Day 12, Á Burgos

6 abril 2010
So I stayed last night in a cute little hostel last night in Atapuerca called La Hutte. We started a fire in the fireplace, really Margarita did, used a free washing machine, and internet and made tea on the kitchenette hoplate. The roof wasn’t really finished and it was cold even with the fireplace; it felt like an authentic pilgrimage stay. Today I think I’ve a bit of tendonitis, according to the hostelero. But we got up about 7 AM—Alissa and Ko—were at the hostel yesterday when I arrived—we stopped in the second village and ate freshly made omelette bocadillos—or tortilla francesa. The barman seemed flustered. It turned out they had very little stock because their supplier hadn’t visited as scheduled yesterday. [I remember thinking, “it’s cool man”; it is amazing what walking half of the day can do for your stress level and wellbeing] They put on some great music, (Puerto Presente, Macaco’s latest album) I had a delicious café con leche, and we took a picture because it was the best bocadillo of the way so far.
The landscape was gorgeous at the start and it was a crisp, cold morning. From very soon on our walk we could see Burgos in the distance, but our way brought us through an ugly industrial long stretch of highway which was actually painful for me (because of what I am sure of now was a bad case of tendonitis then which I didn’t want to accept).
But we have arrived after a short 20 KM day and found a small by-donation hostel above a chapel right in downtown. There isn’t a kitchen but the hospitalero was very kind and told me to take a day of rest if I can.
I walked around Burgos with Alissa and Ko a bit and might decide to stay tomorrow. I did a bit of shopping and have enjoyed being in a city, well with the convenience of a city, but people gawked at Ko and I walking in our sportswear and flip-flops. Alissa at least had normal looking shoes and jeans, not shocking flip-flops and half-pants, but I laughed several times because of the facial expressions I got from people. [Spanish people are not afraid to look, look again, or even downright stare]

Day10-11

5 April 2010
Last night was just lovely and I really enjoyed the hostel. Today I am hoping to get about 22 KM or so. The sun was shining after a cozy breakfast with lovely people. I cried with gratitude this AM on the start and it was just what I needed.
~I am sitting on a lookout point in the Montes de Oca in Burgos. I had a nice chat over a tortilla bocadillo in the last town with a nice Belgian gentleman, Erik, with a contagious laugh. He asked me what I wanted in life to be happy and we both agreed happiness was shared and in giving, him to his three daughters. He reminded me a bit of Dad. I wish my family could be here to experience this. The mountains are snow-capped in the distance and the trees are lining the roadway and blooming in spring. I thought earlier that it would be great to be a hostelera (someone who works at the albergues) and make headbands to give to the pilgrims for a donation. I really appreciated the community in vespers and the singing last night around the dinner table after eating. It was fun and today I am trying to take more time to think and enjoy and reflect about what I might want to do next year. I have internet at home now and so I can really get searching for a job or a masters program and might have more possibility to get my portfolio online. I am excited for the future but also a little bit nervous.
So I have arrived to Áges and will be headed to Burgos tomorrow.

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe

After I dropped Miwa off at the airport being chauffeured in a friend’s car by the other Eibarres American, Paul, we went for a coastal drive and short hike, with a stopoff at a Renaissance Fair in Gernika. Thankfully I have some photos to describe the beautiful scenery because Paul is a great photographer. These are random snapshots from the day. It was lovely, so I had to make a video ( on Paul's camera that is and with my excellent narration skills that I am honing).

Tosantos

4 abril 2010 (abril is Spanish for April)
Today I have come to a small town called Tosantos, which is darling and quite cute and only fits up to 20 pilgrims or so but will make a place for anyone who comes. I walked 26 Km or so today and there are only 8 pilgrims or so here. We will make dinner and pray together and it has been a cute place to be welcomed to. I contemplated staying one town back but really wanted to walk and am happy to be here. It will be cold and a little more solitary as very few people speak English, but I am sitting in the front yard of this little old yellow house that for its 300 years of life has served as a pilgrim’s “hospital” or albergue. There are some caves up the road a bit carved into the mountain façade. I am very happy to be staying here. I just spoke with Lola who has done the camino several times and will be working in an albergue where I pass through in June.
Today the mountains were beautiful, really just rolling hills and I am looking forward to the community dinner and climbing to the bell tower or something like that for prayer afterwards (it turned out that it was the top roof that had been turned into a chapel). The hostal I stayed in last night was quite nice, like a hotel, but I am needing a bit smaller of a community tonight. Also, we can’t get up before 7 AM! Yay! We can start having breakfast around 7:15 AM. I am really going to try and stay in other smaller albergues because they have a little more of the character of the camino… I just enjoyed some chocolate and cake; it was delicious! (That region is famous for it’s hot chocolate and it was dense and rich and hm!) So tomorrow I am just going to stop and reflect/pray and enjoy the way.

Logroño and on

1 April 2010:
Today we are in Logroño and I feel quite under the weather. I have been coughing quite a bit today but the walk was “genial” ( which means fabulous, I have been translating my journal every so often from Spanish, but wanted to include this adjective as it is better in Spanish). Today was pretty. It is quite unpleasant to be so stuffed up and with a cough but I am enjoying…


Sat. April 3, 2010
So the days so far were:

1. St. Jean Pied de Port-Roncesvalles ~25 KM
2. Roncesvalles-Larrasoana 26 KM
3. Larrasoana-Pamplona 16 KM
4. Pamplona-Puente la Reina 22 KM
5. Puente la Reina-Estella 20 KM
6. Estella-Torres del Río 30 KM
7. Torres del Río-Logroño ~20 KM
8. Logroño-Nájera 31 KM
9. Nájera-Santo Domingo del Calzado ~20 KM

Today was a pleasant walk. I am incredibly tired at the moment because the hostel receptionist gave me a glass of wine after a “paseo” (stroll) around town. He is a character of an elderly gentleman. This AM was pleasant. I still have a head cold but think it is getting better. Tomorrow will be Easter and I am going to make “eggs in a basket” and then head out to either Belorados or Tosantos, which offers dinner and breakfast by donation and has a Christian focus. I do feel tired but am quite content.
We had a jaunt around town with some tasty little dessert pastries at the “Sabores de Semana Santa” Feria, or Tastes of Holy Week Fair (Holy Week is our Easter but they have a lot longer holiday, for education two full weeks ☺)
At this day I remember speaking with Ko and talking about how tired I was and how my journal wasn’t very interesting and I was just writing facts. He told me, “Sometimes just the facts have meaning”. I loved that because when you are walking 20 KM a day and sleeping in a big dormitory of 16 to 100 people and healing blisters and stretching out muscle fatigue, the facts do carry meaning. Thanks for the wisdom Donsang, (that is very uncertain spelling, but the Korean word for younger brother).

Sigue caminante

From my journal:
Today is our sixth day, I believe it is Wednesday the 31st, but I am not sure at the moment. I am sitting in the sun on a hay barrel maybe not yet halfway. I feel very tired because of my head cold. It is gorgeous weather though and I enjoyed the first hour and a half or two hours with a French gentleman named Alan, that is probably between Dad and G’papa’s age. He was very knowledgeable, as the elderly seem to be, and wears an adorable beret and walked at a pleasant pace. We talked in English and French as he was an English language teacher and spoke excellent English. He also helped me a bit with my French. He taught me some French colloquialisms, one word for boring “gaver” (pronounced somewhat phonetically from an American accent as “gahv- ay”), which literally means force-fed, such as with foie-gras. We talked about languages and trees and gypsies and Flamenco and housing styles. He had said, “Les langues sont vivants”. I loved that and wanted to quote it. In English, essentially, “Languages are living”. We walked by a fountain of wine in Irache and the sun was shining. In French sunrise is “le levé de soleil” whereas the sunset is “le couché de soleil”. Twilight is something like “crepuscule”. He was an inspirational older man, “une source d’ inspiration” and is doing the camino in stages. It is incredible how exhausted I feel. I wish I had more energy, but today I will just have to take it easy. I think I will just go to Los Arcos and maybe try to make it to Logroño tomorrow. I will see. I want to feel at peace about any pace, but I do want to be able to do more in some of the middle stages, maybe when it is flat.
(I then fell quickly asleep on the hay barrel and later woke up with flees or some sort of bug crawling all over me. I was somewhat horrified, but brushed off what I could...later that day: )
So finally I came about 30 Km today. The place I am staying at is not very welcoming, but there is an ATM if I feel the need to pull money out before reaching Logroño… Today I was walking alone a bit and it was kind of cool, although I am really grossed out by the fleas or lice or whatever it was crawling on me after the haystacks rest. Sitting there was so pleasant for a short bit, but the aftereffects might leave me traumatized of the Camino and the hostels and the like. I still have this stinky head cold/cough, but had nice weather while walking today so it was pleasant. I think I am going to douse myself in tea tree oil, stretch and sleep.

(The video was from before journaling. )

Pics are from throughout that day, I really took it easy and enjoyed journaling and photos. The fountain really is a wine fountain, it wasn't running at 8 AM though when we walked by. The others are shots from along the way. Often I would run into another pilgrim along the way and we would often take photos of each other. Thanks to all the pilgrims!