• Starting Point: Los Arcos
• Ending Point: Ventosa
• Daily distance: 11.43 miles (18.4 km)
• Total distance: 97.28 miles (156.56 km)

Note: Internet connectivity has been awful. I was trying to wait for better connectivity to post my blog with pictures but I give up. I’ll post pictures when I can. 

Today was a tough day! The forecast called for high temperatures and sunny skies. We wake early in hopes of beating the heat. But with no cloud cover and no shade on the trail, things heated up quickly. 

To top it off, all the rest of the hikers on the Camino had the same idea, so it’s rather crowded on the trail. I decide it’s time to break out the headphones. The playlist is a mix of my favorites I made for the trip…U2, Dave Matthews, Mumford & Sons, Willie Nelson, Hip Abduction, SOJA, Rising Appalachia. The music helps transport me to my own place, losing myself in the mountain scenery and forgetting the crowd around me. 

But soon enough, the heat gets to me. My sweaty hands slip on my hiking poles and I pull out my sun gloves. My backpack rubs uncomfortably against my wet back. My body already hurts and the sun adds insult to injury. 

And poor Laura woke up with a sore throat. A couple of our bunk mates were coughing all night and it seems Laura caught it. So on top of hiking in the heat, she’s fighting a cold. She has been a real trooper!

During the hike, we stopped by a small church where a statue of Mary is said to keep returning even after being relocated many times. I really wanted to check out this mysterious statue. Unfortunately, it was closed. 

We also encountered an artist who makes rock formations for us hikers to enjoy. Cold water and snacks were also offered. 

A sign appears telling us it’s only 3.8 kilometers (about 2.5 miles) to our destination. I was so excited. I knew I could knock out 2.5 miles. When we rounded the top of the trail after what felt like at least 3 miles, my heart dropped.  I looked down at the city and it had to be another 2 miles. I’m learning that the distance signs on the Camino are wide estimates and not to place my faith in them. 

We had originally planned to travel to the next town, an additional 5 miles. However, we learned there was a wine festival going on with a very festive crowd that would make sleep difficult. It worked out well that we changed our plans, because I’m not sure I could have dragged my body 5 more miles. We are learning our bodies hit their limit between 13-15 miles per day. We built in some extra days in our itinerary, so we shouldn’t have any trouble making it to Santiago during our timeframe. And with some luck, we will walk to Finisterre as well. I’m trying to let go of my expectations about the destination and just enjoy each day for what it is. 

Our albergue tonight is named Izor. I’m in a room with 9 bunk beds. A communal dinner of salad, pasta and small ham steaks is served.  I am bunking next to an older Swedish couple. The husband is quite interested in our American politics. I change the subject quickly. 

Personal space continues to be elusive. Today a lady introduced herself to me as she was applying underarm deodorant and another guy came up to chat with me as I was taking a Q-Tip to my ear. The toilets are next to the showers and sinks;  unseemly bathroom noises serenade you as you brush your teeth.  I’m no prude; I just wasn’t quite prepared for this level of closeness. I knew I’d be in communal living…I guess I just didn’t think through all the intimate details of what that entailed.  It’s definitely an education. I’m gradually learning to be more relaxed around large groups of people and to just go with the flow. As I lay down to sleep tonight, a symphony of snorers and one sleep talker lead me to dreamland. 



• Starting Point: Villatuerta
• Ending Point: Los Arcos
• Daily distance: 15.72 miles (25.3 km)
• Total distance: 85.85 miles  (138.16 km)

A long day is ahead of us so we wake up at o’dark thirty. The town is shrouded in darkness as we hike out. Our little flashlights illuminate the way as we transition onto the dirt trail. Unfortunately, while navigating around a mud puddle, I missed the yellow arrow and led us astray. When we ended up in an olive tree grove next to a little church, I knew something wasn’t right. Laura and I backtracked and found the missed arrow. 

The trail today wove us through olive tree groves and vineyards. A cloudy haze kept the sun off of us most of the day. 

We went through a few small towns and saw some beautiful architecture.

A wine fountain also crossed our path. The plaque next to the fountain said that we should toast to happiness. We didn’t think it wise to fill our water bottles with wine, so we filled the caps of our bottles and made our toast. 

The small encouragements on the trail mean so much. A couple played an accordion and violin at the bottom of one ascent. The music was an inspiration as we made our way up the hill.

We also ran into some friends we hadn’t seen since the day we hiked into Pamplona.  We thought we lagged behind them due to taking a couple of  short days. But it seems everyone did the same over the last few days in different cities. Many have been dealing with blisters. So far, Laura and I have been blister free. I credit this blessing to Laura’s research on Injinji toe socks. I believe they are the godsend that have kept us blister free. Our main complaint thus far has been achy knees. 

The last 3 miles of the hike were really hard. The clouds were gone and the sun beat down on us. Every part of me was aching again…feet, knees, hips, shoulders. I tried to focus on the beauty of the landscape. The wind was blowing and I imagined the rustling leaves were applause. White butterflies floated all around me in one section urging me on. The hum of the insects were cheers to continue putting one foot in front of the other.

We finally made it and checked into our albergue, Casa de Abuela (Grandma’s House). We are in a room with six bunk beds. We get settled in, shower, laundry, dinner. Dinner was a more typical pilgrim’s meal of fried pork, French fries, salad, bread, wine (as compared to last nights amazing dinner). It was not very satisfying, but it filled the belly. 

After dinner, we rested for a while and then went to Mass. The church, Iglesia de Santa Maria, is dedicated to Mary and has a special retablo honoring her. A bell rang, the lights on the retablo turned on and the shine from the gold lit up the room. It was breathtaking. 

Afterwards, it was off to bed. We are beginning to fall into the routine and pace of life on the Camino. 

• Starting Point: Puente la Reina
• Ending Point: Villatuerta
• Daily distance: 11.25 miles (18.1km)
• Total distance: 70.12 miles (112.85 km)

Thunder and lightening awoke us from our slumber. A cold front was moving through the area. We pulled on our rain gear and grabbed some breakfast before heading out. 

The rain was fairly steady for the next couple of hours with one heavy downpour. Our gear worked very well and I was very impressed with my waterproof shoes. My feet stayed completely dry. 

The rain brought out the snails. They littered the trail and we had to step gingerly to avoid crushing them. 

As I relaxed into the hike, I started to actually enjoy and embrace the rain. The rumble of thunder around us and the fragrant smell of the earth captured my attention. This rainy day had its own beauty too. 

We made reservations at an albergue named La Casa Magica. And it lived up to its name. There was a swimming pool, hammocks, epsom salt tubs for your feet and no bunk beds! 

Dinner was amazing. The chief served white asparagus with roasted red peppers, vegetable paella and a custard dessert. The paella had plums, raisins, cloves of garlic, peppers and cauliflower mixed in it. More red wine topped it off. It felt like fine dining, rather than a pilgrims meal. 

Tomorrow is our longest hike yet at 15 miles. So, it’s off to bed for some rest. 

• Starting Point: Pamplona
• Ending Point: Zariquegui
• Daily distance: 6.96 miles (11.2 km)
• Total distance: 49.3 miles (79.3 km)

After a good night of sleep, I wake up feeling refreshed and in good spirits. Laura and I have decided to take it easy today. 

First, we visited the Cathedral in Pamplona for Mass. There were only a handful of parishioners for the morning service, giving it an intimate feel. One thing that I love about the Catholic faith is its consistent Mass throughout the world.  Laura could follow along with what was going on even though it was all in Spanish. And although I’m unfamiliar with the details and steps of the liturgy, I enjoyed the serenity and offered my prayers.

After Mass, we went to the mobile phone store to get a Spanish SIM card to be able to place phone calls with the country. After yesterday’s difficulty in securing a room, we have decided to call ahead to ensure a room is available. Today we also made sure we had plenty of food and water to last to our day’s final  destination. 

Pamplona was a lovely city. It had a modern feel, but lots of history. I would really like to come back sometime and explore more. As we hiked out of the city, there was a stark contrast to previous terrain. Gone were the shade trees, greenery and rivers. The land was brown, rocky and fallow. Silhouettes of giant windmills stood out in the distance. The sun baked our skin. There was a slight elevation climb. 

Our destination, Zariquegui, is a tiny country hamlet with only 2 albergues. The room in our albergue contained 5 bunk beds. We get settled into our bunks and head downstairs for dinner. Two other pilgrims join our table, a woman from San Francisco and a woman from Denmark. The lady from Denmark tells us about the dairy and pig farm she and her husband run. We also catch up with Sandra from Tampa, who we first met our second night in St Jean Pied de Port and have crisscrossed paths with all along the trail. There is a feeling of kinship and community building on the trail. A shared joy is felt when you see a familiar face. Trail stories are shared…where you stayed, how hard a certain section was, changes in plans, injuries, how mutual friends are doing, etc…

After dinner, we turn in for the night. 

Note: I have been having internet connectivity issues so this post may  appear out of order. 

• Starting Point: Zariquegui
• Ending Point: Puente La Reina
• Daily distance: 9.57 miles (15.4 km)
• Total distance: 58.87 miles (94.7 km)

The day began with an ascent to the windmills and to Alto de Perdón, a pilgrim statue erected by the energy company. There is an inscription that reads: “Donde se cruza el Camino del viento con el de las estrellas” (“Where the way of the wind meets the way of the stars”).

The descent down was quite rocky, but led to a beautiful statue of Mary. 

The path then became to meander through corn fields. We took a one mile detour to visit the mysterious Ermita de Santa Maria de Eunate. It is a 13th century octagonal shaped church with 33 arches surrounding it. The mystery is its origins…nobody quite knows who built it. Some say it was built by the Templars. Others believe the 33 arches represent Muslim prayer beads and suggest worshippers circled the church meditating three times (99 doors) before entering the 100th door of the church. Inside the church sits a statue of Mary. 

More cornfields followed. As we were walking along, I noticed what must have been thousands and thousands of snails on the foliage along the roadside. 

I don’t know whether our bodies are adjusting or the trail was kinder to us today, but today’s hike felt easier.  We have one more day of lower mileage (around 11 miles) and then we start really ramping it up (15 and then 18 miles!).  
We finally arrived at our destination for the night. And what a treat…we splurged on a private room at the hostel for an extra $5 each (a lot on a pilgrim’s budget). Usually a bed costs $9-13 per night. No climbing to a top bunk or being hunchbacked on the bottom bunk. It was heaven! 

After getting our room, we had dinner at a local restaurant. If the albergue doesn’t serve dinner, most restaurants offer a pilgrims menu. I selected mixed paella (rice with pork, mussels and shrimp), roasted rabbit with aeoli and fries. They serve fries with everything here, at least on the pilgrims menu. Dessert  and water or wine is included all for $10 total. Breakfast and lunch average $5 each. Then you have snacks, cafe con leche and laundry. Overall, I’m finding that it was reasonable to budget $40 per day for this adventure. 

After dinner, we did laundry and went to Mass. The Catherderal was beautiful. We were again called forward for a pilgrim’s blessing. Hey, I’ll take all the blessings I can get!

Again, I’m finding the internet speed super slow. I have more pics to load once I get better connectivity. 

• Beginning Point: Zubri
• Ending Point: Pamplona
• Daily distance: 13.1 miles (21.1 km)
• Total distance: 42.3 miles (68.1 km)

The feeling of claustrophobia did not abate overnight. I awoke in a tiny room crammed with 3 bunk beds and 5 women all trying to move around and get ready to hike. I scrapped up my knee trying to climb down from my top bunk, which further fouled my mood. As soon as Laura and I stepped out onto the trail, a huge wave of relief ran over me. Being out in the open air with all that space felt amazing. 

I talked to Laura about how I was feeling and that I needed a few hours to walk by myself, just a little bit behind or in front of her so we could still look out for each other. She was very understanding. We walked at a distance for about an hour. Soon after, another pilgrim named Renee joined us. We first met Renee our second night in St Jean Pied de Port and have been passing each other off and on while hiking. As Laura and Renee chatted, I walked ahead and had a couple of more hours to myself. Other pilgrims passed by, but I kept the greetings short and they moved on quickly. It was just what I needed!

It was a beautiful sunny day. We mainly walked through small forest paths that ran between small country hamlets. However, there were still many ascents and descents. My body is definitely becoming stronger. On our first hike, I had to stop every few feet to catch my breath on a steep ascent. Now, I’m zipping right up them. But the descents are a different story. My knees ache with each step down. And other parts are starting to hurt…my shoulder blade, my left big toe, the spot just under my big toe, my heels. The soles of my feet feel bruised. 

We stopped at one small town for a coffee and omelette. While enjoying our quick meal, a cat jumped up on the table. I was holding my omelette up to bite (the Spanish omelettes are dense and handheld) and the cat took a swipe at my omelette! Chickens also milled about under the tables as we ate. 

We walked under a bridge and a man was playing a harmonica for us pilgrims. Anytime I hear a harmonica, I think of my dad who passed on in 2011. The harmonica was one of  his favorite instruments and he could play fairly well. I sat and listened to the man play and reminisced about my dad. I said a little prayer to him, told him how much I miss and love him. 

The day wore on. Perhaps it was the accumulation of the past few days, but we were exhausted, hurting and my bag felt like a brick. We also had no luck locating some supplies in the small towns, so we were very low on water and had only had the omelette for fuel.

Thus far on our journey, we had made reservations at the hostels. The main reason being that the first few days have limited accommodations and the towns are further apart. We wanted to be sure we had a bed when we arrived. Knowing Pamplona was a large city and that towns would become closer together on the trail, and wishing to be flexible in our plans, we decided to not make reservations after Zubiri. We would just stop when we were tired and find a place at that time. 

What we didn’t account for was the size of Pamplona. It seemed never ending. First, we entered the suburbs and searched out some water. But finding the water pulled us off the marked trail and we had to navigate our way back, which took some effort and time our exhausted bodies could ill afford. We finally entered the historic district where the running of the bulls takes place. I felt like I had been stampeded by a herd of bulls by this point. We had been walking for 7 hours. 

Our hiking companion for the day, Renee, was still with us. She had a reservation and we decided to walk with her to the hostel  to see if they had any free beds. Walking was excruciating by now. I was nearly in tears. Mentally, I was done too. I was short tempered and cranky. I had zero patience. I couldn’t think straight. I nearly walked out in traffic twice. Lack of sleep, lack of food, brutalizing my body had caught up with me. Not to mention the hovering anxiety of not knowing where I was going to sleep. We finally got to Renee’s hostel and they were full. We had to find somewhere else. The clerk recommended Hemmingway Hostel. It was half a mile away and when I heard that I really wanted to cry. All I wanted was to take my backpack off and sit down. But we pushed through. Laura was so stoic. I believe she was in mom mode and holding it together for me. We made it to the hostel, checked in and were guided to our bunk. I was so excited to sit down. I threw off my backpack, went to sit down on the mattress and was nearly knocked out. A loud crack filled the room. I had misjudged the height of the bunk bed and clobbered my head on the top bunk. Laura gasped. It was more shock than pain. But it stunned me. At that point, I lost it. I cried and laughed all at the same time. The ridiculousness of it all…my exhaustion, our unpreparedness, the pain, my crappy mood and now a lump on the head.  I looked up at Laura at that moment and felt such love for her. There she was solid as a rock. She was rubbing my head and held me for a moment. I know she was exhausted and in pain too, but she was looking after me. What a lady!

We showered and pulled on some new clothes for dinner. We walked a couple of blocks down and stopped at the first restaurant we saw. We hit gold. Spanish tapas, wine and flan. We learned A LOT today. There were some really awful moments in there, but we ended it sweetly. 

• Starting Point: Roncesvalles
• Ending Point: Zubiri
• Daily distance: 13.9 miles (22.3 km)
• Total distance: 29.2 miles (47 km)

We woke up to rain. Luckily we are prepared and pull on our rain jackets and pants. The rain is a light drizzle and we navigate through it easily, though our shoes and pants legs are soon muddied. 

The terrain today is forest paths. We passed through one forest in which 9 women were accused of practicing witchcraft and burned at the stake during the Inquisition in the 16th century. 

We were feeling very good until we realized that what goes up, must come down!  And coming down is even more difficult on slippery, muddy rocks. Miles of cautiously navigating through the downhill terrain wore on our knees and calves. We were hobbling near the end. In one section, water was rushing over the pathway and a mountain biker skidded and crashed. (He was okay). 

But the thing about the Camino is that cheerleaders are always close. When the pain begins to make you wince, a friendly face you met earlier passes next to you and encourages  you with a shout of “Buen Camino” or empathizes with you about their pains or distracts you with a story from their life.  Today as I walked I had noticed how all of us pilgrims look a like, especially in our rain gear. From a first glance, you cannot make a snap judgement about someone’s profession or social status. The first question is not “What do you do?”. Instead, hikers ask where you started, when and how far you are going. I could be talking with the CEO of a multinational company or a homeless person and not know it. It is refreshing to shed those “normal” classifications we make. 

A hike we anticipated taking 6 hours ended up taking 8 hours. We were so happy to see our albergue. It was a newer one with a small number of beds. Many guests were pilgrims we already knew and it was nice to see them again. Dinner was amazing. The albergue owner’s wife made a kind of polenta cake, a delicious soup, salad and lemon flavored condensed milk dessert with green tomato jam on top. And of course, Spanish wine flowed from the flasks on the table. 

By dinner time, I was exhausted, cranky and much less patient with others. Being an introvert by nature, I cherish my alone time and find solitude necessary to recharge my batteries. Living in such close quarters and talking all day on the trail is starting to take its toll. I became quite irritated with some new pilgrims I met at dinner, who I didn’t feel where in the spirit of things. As I lay in bed that evening, I had a difficult time falling asleep. Tossing and turning, I realized that just as I need to listen to my physical body on the trail, I need to be attuned and listen to my spirit. If my knee is hurting, I slow down and take it easy. If my spirit is shouting for some alone time to recharge, then I need to listen and do so. I finally fall asleep as I decide to walk in solitude tomorrow. Or at least try to…I’m not quite sure if it’s possible on the Camino. 

• Beginning Point: Orisson
• Ending Point: Roncesvalles
• Daily distance: 10.56 miles (17 km)
• Total distance: 15.3 miles (24.7 km)

Today was an amazing hike! The high point was 4688 feet (1429 meters). As we went over the pass, the wind really picked up. At one point, my hat flew off and my scarf blew over my face. We had a good laugh as I chased my hat down a small gully. It was quite cold as the wind blew; we pulled out our gloves and jackets. 

One of my favorite spots today (besides the end, ha ha) was the Vierge d’ Orisson, a beautiful statue of Mary overlooking the trail. 

I also enjoyed all the livestock. I probably took way too many pictures of sheep. 

The climb was quite steep in some areas, but we both held up very well. 

The descent weaved through a birch forest and opened out to a view of the monastery where we would be staying overnight. 

The final descent was quite strenuous. My legs were shaking from exertion by the end and I was quite happy to see the monastery. 

After we settled into our bunks, we headed over to Pilgrim’s Mass. The church centerpiece is Our Lady of Roncesvalles, a gleaming statue of Mary under a silver canopy. It was breathtaking and, honestly, stole the show. 

The priest called all the pilgrims forward for a special pilgrims blessing, which he repeated in about 6 different languages! It was a touching moment as Laura and I stood together as the blessing was spoken. She wrapped her arm around me and I felt very grateful to have such a sweet mother-in-law to share this experience with. 

After mass, we had dinner and then headed to bed. The monastery contains nearly 200 beds. It had quite a different atmosphere than the intimate albergues from the past nights. I don’t know whether it was the size and all the people or my exhaustion, but I felt a bit cranky as I settled in for the night….