Friday 18 October 2013
Monday 14 October 2013
Drawing to a close
The walk is over for this time, sounds like they all enjoyed themselves.. I think they are already planning to return next spring.
One more entry from Marks Blog: www.blistersrus.wordpress.com
One more entry from Marks Blog: www.blistersrus.wordpress.com
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by markknowlton
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It was just 5
degrees and quite chilly when set off from Belorada. Bumped into Craig, the
Microsoft Exec from Australia who decided to stop work and start doing what he
really wanted to do for a couple of years, but sadly waking slowly now as he
has tendinitis in both legs...very painful.
Speaking of pain, John is leading the way on the blisters front - the sole of his left foot is now almost completely covered.
Some of the stories you hear from people you meet along the way are quite incredible; we met a German couple from Bremen who have walked 2800km so far - they just sold up everything and went on the Camino... Haven't stop walking for months!
Speaking of pain, John is leading the way on the blisters front - the sole of his left foot is now almost completely covered.
Some of the stories you hear from people you meet along the way are quite incredible; we met a German couple from Bremen who have walked 2800km so far - they just sold up everything and went on the Camino... Haven't stop walking for months!
Today’s walk, about
15miles was not the longest day but one of the hardest, with 3 peaks to climb
including 'Mont Oca' at 1050m.
Walking along tree lined paths, some way from civilisation for much of the day was wonderful... Some great views too.
Stopping at a small village for breakfast we met Ewan who had carved his Staff from a branch he found near Roncevalles in the Pyrenees, it was a real work if art.
Our evening meal at a really authentic local tavern was served by Antonio and his wife ; two hilarious characters -this was one of our best evenings of the week.
With a little goading from the rest of us , Richard tried to negotiate the price of a bottle of Rioja. To say he failed is an understatement his "we are Pilgrims you know " was met with a blank look by Antonio , who then simply snatched the bottle away, placed it back in the cooler ... ignored us completely and carried on talking to his large group of local customers..
Walking along tree lined paths, some way from civilisation for much of the day was wonderful... Some great views too.
Stopping at a small village for breakfast we met Ewan who had carved his Staff from a branch he found near Roncevalles in the Pyrenees, it was a real work if art.
Our evening meal at a really authentic local tavern was served by Antonio and his wife ; two hilarious characters -this was one of our best evenings of the week.
With a little goading from the rest of us , Richard tried to negotiate the price of a bottle of Rioja. To say he failed is an understatement his "we are Pilgrims you know " was met with a blank look by Antonio , who then simply snatched the bottle away, placed it back in the cooler ... ignored us completely and carried on talking to his large group of local customers..
Geoff added to this story on his return... they did get on really well with the owners, she squeezed Geoff & Richards cheeks and gave them a kiss..and who even tooted and waved as they past them the next day.
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| Walking clothes line ! |
Wednesday 9 October 2013
These feet aren't made for walking !
Todays update
Adventures of a newbie trekker
Today almost felt like a ‘rest day’ as we only had 13 miles to cover. Having said that , blisters are developing well now and becoming quite painful much of the time. I have been lucky enough to avoid them so far, the others are all suffering at varying degrees…but putting on a brave face.
We saw a guy today walking the Camino in bare feet and another chap running, so I guess it could be worse.
In the afternoon, Geoff was beside himself when he realised he had dropped his hat somewhere on the trail. An hour later we stopped for a rest and he noticed a German lady wearing one very similar… “excuse me” he said “I think that’s my hat you’re wearing”
With a smile and a wink she gave it back to him and carried on her way.
Stopping off at a small village for lunch we noticed what looked like Chickens Gizzards…not the most appetising Tapas, but one assumes a delicacy here for the locals.
We made good time and arrived early afternoon at Santo Domingo de Caldez, a 14th Century village which is famous for “The miracle of the Roasted Cock’
…a legend far to complex to fully comprehend, having just been woken by the local Cockerel at 5:00am this morning I am not sure we really care.
We saw a guy today walking the Camino in bare feet and another chap running, so I guess it could be worse.
In the afternoon, Geoff was beside himself when he realised he had dropped his hat somewhere on the trail. An hour later we stopped for a rest and he noticed a German lady wearing one very similar… “excuse me” he said “I think that’s my hat you’re wearing”
With a smile and a wink she gave it back to him and carried on her way.
Stopping off at a small village for lunch we noticed what looked like Chickens Gizzards…not the most appetising Tapas, but one assumes a delicacy here for the locals.
We made good time and arrived early afternoon at Santo Domingo de Caldez, a 14th Century village which is famous for “The miracle of the Roasted Cock’
…a legend far to complex to fully comprehend, having just been woken by the local Cockerel at 5:00am this morning I am not sure we really care.
When the going gets tough..
'They' say..
The first day is
not generally too bad, although the weight of a heavier pack is quite
noticeable and it can be tiring if there are a lot of miles to walk, and/or a
lot of ascent.
The next few days
tend to be worse, as aches and pains start to build up and a general level of
fatigue and weariness sets in, making it difficult to raise the enthusiasm to
get going both at the start of the day and after every rest break.
By about day four
or five things start to get easier as muscles build up again and the body gets
used to the increased level of physical exertion of the daily routine. From
then onwards it is generally OK except that there always tend to be good days
when everything feels fine and bad days when things can be a bit of an effort.
Much of this is
tempered by the state of the weather, the level of exertion of the previous
day, and whether any blisters or other discomforts have started to become a
problem. It is possible to regain ones fitness as a walk progresses.
With a strong will,
a positive attitude, and determination, it is possible to get through all sorts
of physical discomforts along the way. You see people hobbling along with
blisters, limping with sprained ankles and all manner of problems, but still
making it to the finish.
(Using hiking poles helps too)
Tuesday 8 October 2013
Meeting Merlin
As before from www.blistersrus.wordpress.com
Adventures of a newbie trekker
We were on the road again today at 7:00am , headed for the ‘Cafe on the lake’ just 6 km outside Logrono…sadly the Cafe was closed so we cracked onto the next village.
Not really sure if the next Cafe owner appreciated Geoff cutting his toenails or Richard drying his clothes on the sun terrace … But we are Pilgrims after all so I guess they have seen it all before.
Daily washing of our socks and pants seems quite straightforward … drying however is a bit more of a challenge.
Draping laundry across the back of our rucksacks to dry during the day seems to be the preferred option. Lets be honest, not the ‘coolest’ look when you see how Richard does this (see photo) but Geoff has this off to a fine art as you would expect. John however is in a league of his own, he is now down to his last pair of undies… the rest dropped of somewhere en route. Buene Camino!
We met a rather interesting chap (a Merlin look a like-see photo) selling Fruit and Figs for a small donation , apparently he is a very well known Pilgrim who has walked the Camino many times with a donkey.
Further on we stumbled upon two chaps harvesting walnuts … One up a tree with a stick and the other on the ground collecting.
Oh yes, that reminds me…Walnuts, Richard has had a bit if a dicky tummy today – he thinks it was a bad walnut that he scrumped the day before – we think it is more likely to be the Rioja grape habit he has developed , we are surrounded by vines bursting with ripe fruit..Richard never could resist a freebie!
We arrived at Najerra and enjoyed the late after noon sun , feeling quite weary, but proud to have covered 31.5 km
Not really sure if the next Cafe owner appreciated Geoff cutting his toenails or Richard drying his clothes on the sun terrace … But we are Pilgrims after all so I guess they have seen it all before.
Daily washing of our socks and pants seems quite straightforward … drying however is a bit more of a challenge.
Draping laundry across the back of our rucksacks to dry during the day seems to be the preferred option. Lets be honest, not the ‘coolest’ look when you see how Richard does this (see photo) but Geoff has this off to a fine art as you would expect. John however is in a league of his own, he is now down to his last pair of undies… the rest dropped of somewhere en route. Buene Camino!
We met a rather interesting chap (a Merlin look a like-see photo) selling Fruit and Figs for a small donation , apparently he is a very well known Pilgrim who has walked the Camino many times with a donkey.
Further on we stumbled upon two chaps harvesting walnuts … One up a tree with a stick and the other on the ground collecting.
Oh yes, that reminds me…Walnuts, Richard has had a bit if a dicky tummy today – he thinks it was a bad walnut that he scrumped the day before – we think it is more likely to be the Rioja grape habit he has developed , we are surrounded by vines bursting with ripe fruit..Richard never could resist a freebie!
We arrived at Najerra and enjoyed the late after noon sun , feeling quite weary, but proud to have covered 31.5 km
The Camino continues
Geoff
is part of this group, here is how he is getting on :
Adventures of a newbie trekker
The
6:00am alarm call came too soon, the previous evenings haricot beans were
starting to take affect …the air became a bit thick and pungent in the communal
bedroom (not good)
We were on the road at 7:00am … It was still dark as we headed towards the small 13th century village of Torres del Rio. We saw the sun rise – fabulous.
Main ‘highlight’ of the day was at breakfast – watching Richard drop chocolate down his shirt and John trying to get it out with shampoo… Very messy. This was followed by John dropping Geoff’s drink on the floor – the cracks are starting to show!
Arrived in Logrono , very tired after our 20 mile walk that took us 8.5 hours including a couple of breaks. The cathedral was beautiful.
No partying tonight…very tired and legs aching…another full on day Tomorrow with 30km to cover.
We have a few blisters developing in the team…John lanced his with a needle and drained the puss with thread, Richard applied Compede to his… We will see which method works best…
We were on the road at 7:00am … It was still dark as we headed towards the small 13th century village of Torres del Rio. We saw the sun rise – fabulous.
Main ‘highlight’ of the day was at breakfast – watching Richard drop chocolate down his shirt and John trying to get it out with shampoo… Very messy. This was followed by John dropping Geoff’s drink on the floor – the cracks are starting to show!
Arrived in Logrono , very tired after our 20 mile walk that took us 8.5 hours including a couple of breaks. The cathedral was beautiful.
No partying tonight…very tired and legs aching…another full on day Tomorrow with 30km to cover.
We have a few blisters developing in the team…John lanced his with a needle and drained the puss with thread, Richard applied Compede to his… We will see which method works best…
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| Richard & Geoff (in the black top) |
Friday 4 October 2013
Camino de Santiago
Geoff left this morning with four of the five from the original group that walked the first stage of The Way through rural Spain, earlier this year. This second stage shown below is approx 110 miles...
For more details on the Camino de Santiago see my other blog
dedicated to this famous Pilgrimage
Here is the (rough) Plan for October 2013
Stage 6 – Saturday 5th – Los Arcos (23Km)
Stage 7 – Sunday 6th – Logrono (30Km)
Stage 8 – Monday 7th – Najera (30km)
Stage 9 – Tuesday 8th – Santo Domingo (23Km)
Stage 10 – Wednesday 9th – Belorado (23Km)
Stage 11 – Thursday 10th – St Juan (24Km)
Stage 12 – Friday 11th – Burgos (25Km)
Rest Day – Saturday 12th
Fly Home – Sunday 13th – Depart Bilbao 13:40
Stage 7 – Sunday 6th – Logrono (30Km)
Stage 8 – Monday 7th – Najera (30km)
Stage 9 – Tuesday 8th – Santo Domingo (23Km)
Stage 10 – Wednesday 9th – Belorado (23Km)
Stage 11 – Thursday 10th – St Juan (24Km)
Stage 12 – Friday 11th – Burgos (25Km)
Rest Day – Saturday 12th
Fly Home – Sunday 13th – Depart Bilbao 13:40
…then just another 22 stages until we reach Santigo
Thursday 3 October 2013
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