Camino – Page 5 – everydaysparks

Buen Camino – days 3 & 4

Posted on August 25, 2013August 25, 2013 by Cate

Our third day started by moonlight (let’s just presume they all do from here on in – we leave at 6.30am). A big change today as we walked through urban areas and saw people & cars instead of cows & sheep that we’d been sharing the path with so far.

We passed through the bustling city of Pamplona, with some very cute streets & buildings and some very scary giant baby head sculptures.

Stayed the night at a hostel run by the Knights of Malta, where we met Janet & Fred, a couple from the USA walking the Camino to celebrate Janet’s recent 75th birthday. Amazing.
The next morning was overcast and a little cooler, thankfully, and saw us reach the wind farms and wrought iron pilgrims of Alto del Perdon. Our guide book suggested a 19km day, but we said boo to that and walked 26km. Passed through some beautiful olive groves and vineyards along the way to the cute hilltop town of Cirauqui. Where the church bells toll every half an hour – right through the night. And our hostel was right across the square, so no danger of losing track of time!

Travel sparks

Camino Day 2

Posted on August 24, 2013August 24, 2013 by Cate

Another early start on Day 2 leaving Roncesvalles by moonlight. A day with more rocky hilly challenges and very hot weather (35 degrees+) and all was going well, til we decided not to stay and play in the cool stream at Zubiri, but to continue on more than 5km of very difficult terrain in the intense heat.

We have formed a bit of a walking gang with two lovely young guys from Britain and also more of a Dad-like friend in Shane from Ohio. It helps with chatting away to distract (a bit) from the pain of hills etc.

Part of what makes this experience so amazing is how quickly you feel a bond with fellow ‘pilgrims’ along the way. And there are such incredible stories – an older lady from Bulgaria who speaks very little (ie pretty much none at all) English/French/Spanish. Then there are the two Glaswegians who pretty much walk as fast as they can to drink as much as they can at their destination. Oh, and the German man who dislikes us trying to speak German with him. And Melissa from Canada who has been cursed with the most horrible blisters already – battling on in intense pain as she tries to reach Pamplona where she will stay and rest for a short while.

A reminder of how lucky we are to be mostly blister-free (unfortunately Steph has some) and in good health. Sore muscles, but in good health!

These photos are a bit out of order and I can’t seem to fix them – moonlight start and three other early morning walk shots, then others along the way and finally the welcome arrival at Larrasoana, where we could dunk our tired feet in the cold stream!

Travel sparks

Camino adventures – Day 1

Posted on August 22, 2013August 22, 2013 by Cate

Here’s an update on the Camino, day 1. We started in the beautiful little French village of St Jean Pied de Port, on the French side of the Pyrenees. A great atmosphere in the busy town – it’s the popular starting point of the Camino Frances. We met some lovely people in our hostel and got some time to wander around the town before heading off early the next morning (around 7am, so still a bit dark) to begin our first day.

And what a day it was – I found it incredibly tough, as did a lot of the people we spoke to after we’d made it through alive. Nothing like an extreme physical challenge to form strong bonds with fantastic people from all over the world! The strangeness of the backpack + the very steep mountain climbs (and equally difficult – or maybe more so – declines) + ferocious winds + long distance and then the summer sun made for quite a challenge. But the breathtaking views, cows & sheep & horses provided a good distraction from the pain!

So satisfying to finish the day & share a beer with new friends in Ronvesvalles. A fantastic modern hostel in another great little village.

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A little packing tip

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Cate

I don’t really like packing. It might have something to do with the mean discrimination required – that’s in, that’s out – or the forward thinking about the possible clothing options required for activities that might occur on the trip. However, when packing my backpack for the Camino, the key focus is pretty simple: keep the weight down to around 6kg (uh huh) and as for the activities that might occur – well, that’s pretty much just A LOT OF WALKING.

That’s a part of the journey that I’m looking forward to, actually – no more standing in front of the wardrobe deciding what to wear, instead it will be a case of which of the two options in my pack is cleanest and away we go. As I packed some things in my bag this morning, I thought I’d share a tip that I read somewhere a while ago – in case you didn’t read it too. It’s a trick with the humble hotel shower cap – fits perfectly around shoes to keep the soles from dirtying everything else in your bag. A ShoeCap, if you like. You’re welcome!

The ShoeCap for my gorgeous granny-style trekking sandals.

Speaking of shoes, I am on to my fourth pair of Camino shoes – it has been quite the experience, I tell you. Luckily the good folk at The Athlete’s Foot give you 30 days to trial your new shoes in the outside world (as opposed to the outdoors stores that give you 48 hours to trial your shoes in your own lounge room, which isn’t exactly a trial). So technically, the last two pairs are the same purchase – I really wanted the third pair to work as they looked quite cool, but they did not like my ankles. Let’s hope this trekking version of the pinkies is up to the challenge!

Fingers crossed these will do the trick... — Fingers crossed these will do the trick…

Travel sparks

Camino MacGyver

Posted on August 7, 2013August 6, 2013 by Cate

I started putting my Camino bits and pieces near my backpack today and I got ridiculously excited at the thought of the adventure ahead of us. Then I remembered that I’d bought this Utility Card at a recent Kathmandu sale and as I took it out of its packet, I got even more excited at the thought of who I could become with this item. Within its magical plastic confines (in a beautiful shade of blue, if you don’t mind) is all that I need to become…CAMINO MACGYVER. And I can not imagine a more helpful or ingenious Camino pilgrim than MacGyver, can you?

All that Camino MacGyver needs... — All that Camino MacGyver needs…

What’s that, fellow pilgrim, need a pen to sign off that tapas bill? Allow me! Hola, traveller – need some scissors to cut the tag off your new backpack? Here you go, champ! What’s that, there’s a man on the hillside who needs his appendix removed? Let’s do this, kids! And then I can file my nails and draw a really straight line while we wait for the paramedics to come and fix him up.

Seriously, this Utility Card has pretty much everything – I know, because I just pulled out all of the little things to make sure (you never know with discounted stock): screwdriver, toothpick, tweezers, scissors, nail file, ruler, knife, pen, pin.

Don't be fooled - the nail file and screwdriver are on the same little tool. AMAZING. — Don’t be fooled – the nail file and screwdriver are on the same little tool. AMAZING.

So, without wishing to jinx our impending travels, I am now more confident than ever that Steph and I will be able to deal with whatever comes our way on the Camino. MacGyver-style.

(And in case you too were wondering, the pen really does work.)