Yup, 6:00am did come right on time… Too early. After waiting for an eternity for the young Spanish group ‘next door’ to stop talking (and by talking imagine the volume you’d use when you and your friends are trying to communicate at a rock concert while standing right in front of the speakers…) and go to sleep. Even when my earplugs are in I could hear every word, laugh and later, snore from our neighbors.
Before I go on, a word about living in Albergues. An Albergue is a hostel set up for Pilgrims. One must have official Pilgrim credentials for admittance and the price of admission is typically pretty darn reasonable; usually anywhere from 4-15 euros per night. Now mind you, this is not for a room per say but rather a bed and typically a bunk bed at that. People from all walks of life and representing dozens on nationalities converge on these Albergues and as such, they represent the first line of challenge to the Pilgrim. Sure, walking many kilometers in a moderately heavy backpack is hard but nothing compared to living in the unique Pilgrim community! There are many lessons that need to be learned on the Camino but tolerance, patience and kindness seem best learned while sharing bunk beds situated 3-4 feet apart in a large room. There are tools to help for sure such as ear plugs, your new best friends. They are treated with respect and carefully packed away each morning lest they be lost making sleep all but impossible. The other tool most used to help in this environment in Spanish wine. It good and it’s cheap. Perfecto!!
By 7:00am our packs were reloaded and most surprisingly our bodies didn’t seem too sore. Given yesterday’s efforts this bode well for the day to come. More on delayed onset soreness to follow. We found our way to the breakfast at Casa Sabina and had a simple but common breakfast of toast, orange juice and cafe con leche. Trust me when I say, cafe con leche will become the main factor as you lie in bed each morning weighing the pros and cons of getting out of bed and carrying on. We enjoyed coffee in Turkey, Greece, Italy, Africa and Costa Rica but can tell you that nothing compares to Spanish cafe con leche to get the ball rolling each day.
So to the Camino trail then… The mid-April weather is still brisk so a light down jacket with light gloves is in order. Full of optomism we set out only to be slapped in the face with reality. Set right at the trail head of day 2 is an overly large sign that tell you that while you believe you’ve conquered the hardest part of the Camino the day prior on the Pryenees, the sobering fact is that you still have 790kms to walk… Just like a punch to the solar plexus from a young, nasty Mike Tyson. 790kms. Could this be right? Like a pitcher who gets rocked with a home run on his first pitch of the game, you need to learn to block out certain things and just get back to basics… Left, right, left, right, repeat. We entered a beautiful woodland trail and before you knew it, all was right in the world again. A few kilometers down the trail you pass through an idyllic Basque town named Burgette. Having a father who was a great fan of Ernest Hemingway, Burgette was a town I was looking forward to seeing again. It was here that Hemingway spent time in the first half of the 20th century and wrote his first great novel, The sun Also Rises. In a couple of days we’d be in Pamplona, another town closely associated with Papa. Soon after Burgette we came across a great little Panaderia in Espinal so stopped in for our supplies for our upcoming picnic lunch. Closely behind cafe con leche is Pan (Spanish bread). Crisp and golden brown on the outside (but never so much so that you hurt your mouth whilst eating) but always soft and airy inside. The flavor is always there and soon becomes one of your comfort foods. Along with some nice cheese and a fresh KitKat bar, we were off.
Where yesterday’s challenge was up,, today’s was down. Make no mistake, going up in the easy part. Loaded with (overly) heavy packs, the stress on the knees and hips is significant. Here trekking poles when used correctly are a Godsend. We dropped into the Rio Erro valley we enjoyed a few minutes of relative flatness before a grinding climb outside of Linzoain. Again we resorted to 50-100 meters stretches and lots of heavy breathing. The reward was well worth each and every breath. The woodland trail on this plateau was stunning and the views of the foothills of the Pyrenees was world class. This bliss lasted for at least an hour before screaming quads become the final reminder of our second day. The downhill stretch into Zubiri was crazy steep. I was and am proud that I managed to not once take more than a single extra strength Ibuprofen during this day. On the other hand, taking 17 single helping probably won’t do my liver any good in years to come. It seems that yesterday’s ups combined with today’s downs created the perfect storm of muscle pain. We limped into Zubiri on our last fibers and found a very nice private Albergue to spend the night. A quick dinner at the local bar, shopping for our picnic lunch the next day and we found ourselves sound asleep by 8:00pm and dreams of Pamplona tomorrow filled our night. 6:00am would come early tomorrow…
A long walk in Spain... 