Got up at 8am this morning. Experienced a slight heartburn in the night, must be the heavy food and the strong wine. Lucky that I brought Zantac with me so the heartburn did go away leaving me to sleep well the rest of the night.

We are still doing the backpack taxi as I am still hurting though not as much as yesterday. We decided to get a small shoulder bag to carry some lunch and water. We bought a small shoulder backpack at a sports store a few kms prior to leaving Estela. It fit our needs well. Got some fruit, bread and yogurt. After a few much needed stretches, we continued on the path of the camino. As the camino dictates, you do not know where you are going but you look for the signs on the way. The signs are the Camino Shell and the yellow arrows. They are well marked and visible for now. I have not heard of anyone getting lost just yet but I am sure there must be plenty of stories on that item.

Just before leaving Estela completely, we came upon the famous Wine Fountain, Fuente de Vino. You can drink at the wine fountain for free. The fountain has two taps, one for wine and the other for water. The custom is to take the wine in your scallop shell and sip from it. There is a camera on the fountain to prohibit people from abusing this priviledge. When we got to the fountain, a local walking his dog put his face beneath the wine tap and opened the tap and let the wine flow into his mouth. He must be doing this often as he seemed quite the expert at this without touching his lips to the tap. I have not bought my scallop shell for my bag yet. So I did the following instead. Marybel had finished her yogurt so we washed out her yogurt cup with water and then filled it with wine. Both of us drank for this cup instead of the customary shell. Once again, a most delicious wine. I am getting to be quite the wine drinker. When we drank this wine, it is in the morning….wine for right after breakfast…lol. I took a picture of this and will see if I have the opportunity to upload this later.

We continued on our journey…as usual…Marybel walks ahead of me. I did not tell Marybel this but Craig from Scotland said yesterday without Marybel around as I told him that I might be slowing Marybel down with my snail pace. He said that perhaps I did not need to speed up but Marybel may need to slow down instead. After all, a lot of people do the Camino for self reflection and slowing down benefits this inner quest of the Camino. I also believe that each person do their own camino in their own pace. I have mine and Marybel has hers.

We reached the town of Villamajor de Monjardin. I arrived at 2.30pm and Marybel arrived only 40 mins earlier. The Albergue of choice here is the Villamayor de Monjardin Albergue. It is very new, having only opened for 3 weeks. What a wonderful albergue!

We were starving and had only some bread and pate to eat. The caretaker of the albergue provided more bread and some salami to make up the rest of our meal for free. The albergue has kitchen facilities so that you can cook if you wanted to. The town´s mercado is not open. Marybel wanted to buy some eggs for breakfast tommorrow and this objective cannot be accomplished without a grocery store nearby. This is what the owner of the albergue did. He got 6 fresh eggs from home and gave them to us, once again for free. Even though breakfast is provided, it is pastries and coffee. We now have something extra that others will not have, fried eggs for breakfast for tommorrow due the generosity of the owner of the albergue, Javier. I cannot say enough how this albergue is the best that I have stayed in, even if it has only been 4 days on the Camino. Great service and offerings for only $15 per person.

The pilgrims for this night is a retired man from Britain, Colleen from San Francisco and an Irish couple, I did not get their names. We did not have an opportunity to find out more about them as we got busy getting laundry done. Dinner was passable in a nearby bar for $10 euros, pasta, turkey and fries and oranges for dessert. Having kitchen facilities is not good when there is not grocery store nearby to get supplies for a decent meal so the pilgrim´s menu is prime for moments like this.

The view from our room is fantastic overlooking the Spanish farms and vineyards. Did I mention? What an amazing albergue!!!

Internet is free here so I am able to provide an update of four days on the camino. I do not know what is available over the next few days. I promise that I will try to do as much as possible when I have access.

I have to wake up early tommorrow morning to cook us eggs. Tommorrow, we go to Torres Del Rio. This trek will be 19.9 kms. I am taking a challenge of a longer trek as the trek appears to be easy with no ascends and descends, just straight walking on level country roads. Let´s see what happens. I will keep a log and advise you guys later.

Hasta Luego!!

We left Cirauqui at around 10 am after breakfast of again eggs and bread. I find that fueling up properly prior to walking helps a lot. We will do about 14 kms today passing Lorca and Villatuerta. This is suppose to be an easy trek. As I am still new to the Camino, I need it to be easy as the first day was very hard.

We had lunch in the town of Lorca of bread, pate and small pizza which we had purchased earlier in Cirauqui. We purchased coffee from a machine as nothing was open in this town. We shared our small pizza with a woman pilgrim from Mexico.

There was a stretch on this trek where we had to go downhill. I still had problem with my left leg. Going uphill is no problem, just going down. I managed slowly with my walking stick. I really mean very slowly. On my way down the hill, I met Tara and Linda from Jacksonville, Florida. Linda also suffered an injury to her knee area. She suggested that I obtain a knee brace from the pharmacy.

Marybel arrived in Estela at 3.30 pm and I arrived an hour half later. I hurt all over. Our beds were on the third floor of the Municipal Albergue. I believe at this stage, the stairs were the hardest climb for the day…lol. Marybel poked me in the butt cheek area and I hurt there too. I laughed as I did not know there are areas of me hurting as I did not feel them until they were touched or in my case, poked.

After I took a most refreshing shower in a unisex shower room, I felt like a new woman. Here is the interesting part of the shower. I obviously was enjoying the shower and made some unbecoming noises. Marybel made a comment that it sounded like I was having sex in the shower….No such luck!! I probably made relief sounds massaging my hurt muscles as I scrubbed myself clean and hard.

We walked the town of Estela and it is like walking Banff with its quaint personality and tiny shops. We visited a couple of pharmacies to see if I can get a knee brace. The second pharmacist said that I did not need one as I did not hurt my knee. He said just to take some anti-inflammatories on a consistent basis over the next few days and I will be fine. He said that if I injured my knee, I would not be able to walk as easily as he had seen me walk into his pharmacy. That is good news.

We found a restaurant near the albergue and enjoyed a most delicious dinner. Spanish Paella, garbazo soup, pan fried chicken with fries and fresh strawberries with fresh cream for dessert. I have to say that Marybel and I have been sharing one order for all of our meals. It is enough as the meals are hearty and can feed two people well. Thank goodness for this. I cannot imagine eating a heavy dinner just before going to sleep. I do not know how the other people are doing it. Oh, I need to mention that we got to take our whole bottle of wine with us as we only finished half. Yes, the menu included a whole bottle of wine and if we had finished this bottle, a new bottle would have been opened for us. The Spanish people love their wine.

I found out this tidbit of information for you guys out there who might do this one day. There is a physio therapist at the Estela Municipal Albergue who treats hurt peregrinos for free. I was tempted to visit him but I did not hurt as much as another peregrino who experienced a shin splint. Thus, I did not want to waste the therapist precious time as he is needed to treat others who really required his services.

This is the first night that the ear plugs came out. The snoring in the dormitory was akin to a quoir (forgive me if I spelled this wrong). In unison, it sounded like a performance. Too bad, the people who performed did not get to experience their talents as they slept soundly. Trust me, a short performance is enough just for the hilarity of the situation. The ear plugs are a must for a good night´s rest.

What an incredible day as well!

We left Uterga at around 9:30 am, reaching Muruzabal for breakfast at the Los Nagales restaurant and bar. Eggs and ham with bread & coffee. The trek was easy until Puente La Reina. That was when I experienced an incredible pain in my left leg (possibly due to the fall from yesterday). I limped into Puente La Reina. Given the pain, we looked for tylenol as I packed mine in the backpack and had none with me. The pharmacies were closed this day.

I managed to buy a walking stick to help me walk so that I am not leaning on my left leg too much. As we were leaving Puente La Reina, a local old couple encountered us. They told us of a land slide on the camino after Puente La Reina and advised us to walk the highway instead as it was dangerous. Our objective was to reach Cirauqui for the albergue Maralotx this night.

So we took their advice and walked the highway instead. Here´s what happened though. We were about ten minutes away from Cirauqui when a cop car flashed lights and stopped us. Two cops came out of the car and began questioning Marybel as she was the one who spoke fluent spanish. They told us that we are not supposed to walk this highway and we were going to get a fine for doing this. It was also a heavy find of $300 Euros per person. Marybel told them that if we got tickets for this, our camino will be finished there and then as we cannot afford to complete the camino with a substantial budget being cut due to this misunderstanding of spanish laws regarding the highway. Hooray for Marybel! She talked the cops out of giving us the tickets. One of them then walked with us to the entrance of the town of Cirauqui and also recorded our passport information. He told us not to do this again and will let us go this time. I believe that pilgrims must hold a special place in this culture and he might not have wanted to upset God too much by stopping pilgrims from completing an important pilgrimage. Thank you Lord!

On reaching Cirauqui, a local spanish woman recognising us pilgrims was incredibly helpful and kind. Maralotx is situated up on top of a hill so we had to walk a steep road to the albergue. She saw how tired I was and grabbed my hand and provided steady support right up to the albergue. I mean ÁLL THE WAY!! This is where I truly know how kind God is and how he loves us so. If only we see each moment as such. She gave us kisses and wished us ¨Buen Camino¨and hope that we have a pleasant journey.

We reached Cirauqui and met up with Craig again. We also met Mirabel, a seventy one year old woman performing the camino. What a strong woman for her age. There was also Engolf and his son, Lassi (pronounced Lasso) from Germany. This was our family for this night´s dinner. We shared stories, spinach soup, pasta with bolognese and a custard dessert. Oh, let´s not forget delicious spanish red wine. I am getting used to drinking wine with each meal.

We took the bus and arrived in Pamplona on March 15 from Valladolid via Vittoria-Gastiez. Arrived at around 8:30 pm and began looking for the Pilgrim´s Albergue. We bought our bus tickets to Roncesvalles right away as we were at the bus station already. After asking around in the city of Pamplona, we found our Peregrino´s Alberge for $7 Euros per person. Very basic but comfortable. This is my very first experience with lodgings of this form. As we had arrived late, we tried our best to be quiet while getting ready for bed. No showers for this night as it was too late. I slept in the clothes I was wearing. It was quite cold but manageable. I did not want to sleep smelly in my sleeping bag so it stayed in my backpack. We got up early and started conversations with the people around us. Speaking with Don and Megan, a couple in their sixties from US, we found out that there was heavy snow in Roncesvalles and that it is very dangerous there. Deep snow and very cold. They also had originally wanted to start from there too. We decided not to start from Roncesvalles given the information. We will begin from Pamplona instead. We sold our Roncesvalles tickets for half price to a young couple who wanted to go Roncesvalles regardless of the information.

As it was our first days of the Camino. The going from Pamplona will be difficult due to the high elevation on some parts of the camino. This first day is around 17 kms, greater than what we originally intended. We poured intensely over our guidebook and decided that we will stop in Uterga for our first night. We do not want to overdo it for our first day. The backpack taxi is a great idea. Only $7 per bag but it will help us tremendously as we have a tough climb ahead of us.

And so we begin. There is snow on the route but not as bad as Roncevalles. Marybel is a faster walker than I am so she is always ahead of me. This works fine for me as it allowed me to be engrossed in my meditation walk in silence.

There was a strange incident on this trip. I walked over a small impasse with a small water lane going across my path. I heard a child´s voice speaking to me in Spanish but there was no one in sight. None. It was a girl´s voice asking me something but I have no understanding of what was said. Marybel was way ahead. The child laughed and cried but I could not locate the owner of the voice. I asked Marybel if she heard the voice as she passed the lane but she said no. Eerie but not threatening so I let it go. Perhaps a village child playing tricks on passing by pilgrims and hiding in the drain beneath the lane to scare them. There can be other theories for this such as past life coming in, etc. I cannot confirm anything so I will not dwell on this too much. This stretch is also where pilgrims are to ask for forgiveness for their sins. Perhaps, my sins from the past are coming up for cleansing…don´t know.

We arrived in Uterga, exhausted but glad to have finished this trek for the day. Albergue Camino Del Perdon. It was small and very comfortable. Beds were quite creaky but there were only five of us for the night. Craig Gill from Scotland and a Spanish couple, Plabo & Sonia. That was our Peregrino family on this first day.

Marybel and I shared a peregrino menu for dinner, lentil soup, beef stew and ice cream for dessert. Wine and water is always included with dinner.

What an amazing first day! Hard but fantastic views! I took some pictures but not many. All concentration was on making it safely on the route. I have a picture of me after falling in the mud which I can upload later. It was very slippery and muddy mostly. I hurt from the fall but nothing broken so all is well. Laundry for muddy clothes was required….LOL.

Super first day!

We made a decision to go to Roncesvalles and take our chances with the weather. If we have to turn back, we will. We can always come back to Cuellar and wait if conditions do not permit.

I am truly grateful to my hosts for everything. Veronica has been generous with her time, knowledge and friendship. From transportation, good food and even arranging for cell phones for emergency purposes. I could not have asked for a better start other than good weather. I hope that I can repay her in kind in the future.

She will take us once again to Valladolid to the bus station so that we may take the bus to Pamplona and then on to Roncesvalles.

Until we reach Roncesvalles, I will see if I can provide more updates as to this journey/pilgrimage.

Veronica took us to the city of Valladolid where I purchased a guidebook for accommodations on the Camino.   

She then took me to a Spanish bar where I had my first Spanish beer and my first experience of Spanish pinchos.   Quite the experience.

My first day in Madrid. We arrived at 7:40 am and cleared customs at 8:00. Veronica’s husband, Enrique was at the airport to pick us up. Veronica was not with him and he has never met Marybel. This was what he said when he picked us out from the passengers. “Not too many Chinese people so it was easy to know who Marybel was as her friend is Chino. Easy to pick out!” He embraced and kissed us on both cheeks and grabbed our bags.

They live in Cuellar, a town of 10,000 people. It was a two and half hour drive to his home. The spanish countryside is exquisite.

“I know I am not in Kansas anymore”.

They live in a flat and will be moving to a new home in a week (We visited their other home later in the day). As I had slept on the red eye into Madrid, I felt fine but Marybel was extremely tired not having slept at all on the flight. As soon as we were shown to our room, Marybel went to sleep right away. I had nothing else to do, I allowed myself to catch another two hours of rest.

Veronica and her family are extremely good hosts right from the beginning, ensuring that we had everything we needed. After our nap, it was lunch time at 2:30pm which is the normal time for the Spanish afternoon meal. They have dinner at 9pm at night. Chicken Lasagna with a light house green salad and delicious wood oven baked bread. Yes, I had to partake of meat as it was just wrong to be ungracious to my hosts. We opted not to tell them about my vegetarianism. I will take a break on this trip as being a non meat eater is totally unflexible and unforgivable of what is presented in blessed sharing. Later, we were also shown their spanish Ham (whole leg of cured pig hanging on a peg for delicate thin slicing with a fillet knife), that is commonly available in this part of Spain. It is not proschiuto and not serrano ham but was quite delicious as marbled fat and salty red meat melded together once it touched your mouth and tongue.

I took many pictures but not able to share at this time as wifi is not possible and direct internet access is not as easily available at this time.

I also met Pedro Luis whom Veronica arranged to have an info session with us. He has done the Camino twice and had some practical advice for beginners for the Camino. We had a list going such as how to pace yourself (not more than 15 kms a day for the first week), towns to stop for the night (for sight seeing interests), types of hostels and pensions to avoid and information about a taxi service for backpacks (which can come in handy when you have a difficult stretch ahead and need to be free of your pack for the walk).

We have a decision to make at this time. As there is some snow in the Pyrenees, we might have to begin our Camino at Leon instead of Roncesvalles. This is just to avoid having to walk on slippery paths and possibly freezing cold. He said that next week, the weather will be better and spring begins on March 21.

We will sleep on this tonight and will decide after some more rest and more delicious vino. 🙂

This is the rosary that Marybel obtained for me. The beads are made from rose petals and they smell so sweet.

They will probably come in handy when my deodorant wears out…lol