thelongcamino

Jet Trails in the Sky – 7 April 2022

Deep blue sky over Puenta La Reina crisscrossed by jet trails. I had to play Jet Trails in the Sky by David Grissom. It immediately bought smiles to our faces as we danced down the track to rejoin the Camino.

The bridge of the Queen . . . with jet trails

Sunrise over Puenta La Reina with the Alto del Perdón on the horizon

It was cold and we pilgrims were well rugged up to keep out the chill. It was a stunning morning and so I will let some pictures tell our story.

Resting in the olive grove next to the remnants of a Roman road

We’re both sore, tired and getting hot and so decide to stay at the municipal Albergue in Estella. For 8€ it is new and clean and has a lovely warm shower for us.

Our bunk room is on the first floor, left side. We open the doors to welcome fellow peregrinó into town

Across the road is a small bar. As I look out the window after my shower, I see Nathalie and Xavier. They too decide to stay here and we meet for a beer and some pinchos in the bar. As I’m looking out the door, Karin walks by, so I call to her and she joins us for a beer before booking into the Albergue.

After our snack, James heads back to our bunk for a rest and to charge devices. The other pilgrims go to shower. I decide to go for a walk into the village. Not far along the street is the 16th century building that is now the Museo del Carlismo, museum of Carlism. From what I can tell, Carlism was a traditional, anti-liberal movement for about 140 years from the 1830’s. It included many pretenders to the throne and resulted, judging by the art, in many battles across Spain. As I said to the lady that worked there, the museum is beautiful but also very sad. She agreed.

There was also an exhibit about medicine in war. I was pleasantly surprised to see a number of Goya pieces. I was turned onto Goya by the great Australian art critic, Robert Hughes. He wrote a book about him that I still cherish now. The last time I had seen Goya work was at a gallery in the Balboa Park in San Diego USA when Claire and I were there. His work is so moving. As the narrative said – Goya made 83 plates of the Napoleónico invasion, all with scathing titles.

‘Bury them and keep quiet, how is it even possible to mourn,’ he said of those who fell pointlessly in war. Apt words even today.

We pilgrims say that world leaders should be forced to travel for 36 hours with their enemies, arrange transport, and then walk the Camino together. At the end they would no longer be enemies, but family.

When I come back to the Albergue to rest, James and the others decide to visit the museum. I also see Mads and Mikael, very sunburnt after today and needing some sunscreen for the days ahead.

Here is a photo of my favourite door so far. I want bring this back home and build a house around it 😂

After an afternoon rest, we walk to the Church of San Miguel. Evening mass is being held and there are a few dozen people in attendance.

The Virgin Mary in black, Easter is coming

After a beer we return to our local bar, Casa Carmen for a lovely meal of salad, chorizo in cider, calamari and potatoes done local style, dressed in a blue cheese like sauce. James loved it all and then finished with chocolate cake. I had my all time favourite, Basque cheesecake which Carmen decided to feed me.

Here Grunter, have some Basque cheesecake!

It was divine! Now we are once again ready for ibuprofen and bed. What a great day on the Camino. The richness that is offered to us each day is hard to take in by our minds that are used to such simple days back at school and work. Even a 1,000 year old church is mind blowing, but also such an everyday thing at the same time. Reminders that the world is an amazing place, including the land we hail from with 60,000 years of rich culture.

And now we sleep.

Happy 80th Birthday Dad! Alto del Perdón 6 April 2022

I woke excited as we had our phones sorted and could phone home to wish my dad a happy 80th birthday and I could talk to Claire. Or so it seemed. I tried numerous ways to call and they all failed. In desperation I sent dad an email, a poor substitute for a phone call. I also tried a hail Mary and sent a FaceTime invitation.

As we walked through Pamplona on a beautiful morning, my phone buzzed. It was dad, mum and my sister Kristine. It was lovely to see their faces and have a chat. And wish him a happy birthday.

The first few kilometres passed quickly as we were happy.

Dad (on the right), with his brothers Bob and Fred

I often wonder where I got my sense of adventure from. It was my parents. We were never wealthy enough to travel overseas, but that never stopped us having great times, either just the four of us, with extended family or with friends. Mum would tell Kristine and I stories when dad worked night shift. We would lie in the dark and hear about her adventures in childhood. Dad is a photographer. He tells stories through his photos. They gave my sister and I the gift of looking at the world in the way of the writer or the photographer, always with a sense of wonder and joy, always seeing that there is a story, something going on that most people don’t see as they rush through life.

I was also excited as I could talk to Claire. When we spoke, she had sad news about our dear friend Adrian. We both cried as we worry about him, his wife Kate and their lovely children. I don’t ever pray, but I do think about my family and friends as I walk and visit special places along The Way. Though we are on the other side of the world, they are with us always and we love them dearly.

It was a tough, though lovely day on the Camino. After leaving Pamplona, we had a relatively easy walk through Cizur Minor and then through farmland that was so well maintained, it looked like a painting. James and I talked about a lot of different things, family and friends. We stopped at Zariquiegui for a cafe con leche and some food. Many other pilgrims were passing through, grabbing something as we shivered and contemplated the climb to Alto del Perdón. Warmed and refueled, we headed up. The wind blew cold and clouds drifted by as we gained altitude.

Alto del Perdón- where the path of the winds meets the path of the stars

It was a steep and rocky descent. Our tired legs struggled.

On the way into Uterga we met Peter, a pilgrim from Seattle who was out here alone trying to figure out what he does with his life from here. His children are either in college or finished and he was now considering the future. He was a lovely guy and we shared a beer in Uterga.

There we also met Regina and Paul from New Jersey and Manny from Sweden. After a beer, we still had 6km to Puenta La Reina. On the way out of town we met up with Siobhan and Alice from Ireland again. They finish up at Logroño and head back to work. They are such lovely people who would like to keep walking but have jobs and families to return to. We will miss their smiling faces and Irish lilt.

It was a hot (13 degrees) slog through the beautiful villages of Muruzabal and Obanos before the descent into Puenta La Reina. In all we did over 24km as our Albergue was on a hill on the other side of the town. When we arrived, it looked like the Albergue was empty, but when I opened our window, there was Karin, Natalie and Xavier. It was so lovely to meet up with our friends from day one. We shared stories and Natalie and Xavier produced a bottle of Rose they bought in Pamplona.

As we were sitting in the sun, we saw another pilgrim arrive and sit some way away. We called him over. Thierry had walked the Chemin d’Arles, starting in Montpelier, France over a month ago. The Chemin met the Camino here. He has a 20kg pack and has not met anyone for weeks. Over dinner, we six peregrinó had a lovely chat. We charged glasses and wished dad a happy 80th birthday. We also raised our glasses and thanked our loved ones back home.

We are tired, but content in what we have achieved so far. Each of us walk for different reasons which may not even be clear to us yet. It has been a day of joy and wonder, a day deserving of my dad now also reaching 80 after mum did so last October. On the other side of the world, people are thinking of you. Buen Camino!

Running of the Peregrinó- 5 April 2022

Pamplona, just the word is a poem in its own right. San Fermín, the running of the bulls, Hemingway and the myriad pinchos bars with their culinary delights. All this was our goal for the day. We had a great sleep in Zubiri and had a light breakfast at the local bar.

The local bar in Zubiri. The hospitality was exceptional, we wish we had this in Newcastle

The trail was cold on a crystal clear morning. We ran into Mads and Mikael, Karen, Siobhan and Alice as we made our way along the valley. James suggested we grab a cafe con leche at Larrosoana. The village was so quiet and we were not sure that we would find the cafe. But eventually we found Amari and it’s welcoming host. Also there were Donna, Jaz and Sam, our Newcastle friends. We enjoyed a warm coffee as we received some advice about asking for the best beer, Cana, not cerveza.

The Way followed the river down the valley where James and I met Ishaia from Israel. What a lovely fellow! James and he talked about their favourite computer games and soccer teams as we tried to explain what Aussie Rules football was – a massive field, fast and skilful ball movement and the best sport on the planet. I’m not sure we got him signed up as a Geelong Cats member, but give it time and he’ll be wearing the hoops and loving the Catters.

As the day went on, it got much warmer and we took a couple of opportunities to recline in the sun. We met up with Evalina from Estonia and had a great conversation about the world as well as gaining an insight into life in her country. She expressed a deep desire to want to help the environment, ideally she’d like to do a masters in environmental psychology, but also her frustration at not knowing how to make a difference.

We also caught up with Donna, Jaz and Sam on numerous occasions, always a delight as they are the loveliest people.

I may have mentioned this before, but Donna lives in St James Road (the Camino De Santiago) about 150m from where James lives with his mum. Sam and Jaz have lived in Berlin for the last 5 years, but are planning to return to Australia soon. They’ll leave Donna in 2 days. Donna will keep walking whilst they return to prepare for the next exciting phase of their life.

Okay, we get it, we’re in the Basque Country

Once we hit the outskirts of Pamplona, we still had 4.5km to get to the centre and our room at Albergue Plaza Catedral. It was the toughest part of the day as we were there, but not there. The city was lovely, but it was also flat, the worst type of walking for your feet. Eventually we crossed the river, made our way through the old city walls, across the drawbridge and into the old city.

We headed straight to a bar for a Cana and some pinchos, both divine. Our Albergue is just opposite the cathedral and the bells toll the hours and times in between. It’s quite lovely. At 4:00 we headed out to sort our mobile phones and do some shopping. Pamplona is a beautiful city. I can only imagine what it would be like during San Fermin.

Cafe Iruña is famous as not only an Art Deco masterpiece, but the cafe frequented by Ernest Hemingway. As we waited for our drinks, we had the pleasant surprise of seeing Rebecca and Mary Ann, our bunk buddies from Roncesvalles. We had a wonderful afternoon trading stories, they are such lovely people. They have planned to have a rest day in Pamplona tomorrow. We hope to see them on the way again soon .

From there, we headed to the pinchos Street, C. San Nicholas. We enjoyed anchovies, olives, chorizo, prawns, octopus, beef, jamón. It was unbelievably good food. We ran into Simone and Anthony from England and had a great chat. Anthony is walking to raise money for a cancer charity and the scouts. They are great companions.

Then who should walk in but Donna, Jaz and Sam. We shared stories over vermouth, vino Tinto and pinchos. What a great day, despite the sore feet and muscles. Tomorrow we head up another mountain. But that is then, for now we sleep.

Snow and Pine Scent – 4 April 2022

We were woken around 6:30 by the Hospitaleros and the chanting of monks. Not that we needed much waking, from 5:00 am there was a near constant stream of people visiting the bathroom and the toilets had the loudest flush on planet earth. James and my bunk buddies were two friends from San Francisco, Rebecca and Mary Ann. They were lovely, friendly Americans who, like many of us, hope to walk to Santiago de Compostela.

Roncesvalles was extremely cold at 7:30am as we pilgrims headed to La Posada for breakfast. This morning we were again joined by Karen, a septuagenarian walking her 4th Camino. Karen hails from Holland and is a great personality. We were also joined by Evalina from Estonia. She is walking alone and, like quite a few pilgrims, we cross paths during the day.

The first few kilometres were on the road due to the depth of snow. We stopped at a bar in Espinal for a cafe con leche and a snack. From Espinal we were on the trail for the rest of the day.

As we walked along, James and I passed 3 people. We said g’day and quickly realised they were Australian. Not just Australian, but lived about 150m from James and his mum, in the same road, St James Road of course! Donna and her son Sam and his girlfriend Jazz were walking the Camino, Sam and Jazz only for about a week or so. It was a lovely connection and James and Donna walked and talked together for some way. Donna had lost her husband recently and James remembers being taught by him. Ah the Camino, always throwing up a little magic.

Though the landscape was sublime, it was also treacherous. The melted snow formed as ice and we slipped often. But there was no escaping that we were walking through the most beautiful place.

As the Camino snaked it’s way through the valleys, we passed from oak into pine forest. The beautiful scent of pine hung in the air. it was hard walking, but we were rewarded with stunning views.

The final descent into Zubiri was tough. Jagged rocks, mud, ice and the steepness all added to the difficulty. James struggled as this sort of descent is tough on the knees and mentally and physically we were tired but needed to stay concentrated. Thankfully the village of Zubiri appeared. We stopped at the Albergue Rio Agua and got a bunk for the night. We have a small room, only 10 people, which is a nice change after last night where there were dozens on our floor.

After a shower and some washing, we headed to a local bar for lunch and a beer. The pasta was lovely, a mix of seafood and pork. Sounds weird, tastes divine. We each have a cerveza (beer) and then are joined by Karen, Siobhan and Alice, the latter two a couple of pilgrims from Ireland who we keep running into. We have a great chat about life. Karen did her first Camino in 2005 when she turned 50, her second in 2014 and her third in 2017. She said that it was the first time that she felt free to be herself, not a wife or mother, sister or daughter. She was telling us that yesterday she wasn’t feeling the Camino, then she met a few pilgrims, us included, and knew this was right. She was back on Camino. She asks me about my dad after we spoke yesterday. She cares for James, always engaging him in conversation. She is a real gem.

We had dinner at the only restaurant that was open, a good pilgrim’s menu for €13 each. Now we’re ready for sleep, tomorrow we’re off to Pamplona.

Roncesvalles Morning, 4 April 2022

Roncesvalles Morning, 4 April 2022

Walking in a Winter Wonderland – 3 April 2022

We both slept well at Maison Simonenia, waking before our 7:00am alarm. After a nervous pack, we were down for breakfast at 7:30. We enjoyed lovely coffee, bread and condiments. As we were finishing up, we met a lovely pilgrim from Seattle, Dorothy Ann. She was walking alone, only aiming for Valcarlos today.

The streets of St Jean we’re quiet apart from the ocasional pilgrim. The sky was clear, a frost coated the ground and a thin fog sat low in the valley. The sun illuminated the snow covered peaks. Birds sang in the trees and the animals stretched as the landscape yawned and readied for a new day. It was perfect.

With the Napoleon Route closed, we made our way slowly through the valley towards the sweet little village of Valcarlos. We followed small rural roads past farms and vineyards. Though the air temperature was around 2 degrees, our bodies were warm from the climbs. When we descended into the shaded vales, we would freeze and reach for our gloves. At Valcarlos we stopped for a fizzy drink and a rest in the sun. The locals were friendly, asking where we had come from (oh my, such a long way!), talking to James and wishing us a Buen Camino. From Valcarlos, the route follows the main road over the pass.

You shall not pass! The Pilgrim Office stamp the Napoleon Route with large red X’s to warn us off

The Way from Valcarlos is brutal. We walked on the road with dozens of other pilgrims, slowly making our way to the Col d’Ibaneta at 1,040m. it takes a few hours of grinding away to make your way up the mountain. Near the top, the route branches off the road. In the thick snow we could see that other pilgrims had walked this route. I looked at James. “This is an adventure, dad, let’s do it”. He was right, of course. It was slow, cold and hard, but to escape the road into this winter wonderland was divine.

But it was a hell of a slog through the snow and I had to stop frequently to rest as we climbed closer to the pass. Then the clouds parted, the sun shone and we emerged at the chapel of the Col.

From there it was a nice 1.5 km downhill to Roncesvalles. We met a couple from Estonia and chatted about the world and how it has changed and how it hasn’t changed at all.

And the monastery at Roncesvalles emerged through the trees. Our tired and sore bodies were so relieved. We checked in with the friendly Hospitalero and then headed upstairs to dump our gear and have a shower. The pilgrim dinner at La Posada was at 7. We enjoyed dinnner with Belgians, English, Italians and Danish. We enjoyed a lovely meal and great conversation.

Now we’re exhausted and ready for a good sleep. Except James and I are both on top bunks. Argh! The pain. What an amazing first day on the Camino. What a gift.

Madrid to St Jean Pied de Port

We were woken by the hotel at 7:00am. Outside, Madrid still seemed to be sleeping in the darkness. James and I hit the streets to find a cafe con leche, but everywhere was closed. At 7:30, things seemed to begin opening and we had a coffee with churros at El Brilliante. The coffee was hot, no doubt made that way as it was still freezing outside.

Back to our hotel to pack and then off to Madrid Atocha to catch our train to Pamplona at 9:35.

We raced along in sunshine, the forecast of snow in Pamplona seemingly off the mark. The further north we travelled though, the thicker the snow was on distant mountains. Then we saw it on hills nearby. Then right next to the track. The last 30 minutes into Pamplona was through a winter wonderland.

At the station, we met Mary Ann and Greg from Fort Worth, Texas. They had contacted me through Ivar’s Camino forum when I posted about the taxi that we had booked. They were a lovely couple and we enjoyed the drive up into ever thicker snow in the Pyrenees.

We knew even before we arrived at the Pilgrim’s office in St Jean that the Napoleon Route would be closed. Apart from the snow, we saw dozens of pilgrims on the road walking the Valcarlos Route to Roncesvalles.

As we descended to St Jean, the snow thinned and then disappeared. The village sits in a beautiful green valley, the Pyrenees in the distance. We wished Mary Ann and Greg a Buen Camino, they weren’t starting until Monday, we start tomorrow.

Early afternoon and the Pilgrim’s office was quiet. James and I received our first sello, we are now officially Pilgrims. Pierre gave us some helpful advice and wished us a Buen Camino. We walked down the Rue de Citadel and checked into Maison Simonenia, a beautiful little accomodation.

Before dinner we visit the Cathedral – Notre-Dame du Bout du Pont Church, first built around 1212, raised and then rebuilt. We both lit a candle of prayer & gratitude.

Dinner was at a local restaurant, Cafe Ttipia. James enjoyed local sausages in a lovely thick sauce. Grant had local pork with a divine, creamy mushroom risotto. With a Burgundy, it was sublime. We also tried a local delicacy, canneles. Crispy, sweet burnt exterior, soft, juicy sweet interior. How do they think of such delights?

Now, after another long day of travel, we’re ready for sleep. Tomorrow we tackle the Pyrenees, the hardest day on the Camino.

Brekky & the weather

7:00am on a Saturday morning in Madrid