I left Roncesvalles on a misty dark morning. It rained just a little bit today. Mostly cloudy, and a little cool. It was lovely. Shortly I came across Burguete, the town that Hemingway loved so much. I had my first cafe con leche, and a warm chocolate pastry of some sort. Heaven!

For lunch I stopped in a village and had a bread and cheese roll with an Irishman named Jamie, and a fat dog.

But even though the terrain was wonderful, the day got worse for me as me knees steadily got worse. . It isn’t too bad when the trail is level, but any incline makes it hurt a lot. Every step was like slipping a needle into each knee and I started to wonder whether my Camino would end so quickly. Along the way I was encouraged by Morag and Peter as we passed each other along the trail. As well I met Mette (from Denmark) who kindly traveled with me several times and help keep my mind on things other than the pain. I walk slower than Rick with his cane at that point. At the end of a long day moving it took me almost an hour to travel the last 3/4 km to the final destination for the day, Zubiri.

At the Farmacia I was given ibuprofen (900mg three times per day) to use with my codeine. It took away some of the pain and swelling but not all. I also picked up some ear plugs, but with the pain I didn’t sleep well.

I had a nice supper in a local café where I met two ladies from Norway (for some reason their names escape me), a Danish gentleman named Kim, Anne, and Mo. Anne and Mo are Canadians from Ontario.

I also met two young Canadians. They are spending a year travelling the world and the Camino Is one part of that. The cool aspect is the lady was raised in Winnipeg.

Soundscape – Walking
Soundscape – Distant Bells

Walked with Mette for a fair bit today and we had several wide ranging conversations covering everything under the sun. She introduced me to a German woman named Danny who is carrying a huge pack almost bigger than herself. Wow!

However, I screwed up today and I was not prepared. There was none of the expected stores or cafes along the way and I ended up with nothing but 12 dried apricots and water for the day; everything is closed. Perhaps it is a holiday. Not good. I’m going to have to watch that in the future. I only have a handful of dried apricots to get the 22 km to town. By the time I got to  Pamploma, I was a wreck, and confused. I didn’t get enough food and I slept poorly. Not my greatest moment.

It is almost 5 pm now and I’m famished and a bit light-headed. I even got lost a couple of times on the way here, but the Spanish people are very friendly and helpful. One woman who saw me going the wrong way yelled across a very busy street to get me going the right way. I didn’t even know I was lost at that point.

Still missing Sandy, the kids, and Max…

Long, long day today.

I had no sleep last night as every little movement caused my knees to flare in pain. The left knee is swollen and bluish, the right is just swollen. This morning I gave one of my clay shells to Mette to carry. She liked it when she saw it tied to my walking stick and I was unsure at that point whether I could continue all the way to Santiago. The pain almost got me to pack it all in. However, I called Sandy and she talked me down and propped me up. Onwards to Puente la Reina!

So I walked, painfully, on. During the fourth day the ibuprofen and the codeine were starting to work their magic and my swelling did go down some and the walking became easier.

Somehow I made it to Puente la Reina, much to the surprise of many people. Mette’s jaw latterly dropped. They thought I was going to get a hotel and see a doctor in Pamplona. However in my state I had been unable to accomplish it.

I can’t believe I made it.

I had an amazing pilgrim’s meal, some good company including Kim, Mette, Anne, Mo, and Rupert. I drank a lot of water as my body rebelled at the thought of drinking the wine. I said hello to Peter and Morag as well. I had not seen them since just outside of Zubiri. They seem to be doing well.

With the help of a variety of drugs and the first decent meal in a couple of days, I slept. Indeed, I slept in. When I woke up, the dormitory almost empty. Whoops!

It was a nice day of walking, my knees were just twinging on the inclines and the birds were singing.

In the first half of the walk I chanced upon Anne and Mo. They were having some problems with over packing. They had a bit more food than they needed. Since I had a relatively light load, I took their food and promised to meet them in Lorca. We had a nice lunch and I had a lovely ice cream while sitting in the shade in front of a very pretty albergue.

In the afternoon I travelled with Kathrina, Johann, and Patrice. They were very nice company and fun to walk with.

Estella is a lovely city and I was set up in the municipal albergue. The albergue is also a sport centre, so I enjoyed nice showers for a change. However, the municipal albergue is on the far edge of town. Which is good for the morning as it kind of gives you a head start on the day. However, I estimate that it is a good 3-4 km back to the town centre. I made this trip several times. First to visit the town centre, then back to the albergue to have dinner, then back to town centre for supper when it turned out that dinner at the albergue was all booked, and then finally back to the albergue to go to bed. All with pained knees of course… Long day, but I slept well.

Soundscape – Walking
Soundscape – Bird
Soundscape – Birds

Off to Los Arcos. A wonderful day! My knees barely bothered me and the weather was grand! On the way I encountered Camino John. John is a retired Englishman who, since he retired eight years ago, spends April to October of each year driving up and down the Camino in his camper offering pilgrims water, coffee, rest, and water. He is an angel!

Made it to Los Arcos but the town is full, no room at the inn, or the Albergue, or the hotel.

I wondered about wondering where I was going to end up when I met a small group of people also looking for a place to stay. One gent stood out of the group as he seemed the most comfortable in the situation as he speaks Spanish. His name is Keith and we followed him about as he talked with locals in the hopes of finding a spot or the local priest in hope of getting some help. In the end Keith found people a place to stay in a garage while I got lucky and was able to share an apartment with some other thanks to Danny who chanced upon the right person at the right time. It is wonderful!

I had a nice dinner with Kim, Mette, Danny, Morag and Peter.

Happy birthday to me. Danny and Mette both wished me a happy birthday and Danny gave me a small pilgrim’s pin which I put on my satchel strap. They were the only two that knew it was my birthday.

Soundscape – Birds

I left Los Arcos in the early morning. It was still dark in the streets and the sky was a wonderful dark blue. As I was walking over the bridge, the bells of the cathedral rang out behind me. It was a wonderful. It was a very nice walk to Torres del Rio. Yea pain killers! The trail was nice and the weather was pleasant.

When I arrived at Torres del Rio I sat at a cafe and tended to my blisters over a cafe con leche and said hello to some fellow travellers that I had been seeing off and on. Once my body was tended to, I donned my pack and set out to look at the Iglesia del Santo Sepulcro. It is a very nice Romanesque church reputedly of templar origin. It is and interesting octagonal shape and nice stone work. My friend Rick is interested in the myths and fables that surround the order so I took many photos for him. I also noted that there is a Templar-themed bar which was unfortunately closed when I walked through.

Along the way to Viana I chanced upon Peter and Morag. We stopped in Viana and had a little lunch and relaxed in a small plaza with a fountain and some tables and benches. Just before we got to Logrono, we passed what I later learned is a Camino institution, the fig stop of Felisia. The site was overseen by a woman called Felisia. She provided figs and took donations. She had her own sello that says “Felisia – Higos-Aqua y Amor” (Figs, water and love.) Felisa has passed on but her daughter Maria now sits at the rickety table outside a little farmhouse. The stamp is still one of the most sought after on the Camino. I didn’t get me credential stamped as I am trying to only stamp overnight stays and cathedrals, but Morag and Peter got stamps.

By the time we arrived at Logroño, there was no room left at the albergue so I luckily got some space with Danny, Mette, and Birgit in a hotel. We sat around for a fair bit just chatting in the hotel and we did a short walk about in the late afternoon. We were surprised the amount of people in the streets in the evening. There were people everywhere, strolling, shopping, signing, etc. They were simply enjoying their city. I wish Winnipeg was like this, but there is not will to better the downtown there.

Soundscape – Bells of the Los Arcos Cathedral
Soundscape – Logroño Street