Back on the Camino.

I am back in Spain, almost a year after the last Camino. The journey started on Wednesday after I said goodbye to my boys as they flew back to Calgary and I stayed behind. I stayed overnight at a local bed and breakfast before taking the flight on Thursday to Biarritz in the south west part of France, from where I took a bus to the train station in Bayonne, mere kilometres away, and finally a local train to the starting point, St. Jean Pied de Port. It was a full day of travelling, which was nice and smooth despite a boiling hot train ride at the end.

The scenery was amazing as the train gently brought us closer and closer to this amazing town, I felt this intense joy of being here again and knew that no matter what happens this is a great experience that I am so blessed to get a chance to have.

After registering at the pilgrims´ office it was dinner and straight to bed, hoping for a good night´s sleep before the arduous hike over the pyrenees. Fortunately I did get a good night´s rest and I was up and ready to walk by 7:30am. I had connected with a Canadian friend that is walking too and we headed out together. The day is a challenge to say it mildly and not for the faint of heart. It starts with a steep, relentless uphill climb to our first rest at Orrison, a private albergue with some simple serving, 8 kilometres away. The climb continued for another 12 km before it turned and gave way to a steep descent into Roncevalles, the first stop and the other starting point on the Spanish side. Seven hours later a happy Torill arrived without any serious issues. Yeah! The rest of the day went by quickly with showers (long line), laundry, dinner and a Catholic mass where the pilgrims were blessed for our journey. I did not understand much, but it was a nice experience.

Yesterday we walked from Roncevalles to Zubiri, 22.2km away. In Roncevalles the albergue is a large old building that sleeps 120 people and they have strict rules, lights out at 10pm and lights on at 6am, all gone by 8am. I did not sleep too well and was awake and ready to get started by the time the lights came on. Thus, we had an early start yesterday and were walking by 6:50am. It was a beautiful walk, but alot of down hill and the descent finally got to my right foot that I had hoped was truly on the mend. The truth is; it is not as good as I had hoped and I´m not sure how this will work out. I am still hopeful....

Today is my third day on the Camino and I have walked about 80 kilomteres in three days. It is such a nice feeling to be back here again, though I am a bit concerned about my foot. It did not like all the downhill yesterday. So I may take tomorrow off and rest. I am just past Pamplona now in a small town called Cizur Major. Walked 28 kilometres today because they have their annual Festival in Pamplona and there is nowhere to stay in that city: Tried to get a cab to take me the last few kiloemtres in the scorching hot sun, but to no avail. Thus the long walk. Started at 6:30 this morning and got here at about 3:30pm. A long day in the heat, that´s for sure! I have booked a nice room in Puenta la Reina for tomorrow night. It is my birthday and I want to treat myself! I look forward to it.

Last night I got to watch a bull fight on the TV during dinner in Zubiri and saw a crazy match between man and bull, where the bull finally went down. It was an amazing life and death game that was hard to watch at times. WOW! And today there was footage of this morning´s running with the bulls and there were either serious injuries or deaths and they showed all the grutesque details on tv. After that I do not have any desire to go back there and watch it live. When I walked throught Pamplona today the streets were packed with people partying and celebrating. As there are no rooms available people opt to sleep in any green space or in their cars, and I cannot count how many people were sleeping off their alcohol in the middle of the day in parks around the old town. The running with the bulls is at 8am and the bull fights are at night. There are activities all day long and the city is truly turned upside down.

As much as it was nice to see, I was happy to be outside again, back in the peaceful country side. And now it´s time for some serious sleep.