Villamayor de monjardin – Torres del Rio – 21 kms

Today was a hard slog. It was 13 kms walk to the first town and there was no shade. The afternoon was the same. It was 34 degrees.

I think the heat and the wind has made me go mad as I made many friends today.

I met Olivia, whose hair was blowing in the wind. I told her she looked beautiful and she told me the answer and called me her friend.

Then I met Poppy. She was a stuck up cow who wouldn’t talk to me. I told her where to go.

Blackie was a cool dude, and Mike made friends with Daisy.

You know you’re going mad when you make friends with the shrubbery.

Other than talking to the Olive trees, poppies, blackberries and daisys, I sang songs. Turns out it’s a thing and I’m not the only one singing on the trail.

We are in a nice albergue tonight which is more like a hotel. It even has a swimming pool. I’m too tired to use it.

We ran into our Irish friend again. She is 62 and is walking camino for the first time and doing it on her own.

In the first few days from St Jean, she got swept away with the other pilgrims racing ahead and she started to struggle. Then she wondered why she was pushing herself to keep up and she slowed it down.

As a result, she’s doing it at our pace and we keep catching up.

Nice dinner tonight, possibly a slow start tommorrow. Hee hee.

Lorca to villamayor de monjardin – 19 kms

We’ve been walking for one week now and we’re loving it. I’d heard stories about overcrowding on the camino but so far we’ve found ourselves with the trail to ourselves alot of the time. Yesterday we hardly saw anybody.

Today we walked passed the wine fountain. Yep. That’s wine, from a fountain, and it’s free! So of course we had to stop and sample some.

Tonight we caught up with an Irish lady we’ve met along the way, and the Italians we dined with last night, accompanied by some newbies. It really is a social experience. And everyone is as big a drinker as me! So much for the diet.

It was hot again today, glorious weather, and will hopefully continue.Sampling the wine

Uterga to Lorca – 21 kms

Yes I’m doing song titles if you haven’t noticed. Fleetwood Mac today.

We started out at snails pace again today.

We had planned to only walk 15km, but despite taking our time and having many stops, we arrived at our intended destination at 1.30pm. It was too early to stop so we continued on to Lorca.

It was glorious day and got quite warm in the afternoon. It’s gonna be warm for the next few days according to the weather so let’s hope so.

Tonight we had dinner we 3 Italians and a guy from Japan.

The Italians had met earlier in the day and had been speaking English to each other for quite some time until they realised they were all italian.

Tonight we are in a private room with bathroom and the cost is only 60 euros incuding dinner for the two of us and unlimited red wine.

This place was an oasis in progress.

Pamplona to Uterga – 18km

We’re back on the trail today. Knee is still sore but pain is manageable. I found the walk today mostly easy though struggled a bit on the steep downhill.

The sun shone and the scenery was stunning and we found those statue things.

We are in an empty albergue tonight, hardly anyone here. One of the advantages of not stopping in the popular places.

I am getting my languages all mixed up. I keep speaking French when I should be speaking Spanish and occasionally some German sneaks in there. Maybe I should just stick with English.

Nice night chatting to an Irish lady and a French lady, both travelling on their own.

Here are the statue thingys:

Pamplona

I went to the doctor today and it’s good news.

I can continue to walk but I need to have a couple of days rest. We’d already planned a rest day in Pamplona anyway, so we’ve booked another night.

Mike has my cold now, so he is happy for a break too.

Today we visited the cathedral then sat around drinking coffee and soaking up the atmosphere.

After resting all day had a beer in the square at 5pm. It is the international festival of bands in Pamplona this week so we sat and watched a Canadian big band. They were good.

Afterwards, we found a nice bar and had a drink. At about 8pm we thought about leaving and looking for a restaurant, when some locals at the adjacent table ordered some squid. It looked amazing.

So we found a table inside, ordered somd squid and baby octopus, and it was so frikking delicious. We followed it up with the red wine and mushrooms. (Squid and mushrooms? Probably Mich’s idea of hell.)

But, best meal ever!

We’ve met some interesting people on the walk and today we say goodbye to Motorcycle Man. He is from Austria and was touring France by motorbike.

His GPS broke down and he didn’t know where he was. He arrived in a town, no idea where he was, and noticed lots of walkers.

It was then he realised it was St Jean Pied de Port, where the main camino starts.

So a last minute decision, he buys a back pack and decides to walk.

We met him and his cheeky manner in Orrison. He must be in his 50s, but had women hanging on his every word. He was also a 600cc motorcycle racer and he oozed charm.

But his knees packed up yesterday. His miniscus he thinks. So he is going back to get his bike and continue touring.

Quebec Lady

We met quebec lady on our first night. Just recently she turned 60 and decided she wanted to do something for herself.

She had never been on an aeroplane, and never travelled at all in her life.

So she left her husband at home and embarked on her travels on her own. I actually hugged her and told her I was proud of her. Yes, I was drunk.

The Kiwi

We had our first kiwi sighting yesterday and yes he was from Hamilton. He even played rugby against brother-in-law John back in the day.

He met with an American who led him astray. The american had all the navigation gadgets and told him the had to veer off the path as the “other” way was dangerous.

After walking for 5 hours in the wrong direction, the kiwi told him he was full of shit and started hiking back up the steep hill in the correct direction. It ended up a ten hour day for him, and he wasn’t happy.

Zubiri to Pamplona

Today the sun was shining and we left the alburgue with a spring in our step.

For some reason I picked up the pace today, overtaking everyone in sight. My body felt great.

That feeling didn’t quite make it through the day. With 8 kms to go, my left knee started hurting. I’ve never hsd problems with that knee before, and cursed myself for being thankful I had no knee problems.

I struggled the last 8km, and now I don’t know what to do about it as it’s really sore. I bought a knee brace and that seems to help a bit.

This evening was low key. We had some pintxos (tapas) for dinner and settled for an early night to rest our weary bodies.

Thankfully we have a rest day tomorrow and I’ll try and find a doctor. So not sure if we’ll be continuing the walk at this stage.

Roncesvalles to Zubiri – 22km

Today the sun shone for some of the day and we had very little rain. In fact, the one time it did rain, we were right outside a cafe. So we stopped and had a coffee until it stopped.

It was a much nicer walk today and it was fantastic being able to see more than 5 feet in front of us.

We met judgy lady again and she was like our best friend. And when at dinner she said she wasn’t religious, we were quite surprised.

“But you told us off for living in sin.”

“Really, i said that?’

‘Yep’

“Well I’ve sinned many times, sometimes in one night”

Seriously , this is what she said.

And we met our first kiwi on the trip. Guess where he’s from. Yep. HAMILTON.

Not much else to report other than my feet hurt and my hips hurt.

Orrisson to Roncevalles 17.97 kms

Today we woke up in the clouds. When we started walking it rained. All day. It was freezing.

I layered up with all the clothes I’d packed and mostly stayed warm. This year we’re using poncho’s rather the rain coats. Not sure it was a good decision.

It was nice being able to tuck my hands underneath to keep them warm, but it meant I couldn’t use my poles.

We walked 17km straight, without a break (not even to eat our packed lunch) because it was too cold and wet to stop. I’m sure there would have been really nice views.

The uphill part was okay (I love going up) but the pain started on the downhill stretch and the last 2 km were a struggle.

We are now tucked up nice and warm in a hotel, having a little rest before dinner.

While we waited for dinner we had a drink in the bar and chatted with some walkers we met yesterday, and some new ones. We met our first judgy walker today.

We were having a lovely chat with a lady from America, who is doing this camino for her fourth time.

She noticed I wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. “Are you two married?” She asked.

“Nope,” we said.

“Oh, so you’re living in sin?”

Seriously, these were her words.

“No,We’re just living together.”

“But if you’re not married, you’re living in sin.”

Seriously???

“No. We don’t need a piece of paper to enable us to live together. We’re not hurting anybody.”

“Oh. Okay then,” she said, and continued to talk to us. Clearly she wasn’t that bothered but I’ve never been accused of living in sin before. Just goes to show how brainwashed people can be.

Tomorrow we walk 22kms. And it’s going to be colder and wetter. Hope my body can handle it.

here is Mike’s blog with route:

Www.wheresmike.co.uk

St Jean Pied de Port to Orrison

We mucked about in SJPP buying some last minute stuff. A tiny pocket knife with scissors, some paracetamol, tissues, and snacks.

We began our ascent up the Pyranees at 10.30am. The red and white signs of the GR65 welcomed back. We’d forgotten that the French route we did last year continues on to Ronsavalles.

We wondered a number of times if we were on the right route. We’d been told it was a busy path but we were the only ones walking it, no other walkers in sight the entire way !

It was a steady slog uphill, mostly on roads. We both felt pretty good despite having done no training, and having a cold.

We arrived at Orrison just after 1pm with stunning views over the mountains.

I would think I was on top of the world if I didn’t know about the 17 kms that we have to walk to the summit tomorrow. Eeek.

A lady was walking with her dog, but had not been allowed to stay in any of the albegues (hostels), so she has been sleeping rough, under tables, witb a tarp. We are unsure if she even has a tent.

We had a communal dinner that evening with people from around the world. I was the only kiwi and Mike was the only Pom. There were people from Canada, USA, Wales, Sweden, Mexico and South Africa.

It was a fun night with far too much red wine.

Tomorrow we walk 17km, most of it uphill.