchange greetings as I passed others or more often they past me. The terrain slowly opened up as the elevation rose.

My journey today was short and before long I saw a sign saying 30 minutes to Orisson, it was only 9:45!! So I found a shady spot and ate part of the lunch sandwich I had bought at the alburge. It was scrambled eggs, onions, peppers on french bread. Fabulous, and the views were amazing.

After awhile I continued on and arrived at Orisson at 10:45. Check in wasn’t until 12:30 so I sat and watched the pilgrims arrive and move on (most aren’t staying here) and talked with Deanna from Holland. At 12:30 I checked in and started what I think is the daily ritual. Make my bed, try and arrange my stuff, take a shower (we only get one 5 minute shower), wash my clothes in the sink, hang them on the line to dry and try to take a nap. Tonight I’m in a room with 3 bunk beds, me and 5 women (2 US, 2 French, 1 From Holland). Now it’s 3:30!! I walked back down the road to a great view point and read and plan for tomorrow. At 5:00 I went back and had a beer on the patio and talked with a couple from Florida until dinner. Dinner was another group event for everyone staying at the Albergue (about 30 people). We had soup, pork, white beans, bread, and lots of wine. It was much better than I make it sound. I sat by an interesting woman from Singapore. She was originally from England but had been there for 35 year.

Afterward I walked back down to a view back out of the mountains. I could see lightening off in the distance. It’s been a great first day of walking.

Walk 8 km
Elevation change 800 meters
15939 steps (total not just the walk)