Friday, September 9, 2011

Day 4 - Zubiri to Pamplona - 26 km

Most of the people I have met on the Camino are either French or Irish. There are also German, Swiss, American, English and quite a few Canadians. But my favorite Camino walker is Rahan!

I walked today with Rosario; a 60 year old Mexican nanny from Chicago. Her 22 son Moses brought her on the Camino. Rosario has seen a lot of life and at the beginning of the day I was enjoying our conversation quite a bit. We were both hurting and at one point we removed our boots and socks to soak our feet in the river. Feeling rough but still smiling .....

The scenery was very beautiful as we walked most of the day along the river. The sound of the running water kept getting to me and I can tell you that I'm totally over any phobias about peeing in the bush! No picture of that though!

Today was very difficult. There were many more hills and my body has not had a chance to recover from the previous days. Also 26 km is now officially the furthest that I've walked in my life. Add the weight factor = very sore feet! By the end of the day we were stopping to rest every km and it seemed to take forever to get to Pamplona. Another thing that happened this afternoon is Rosario started complaining about her children. She has 7 of them and none of them speak to her apparently. As the hours wore on and my body grew more tired, I felt her complaints draining my energy even more. I couldn't find the words to ask her to stop as we just kept moving forward in the heat.

The Albergue inPamplona is in the old city and getting there involved a lot more uphill walked (or should I say dragging of the body) over cobbled stone roads. Rosario and I got the last couple of beds and had to sleep on top bunks. The is one of the bad parts about being slow. You're lucky to get a bed at all, but it's almost always a top bunk. Climbing up to bed with an aching body is a trick in itself.

Tonight I am making arrangements to have my bag transported to my next destination. My feet need a break from this weight.

Buen Camino.

3 comments:

  1. That's a pretty cool service! Bag transportation - someone is a great entrepreneur.

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  2. from Kim and Gianni: :-D We loved the blog mom. It made us smile and laugh. You are so amazing! keep it up.

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  3. Good idea to have your backpack transported. I know that's what I'd be doing. Enjoy your next day without a weight on your shoulders (literally).

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