Buen Camino!
The Camino de Santago is an incredible experience - naturally, culturally, socially, emotionally, physically - in many ways. We were just trying it out for three days - but it impacted us a lot and we want to come back and do it 'for real'.
Below are some practical trail highlights from the three segments we did. Afterwards, Jane remembered some of the folks we met along The Way...
Day One: Larasoana a Pamplona (~10 miles) - June 15
This morning we got a taxi ride from our hotel in Pamplona up to Larasoana - a village further up in the Pyrenees about 10 trail miles from Pamplona. The village of Larasoana has an alburgue (hostel) and homes, but not much else - no restaurants or bars. The village is a spur off the main trail so if you're starting there, cross the bridge and walk a kilometer and you're back on the main trail.
Larrasoana - a quiet village
The village of Akerreta above Larrasoana (Photo of an alburgue above)
Trail signs through the villages/towns make the Camino easy to find
Generally, the trail is really easy to find/follow thanks to the Pilgrim's guide to the Camino de Santiago and the fact that it's a very well-marked trail with signs and arrows posted frequently.
In this segment, the trail varies from woods/shady, to riparian, to exposed/bushy ridge above the highway, to village and town streets. It was a nice stroll for 7 or 8 miles/not difficult at all - some ups/downs but generally a really enjoyable slow paced easy 5-hr walk in the forest/mountain to Pamplona city center. (The last 2+ miles were walking in Arre and a suburb of Pamplona).
Some of the trail between Larrasoana and Arre:
River Arga is right off the trail to the right
A slug - upon second glance...
Irotz village horno/cafe
Here's some of the trail leading into Arre:
Thinking of Ed (Jane put a rock at the 4k to Arre marker)
We lucked upon a town fiesta in Arre right after crossing the medieval bridge - a marching band and giant figures. Free wine and meats, olives, sandwiches for everyone. Then a dramatic entrance to Pamplona with the trail going around the huge city wall and then up through a gate to 'the' city center/historic part of town. Beautiful - what a cool experience!
Medieval bridge in Arre village
Arre Fiesta - with marching band in the center of the crowd and dancing 'giants'
Lunch time - french bread, olives, salami/ham and cheese. And some local wine thanks to the fiesta!
It was pretty much a perfect hiking day with highs in the 70's and partly cloudy skies. Tomorrow and the next day are the same - lucky again. :). We learned that the best time of year to do the Camino is September or October. May is too rainy. June is OK. July is too hot. August is overrun - everyone here is on vacation that month.
And back in Pamplona for the end of this trail segment...
Day Two: Uterga a Puente La Reina (~6 miles) - June 16
An easy day on the Camino! We decided to catch the trail from Uterga to Punte de La Reina, carrying only light day packs with barely a change of clothes, water, wallets, food, and a camera. We left our big packs at the hotel in Pamplona, knowing we'd be back to stay there the following night. Traveling light is the best way to go - we were so thankful for carrying next to nothing. The lighter the pack, the more you can enjoy the trail, for sure.
Next, about 2.5 kilometers after Uterga is Muruzabal - which has a nice restaurant and a hostel; also an alburgue 2k south on the alternate camino spur.
Most of the towns on these sections are within what seemed like 5 from each other. Towns are more sparse on different sections - but still convenient for lunch stops.
Here is Obanos- which seems to have a lot of choices for alburgues. Quiet town with a cool park for peregrinos to rest.
Last stop for the day: Puente la Reina - a cool town with restaurant options even some on a Monday when a lot of places are closed. We hung out at a sidewalk restaurant which doubled as a road AND the Camino as it passed through town. It is a good people-watching/people-meeting spot.
We realized that most Peregrinos just walk the trail without lodging reservations. Some know where they'll land and call ahead to get a private room if they've had trouble sleeting in the alburgues. But mostly, people show up, see someone they know, they tell them about the $5 euro option down the street, etc. That's sort of how it goes. You bump into people you've met along the Way. People help each other out. It's great. A great feeling being on the trail - solitude while walking and then friendly faces to sit and have a glass of wine and a meal with in towns. We loved it.
Day Three: Puente la Reina a Irache (beyond Estella), 16.8 miles: June 17
16.8 miles. Ouch. We were really feeling like pilgrims - or pereginos - today! We left Puente La Reina at about 7 a.m. and tackled a big hill first thing, having just finished our cafes con leche 'a llegar'. Beautiful countryside beyond this mountain pass and into Maneru village. We got a stamp in Jane's journal and headed out.
Next stop was Cirauqui village. After this village we took a break for breakfast - sandwiches we had saved from the day before - and ate them on the top of a Roman bridge.
Between Lorca and Villatuerta village, we sort of went into a trance mode. I covered my head and shoulders with my scarf. We were on a mission to make it to the wine fountain outside Estella--our own personal Santiago--and get back to Estella to catch the express bus to Pamplona. So we pressed on, breaking for 5 minutes here and there to give our feet a rest.
Estella looked like a lovely city, but we bypassed it another 2.5k to get to that wine fountain - all uphill. A very difficult decision to keep on after getting beaten down by the sun and having sore feet. No matter how great your shoes--and Kristi's Merrils were great, and Jane's Keens were fine--after 15 miles, no matter what, your feet will hurt (and old issues like with Jane's achilles tendon will return with a vengeance, and bring company). But we decided this was our pilgrimage: others have a sacred church at the end of a month's walk, we had a wine fountain. And it was worth it! Although the wine dispenser wasn't a geyser - rather a small stream - it did the trick. So, we hobbled back to Estella, to the bus station and made the early express bus - yay!
Back in Pamplona now for much needed wine spritzers and food. We're sad but ready to continue this chapter on the Camino next time - feeling lucky to have met so many cool people and get a taste of this experience. Can't wait to come back!
People we met along The Way (by Jane):
There were so many fellow peregrinos we met in just the few days we were on the Camino: Lonette Stayton is a writer from Tennessee. She invited us to google her work "Ghost" and "Like Mama". Her husband, Jeff, is an English professor at Mississippi and has a new Civil War historical fiction novel coming out in February. David just finished college in Long Island, and will be starting an MSW at Stonybrook in the fall; his brother, not on the trail, is a traveling professional bell-ringer. Jan (pronounced yon), is from the Netherlands, and runs a carpentry workshop for folks who need care (homeless, wounded, at-risk youth). They are building a boat based on a French frigate design. Two men in their 60s, riding their bicycles to the end, argued jovially with us in Spanish about which of them was the older man, and who had the better bike. Jack is from Ireland and is a greyhound race announcer. Sinead, also from Ireland, is a nurse and doing the trail on her own, but has met a whole slew of proxy family walking the Camino. Ethan was holding vigil at the wine fountain (at the end of our journey this time); he was writing in his journal and drinking wine (which the monks kindly offer as a gift to all peregrinos). He's a young man, whose mother told him about the Camino a couple years ago when she was planning her own pilgrimage. He lives in New Haven (but doesn't go to Yale, he "just lives there.") And he described his walking mates--who we guessed correctly as being David and Jan--who were maybe or maybe not meeting up with him as he camped under the stars that night. Nina, from Germany, laughed as we taught Ethan how to take a proper photo of women (that is, to not include belly, and preferably from a higher vantage point). A young Japanese woman who was about as big as her backpack had never learned how to cinch the hip belt, or secure the straps of her pack, and had been walking from St. Jean to Estella with all her pack weighing on her tired shoulders. She was elated when Janie helped teach her how to cinch her pack - all while walking on the trail. There are so many stories like this on the trail -- even just a simple a hello, a "Buen Camino", or to s[end a few minutes in other peregrinos' stride to learn more abou them, where hey are from, how far they are going and why they are on the trail. People are open, friendly, fun. It was quite an experience. And we'll be back for more...
Next stop: Barcelona!
Tips for our next Camino:
Wall and gate around the city center
Bridge of the River Arga into Pamplona city center. See photo of city wall below
Dinner tonight - a pizza appetizer, delicious seafood paella, and lemonade beer
BUEN CAMINO!
An easy day on the Camino! We decided to catch the trail from Uterga to Punte de La Reina, carrying only light day packs with barely a change of clothes, water, wallets, food, and a camera. We left our big packs at the hotel in Pamplona, knowing we'd be back to stay there the following night. Traveling light is the best way to go - we were so thankful for carrying next to nothing. The lighter the pack, the more you can enjoy the trail, for sure.
We started in Uterga and walked through some interesting towns on mostly flat or rolling trail.
The restaurant in Muruzabal
Here is Obanos- which seems to have a lot of choices for alburgues. Quiet town with a cool park for peregrinos to rest.
La iglesia de Obanos
The Camino as it passes through Puente la Reina streets
Queen's bridge - Puente de la Reina
16.8 miles. Ouch. We were really feeling like pilgrims - or pereginos - today! We left Puente La Reina at about 7 a.m. and tackled a big hill first thing, having just finished our cafes con leche 'a llegar'. Beautiful countryside beyond this mountain pass and into Maneru village. We got a stamp in Jane's journal and headed out.
Before the big hill 1/2 hour outside Puente la Reina
Gorgeous, gorgeous view coming to Cirauqui
Dave from New York and his trail buddies. We kept bumping into them in various
villages. See Jane's stories on people below...
A stamp for Camino passports
Crossing the highway (on a bridge) we descended down to the Saldado river and climbed back into Lorca - where we started to realize that this just might be a tough day ahead - with the heat (only 75 degrees) and direct sun exposure and the slope - we were starting to get beat by the time we reached Lorca.
Such a beautiful morning and till breezy into the afternoon. June is a great month for the Camino
Our shadows on an Ancient Roman road
Bridge at tranquil Villatuerta. We were already close to spent by then
The weather was perfect - but the sun exposure was the tricky part
Historic Estella - right on the Camino
Our destination: free wine fountain. (We had to push ourselves to finish our pilgrimage here -
total of 16.8 mile today with several big hills
Back in Pamplona now for much needed wine spritzers and food. We're sad but ready to continue this chapter on the Camino next time - feeling lucky to have met so many cool people and get a taste of this experience. Can't wait to come back!
People we met along The Way (by Jane):
There were so many fellow peregrinos we met in just the few days we were on the Camino: Lonette Stayton is a writer from Tennessee. She invited us to google her work "Ghost" and "Like Mama". Her husband, Jeff, is an English professor at Mississippi and has a new Civil War historical fiction novel coming out in February. David just finished college in Long Island, and will be starting an MSW at Stonybrook in the fall; his brother, not on the trail, is a traveling professional bell-ringer. Jan (pronounced yon), is from the Netherlands, and runs a carpentry workshop for folks who need care (homeless, wounded, at-risk youth). They are building a boat based on a French frigate design. Two men in their 60s, riding their bicycles to the end, argued jovially with us in Spanish about which of them was the older man, and who had the better bike. Jack is from Ireland and is a greyhound race announcer. Sinead, also from Ireland, is a nurse and doing the trail on her own, but has met a whole slew of proxy family walking the Camino. Ethan was holding vigil at the wine fountain (at the end of our journey this time); he was writing in his journal and drinking wine (which the monks kindly offer as a gift to all peregrinos). He's a young man, whose mother told him about the Camino a couple years ago when she was planning her own pilgrimage. He lives in New Haven (but doesn't go to Yale, he "just lives there.") And he described his walking mates--who we guessed correctly as being David and Jan--who were maybe or maybe not meeting up with him as he camped under the stars that night. Nina, from Germany, laughed as we taught Ethan how to take a proper photo of women (that is, to not include belly, and preferably from a higher vantage point). A young Japanese woman who was about as big as her backpack had never learned how to cinch the hip belt, or secure the straps of her pack, and had been walking from St. Jean to Estella with all her pack weighing on her tired shoulders. She was elated when Janie helped teach her how to cinch her pack - all while walking on the trail. There are so many stories like this on the trail -- even just a simple a hello, a "Buen Camino", or to s[end a few minutes in other peregrinos' stride to learn more abou them, where hey are from, how far they are going and why they are on the trail. People are open, friendly, fun. It was quite an experience. And we'll be back for more...
Next stop: Barcelona!
Tips for our next Camino:
- bring a day pack or the lightest pack you can. This makes a huge difference - we loved just having day packs on. And we saw many people walking the whole trail, and they also had packs just about the size of a day pack. For sure, less is more.
- find/bring a walking stick- not essential but it helps.
- musts to have: water (a water bladder is a good idea); packed sandwiches for a trail picnic, fruit is nice; rain gear (though we didn't need it), hat, buff or bandana, scarf, sunscreen, camera, map, camino trail guide, long sleeve jacket (in case it gets chilly/breezy), pen/notebook, cash/credit card. maybe bug spray during some times of year?
- hot water coil and instant coffee/creamer.
Or, bring nothing and pick up stuff as you need it along The Way...
Sounds great. Well, good thing your there in June and not July. From the description, it sounds amazingly scenic. Looking forward to seeing some pics.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the photos. Holy cow! That area is beautiful! Why am I working? I'll just be a travel bum :) Have fun tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteI cannot wait until next June!!! Thank you for being the look-out! Hopefully will see you on the Camino next year, we will share some wine and stories.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading about your brief Camino trek. I'm looking forward to you two going back.
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I are planning to do The Way to Saint James when I retire in 7 years -- I'll be 70; and yes, I'm in great shape at 63. Although it is a tad bit troubling to read that most of the people who die on the Camino do so in their 70s. Oh well.