Day 5: Oviedo - San Juan Villapañada (30 Kms)

I began walking at 7:30am today, my earliest start yet.  I walked for an entire hour through the city of Oviedo, and by around 8:30 I'd reached the west end.  In the distance I saw a hill - which I correctly assumed I'd have to climb - farmland, cows grazing, and lots of trees also.  But before climbing the hill I stopped at a local coffee shop for what's becoming a stable breakfast for me: café con leche, and a slice of tortilla española.

Since I started earlier than most people, I walked alone for much of the day, passing a little chapel (Capilla de el Carmen) in Lampajúa, where I self-stamped my passport.  Then as I continued onward and through various small towns, it became evident to me that I'd definitely left the Basque country behind.  I was now in Asturias, a province that seemed much less well-to-do and more agrarian.

The weather was different too.  In the morning it was a little crisp and fresh, with a few raindrops here and there, but in the afternoon, the heavens opened up well before Peñaflor, with around 10kms of walking still in front.

I put on my poncho, which was an exercise in engineering in itself, but once on, it was pleasant enough to walk in.  I'd read some reviews prior to purchasing it that they get hot and sweaty if worn for an hour or longer, and I found that to be true.  But given the option, with the amount of water that was coming down, I chose to be sweaty-wet instead of rainy-wet.  A decision that I will rarely favour.

By the time I got to Grado, about 3kms before San Juan, I was fed up with walking and was ready to pack it in for the day.  The blister on my left foot was flaring up again, although not as badly as on the previous 2 walking days.  I walked through the town, looking for lodging options, but the cheapest one I could find was 24 Euros.  No chance I was going to spend that much money today.  So on I went.

The rain had in the meantime stopped, but ahead of me lay 3kms of uphill grinding.  On most days I'd have welcomed an uphill climb, but I was near the end of my energy levels and in a horrible mood.

But a Czech pilgrim had by this time caught up to me and passed me, and that spurred me on.  Also, I met up with a woman, probably about my age, perhaps a little older, who was on her way up to San Juan.  She mentioned that about a year ago a loved one had passed away (I think her mother), and that she was walking to the church in San Juan every day this week, to pray, a sort of mini-pilgrimage, if you will.  I thought that was quite meaningful.  Life is a pilgrimage.  Everyday we're on a pilgrimage, everyday we are a little closer to seeing the face of God.

I finally arrived at the albergue at around 5:30pm, after being on the road for 10 hours.  I was pleased to find out that I was the 2nd person to arrive (I'd passed the Czech fellow with about 500 metres to go).  My reward was that I could choose pretty much any of the bunk beds in the common sleeping room.  I picked one in a corner, near a window.

By 7pm the albergue was full, with about 20 pilgrims in total.  San Juan is kinda in the middle of nowhere, with no grocery stores nearby, but the great thing about this albergue was that it was fully stocked: pasta, potatoes, onions, eggs, red peppers, the fridge was fully stocked.  There were even bottles of beer and wine on offer, for the amazingly cheap price of 1E!

A group of us cooked dinner together, shared Camino stories, and planned our journey for tomorrow, before turning in for another night of rest.  I haven't had a night of bad sleep yet on the Camino.  I guess walking 20+ kms per day takes care of that...

Tomorrow, from what I understand, we go to a still more remote town, Salas.  Well, remote in the sense that it's away from major cities.  I think most towns I stay at will at least have a grocery store, so from that perspective, San Juan is an anomaly.

Zenarruza-Bilbao-Oviedo

I didn't walk today, but the day was certainly anything but restful.

I got up relatively early, around 7am, and cleaned up my room at the monastery.  At 8 I ate breakfast again with my newfound lady-friends, and then at 9 the abbot drove us to the bus station, where at 10 the bus came by and picked us up heading for Bilbao.

Around 1 1 I arrived in Bilbao, and said my adieus to the ladies.  I bought my bus tickets to Oviedo and was super hungry, but I had to take the metro downtown to a sports store so that I could buy a new headlamp for the rest of the Camino.

By 1:30pm I was back near the bus station, and had just enough time - 20 minutes - to wolf down a lunch, before boarding the bus for Oviedo.

Around 5:30 I arrived in Oviedo.  On the bus I met a Russian pilgrim, Alexei, who'd walked 100 kms from Roncesvalles to Pamplona (or thereabouts), and who now wanted to walk another 100kms, ending in Santiago.  I told him that Oviedo is over 300kms away, and then proceeded to give him suggestions as to how he could complete the 100kms.

He ended up accompanying me to my albergue, and afterwards we went for dinner.  Below is a picture from our dinner together.

Tomorrow bright and early I will start the Camino Primitivo.  I'm so excited.

Rest at Zenarruza

I attended 4 of the (I think) possible 7 services today: Lauds, Eucharist, visperas (Vespers), and completas (Compline).  Just what I needed.

While the atmosphere here at the monastery is peaceful, it's not necessarily friendly.  Most of the monks are cordial, but they more or less keep to themselves.  For someone who is unawares of the monastic way of life this might seem cold, but having read a number of books on this topic, I know that their task is to fulfill their daily duties, and that they are not to get distracted, looking for "things to do" or "people to talk to".  

Still, I'd have liked it if one of them approached me to ask how I was doing or how my Camino was going.  To be fair, when I went inside the tienda where they sell religous art, books, and some of the stuff they make at the monastery, I did have a nice conversation with the attendant there.  He was surprised that someone from Canada wanted to stay in a monastery (they'd never had a pilgrim stay in the residence, only in the albergue), and he was even more surprised that I could converse with him in Spanish.

I also met 3 elderly ladies who are staying at the monastery.  We ate all meals together.  They told me they do this as a yearly "girls week away" from their busy lives.  I thought that's pretty cool, elderly women getting away for a spiritual retreat.

I've been reading through the gospel of Matthew since I began the Camino.  I read about 3 chapters a day.

I explored the grounds of the monastery today, and I'm coning to the conclusion that while I really enjoy the serenity of this place, I'm restless inside, and one or two days isn't enough time to work on myself.  What's ailing me?

Tomorrow I will continue on my journey towards Santiago.  I will take two buses, the first one to Bilbao, and the second one to Oviedo.  There I want to continue the Camino, and walk the entirety of the Camino Primitivo.

Day 4: Deba - Ziortza (30 Kms)

I blocked the fact that I was walking out of my mind for much of today's walk, and oddly enough, it worked, I made it: 30kms.  I don't think I've ever walked that far in one day!  It was, without a doubt, my hardest day on the Camino yet.

The morning was fresh and sunny, very comfortable; but by 11am the sun was burning overhead, and the pavement seemed to be burning holes into my shoes and right through my feet.

But the scenery, absolutely amazing.  Having passed the vineyard region, today I made my way further inland, where I encountered pine forests, dairy farms, and many rolling hills.  There was a tough sector that was relentlessly uphill, it reminded me of the Grouse Grind.  And actually, I blew everyone away at that point: all the Grind training paid off!

I stopped for lunch around 12pm-ish, and sat down on a hill overlooking a farm with some horses nearby, and a valley below me in the distance.

In Markina I caught up with Markus again.  We stopped there along with a few others at a bar and enjoyed a nice cold beer.  Markus ordered himself a coffee and a beer.  Everyone - including me - thought it was an odd combination, but whatever, he's German I guess.

Markus and I walked the last 6 or so kms together, and along the way we discussed "sin".  Is ignorance sin?  Markus thinks not, I think it is.  But I imagine it's not as clear cut as that.

We arrived in Ziortza late afternoon, perhaps around 6-ish, where I happily checked into the monastery of Zenazurra.  I'm glad I made reservations to stay here for 2-3 days, I certainly need the break.  My body's beaten and (seemingly) broken.  My feet ache.

Tomorrow's Sunday.  I will attend church at the monastery, and then spend the rest of the day reflecting on my experience thus far.  Maybe the day after I'll have enough energy to continue.

Day 3: Zarautz - Deba (21 Kms)

When I started walking today it looked like a rainstorm was on the way, but I was pleased when I noticed that the storm clouds went right over me without dropping any water.  Thank you Lord!

The first two hours or so were mostly through vineyards, like the 2nd picture below shows.  What a great place this must be to live at: near the atlantic ocean, rolling hills, dry and hot weather, lots of wine, and small towns sprinkled everywhere; I love it.

In Zumaia I met up with Jacob and Arman.  Arman and I were quite hungry, so we stopped at the town butcher and bought ourselves, what else but a loaf of bread, cheese, a tomato, jamón ibérico, and an orange.  The food here is so good, it tastes so healthy!

Today's stretch was only 21kms, but boy was I happy when we arrived in Deba, because I've got a couple of blisters on my left foot that are killing me: one is between my big toe and the 2nd toe, and the other one's on the 4th toe.  When I took my socks off at the end of the day, there was blood just inside my big toe, and my socks were also blood-stained near the front.  How am I going to continue?  I'm gutted and discouraged.

The albergue is cheap, 3 Euros, but it's dirty and on a hill just at the edge of town.  The last thing I want to do after walking 21kms is climb a steep hill to the albergue!

I ate dinner with Markus and Angelo, an Italian fellow I met on the road today.  Funny, the picture below shows that Markus was drinking a beer, Angelo was drinking wine, and I was drinking water.  Talk about getting our stereotypes right!

I tried calling Jennifer on the phone today and didn't reach her.  I tried yesterday also and left a voice mail.  I miss her like crazy.  I can't explain it.

I lost my headlamp in San Sebastián, and tried to find another one here but the local sports store didn't have any in stock.

Tomorrow I have a mammoth 30km walk ahead of me.  Lord have mercy!

Day 2: San Sebastián - Zarautz (23 Kms)

I slept unbelievably well last night, woke up with surprising ease, and walked - at least the first 15kms - with unexpectedly high levels of energy.  What more, except for a few blisters that have now developed on my left foot, today's route was physically relatively painless.  I will need to deal carefully with these blisters in the next few days...

The walk began almost on the dot at 8am, when I hauled all my belongings on my back, ready for a new day of walking.  My first destination was actually a deli, less than 3 blocks away.  I was told that they sell delicious jamón serrano and queso manchego.  In addition to the ham and cheese, I bought myself 2 - 1.5 litre bottles of water, a loaf of bread, and a couple of oranges.

Not too long into my walk I met Jesse, a girl from Germany.  I walked with her for a couple of hours.  This is her 2nd Camino, having previously completed the French route.  About halfway through the walk I also met Markus, another German.  He's a very intense fella, but friendly enough.  I appreciated my conversation with him, as within a very short period of time he opened up and told me about his life.  He recently got a divorce, he quit his job at Audi, is skeptical about God (ie - particularly the Roman Catholic church, where he stems from), but was very engaged with life.  "I'm trying to figure it all out."  Refreshing honesty!

Towards the end of the day Jesse, Markus and I met in Orio, and walked together the last 7 or so kms.  Hot, sweaty, and exhausted, we stopped for a late lunch at an abandoned hermitage.  Once we got going again we realized that Zarautz was virtually just around the corner from where we ate, so our last stretch was quite short.

To our disappointment, however, we found out (after trudging all the way through and to the far end of town) that the albergue was sold out for the night.  So back to downtown we went, and found ourselves a private pension home.

The scenery today was not nearly as stunning as yesterday, but still, it was very beautiful.  Zarautz is a resort town, where similarly to San Sebastián, Spaniards go on vacation.  But Zarautz is not nearly as big as San Sebastián.

At 8pm I met Markus for dinner.  Two other Germans (what's with meeting all these Germans on the Camino?) - Jacob and Arman - joined us for dinner, but I got the impression that they didn't get along with Martin very well.  I wonder if there's a story behind that...

Anyways, below are a few pictures.

Less than an hour into the walk, there was a "self-service" station to get my Camino passport stamped.  Jesse took the picture.

Farmland, with the Atlantic ocean in the background.

Refreshed after a late lunch, I took a picture of myself.  The beach is already on the outskirts of Zarautz.

Camino, with farmlands on either side.

Markus and I, at a vineyard.  Yes, we tried a few grapes .. delicious!

Oceanside in Zarautz.

Day 1: Irún - San Sebastián (25 Kms)

Breathtaking!  That sums up my experience today.  And that word - breathtaking - can be used in 2 ways: 1- the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful; and 2- today's stretch was breathtakingly difficult!

The setting is the northeast coast of Spain, right at the border with France. After leaving the small town of Irún, I climbed up a mountain, offering wonderful views in all directions.  To the east was Irún, and France behind it, to the south the Pyrenees (in the distance), to the west Pasai Donibane and way in the distance San Sebastián, my final destination point of today's walk, and to the north, the Atlantic Ocean.

The first 12 kms or so where up a mountain, then I walked along the top of the mountain ridge for about 3 kms, before descending through a forest to a small town of Pasai Donibane, where I, quite happy with myself, took the liberty to stop for some bocadillos and a beer.

But whereas the first 15 kms or so took me 2 hours, the next 10 kms took me about 4 hours, eclipsing any good feelings I'd developed to that point.  In fact, at one point I wondered if I was up to the challenge of walking the Camino.  In the end, however, I made it to the youth hostel in San Sebastián, where I currently sit and lick my wounds!  Tomorrow I have to do this all over again???

The weather was cool and cloudy in the morning, and hot and sunny in the afternoon.

In the evening, around 8, I took a bus downtown where I ate dinner at a restaurant called Iturioz: I ate an ensalada mixta, spaghetti bolognese, and drank a nice rosé wine with it.

I also visited the cathedral, Buen Pastor (Good Shepherd).

The language they speak here in the Basque country is quite unique.  Written, it doesn't look like Spanish, and the sound also certainly isn't Spanish.

Athletic de Bilbao

As I mentioned yesterday, one of my aims for today was to visit the stadium of Athletic Bilbao.  Mission accomplished.  I took a tour of the club's facilities downtown, including the stadium, trophee room, change rooms, and media room.  Very cool.

Late afternoon I took a bus to Irún.  Tomorrow I begin the Camino.

Bilbao

I arrived in Bilbao this afternoon.  The atmosphere - weather, people, buildings, food, even the smells - reminded me of Paraguay.

I took public transit from the airport to a downtown stop, and then took the metro to the old part of town where my pension (hostel) is located.  Upon arrival, I was exhausted.  I threw myself on the bed and took a 2 hour nap.  Then I showered and ventured out to get a quick glimpse of what many people had suggested is a wonderful city.

For dinner I found a place with not too many people, and ordered some bocadillos and a beer.  The interesting thing for me was that I ate dinner at around 7pm, a normal time for a meal for me, but for the Spaniards this was extremely early.  Many of the other customers in the restaurant (well, technically it was a bar) were getting a light snack on their way home from work.

Below are a few pictures I took.  It's a nice and tranquil city, at least that's what it seems like to me.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.  In the morning I want to go to the post office and send some luggage ahead of me to Santiago.  This luggage I will need after my walk is completed, and when I  visit Juan in Pamplona.  After the trip to the post office I want to go see the stadium of Athletic Club Bilbao, one of the historical fútbol teams in Spain.  I think that along with Barcelona and Real Madrid, they're the only team that has never descended to the 2nd division; and this, using only local players from the Basque country.  Impressive!  Towards the end of the day I need to go to the bus station and catch a bus to Irún, my starting point for the Camino.

Camino Itinerary

Tomorrow my journey to Santiago begins.  Roughly, this is my itinerary:

September 16: Vancouver - Bilbao, via Frankfurt

" 17: arrive in Bilbao
" 18: sightseeing in Bilbao

" 19: Bilbao - Irún by bus

" 20: Irún - San Sebastián (day 1 of Camino del Norte), 25 kms

" 21: San Sebastián - Zarautz, 23 kms

" 22: Zarautz - Deba, 21 kms

" 23: Deba - Ziortza, 30 kms

" 24: Rest in Ziortza at the Monasterio de Zenarruza

" 25: Ziortza - Oviedo by bus, via Bilbao

" 26: Oviedo - San Juan Villapañada, (day 1 of Camino Primitivo), 30 kms

" 27: San Juan - Salas, 20 kms

" 28: Salas - Tineo, 19 kms

" 29: Tineo - Borres, 19 kms

" 30: Borres - Berducedo (via Ruta de los Hospitales), 27 kms

October 1: Berducedo - Grandas de Salime, 21 kms

" 21: Grandas - A Fonsagrada, 27 kms

" 3: A Fonsagrada - O Cádavo, 25 kms

" 4: O Cádavo - Lugo, 331 kms*

" 5: Lugo - Friol, 25 kms

" 6: Friol - Sobrado dos Monxes, 27 kms

" 7: Rest in Sobrado at the Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de Sobrado

" 8: Rest in Sobrado

" 9: Rest in Sobrado

" 10: Sobrado do Monxes - Arzúa, 23 kms

" 11: Arzúa - O Pedrouzo, 17 kms

" 12: O Pedrouzo - Santiago de Compostella, 17 kms

* I may meet Jennifer here for a day or two, which would affect the schedule. 

Once in Santiago, I want to take a few days and recover, and then off to Pamplona to visit Juan for a few days.

In total I hope to cover 400+ kms.  My emphasis during the journey will be on prayer - I sent out an email to my loved ones inviting them to send me their requests.  I'm delighted that I received requests from more than 20 people.  What an honour, to carry their requests and praises with me!

I arrive back in Vancouver exactly a month after departing for Spain, October 18th.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have Mercy on me, a Sinner!

Camino: Discerning, Costly

As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, I hope to go on the Camino de Santiago very soon.  In fact, my departure date is September 16th.

As I've been preparing to go on this journey, I've noticed how particular others are in preparing for the journey.  I've done research on a number of websites, and it seems that people meticulously calculate what to bring along and what to leave behind.  The theory is that the more you bring along, the heavier your backpack, and the heavier your backpack, the more difficult, painful, and frustrating the journey becomes.  Doesn't Jesus say something along these lines?  Travel with only the tunic on your backs..., don't build up for yourselves earthly treasures...

Here's an example of how meticulous some pilgrims are: in a bid to save weight, they cut off most of the handle on their toothbrush!  And here I am, wondering whether I should bring an eReader or a book.  So whereas I am calculating weight in kilos, others are measuring what to take along in grams!  The general rule I've learned people try to adhere to is that they take no more than 10% of their body weight in their backpack.  So far I'm at 13%.  I'd like to cut out another 4 points and get down to 9%.  This means that my backpack will weigh about 7 kgs, when all is said and done.

Another thing I've noticed is that while walking the Camino is certainly cheaper than going to a beach resort for a week, it's still a costly endeavour.  So far I've spent in excess of $500 in preparatory purchases: a Deuter backpack, 2 short-sleeved wool t's, 1 long-sleeved hooded wool t, wool socks, wool underwear (wool is the theme, here, as may be evident), a headlamp, and an all-purpose cleaning soap, to name the major ones.  And in all likelihood more expenses are still to come.

I can't help but feel like a bit of a wimp, when I think of how difficult the real pilgrims of generations past had it, and how easy it is for me.  They didn't have the privilege of shopping at MEC as they prepared to walk.  Rather, they uprooted their entire families, sometimes spent their entire life savings, in order to walk the Camino.  This, in addition to facing the danger of robbers, and battling the elements - weather and wild beasts - along the way.

Still, I hope there's at least some kind of a spiritual benefit to embarking on this journey!

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have Mercy on me, a Sinner!

Penticton With Family

Just came back from Penticton.  Had a great weekend there with family.  The best part was that Ralph came along too.  Praise God!