I am walking 800 kilometers across Spain, from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France over the Pyrenees through Navarre, the Basque Country, La Rioja, Cantabria, Asturias and Castile and León to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.
"What motivates you to walk the Camino de Santiago?" a woman asks me at the entrance to Palas de Rei. She's standing under a wooden shed, stamping pilgrim passports. I hesitate, rummaging in my backpack for mine. I'm not quite sure what to say. “I’m looking for answers to some questions and a few other things,” I spontaneously say, probably the most common answer of everybody.
Here I go. For days now my feelings have been swinging between "I want to leave immediately" and "I don't want to leave at all." For some reason it feels like I am abandoning my friends and family, just going away and never coming back. It's so strange. I only got back the day before yesterday from a three-day European tour of Budapest, Athens, and Glasgow, and then yesterday I just sat around doing nothing.
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port Read more »
It is still dark when I wake up. There is a clattering sound above me, as if people were walking around in ski boots. The old wooden floors creak when I hear voices in the hallway. Oh please, it is still the middle of the night! Besides, my head hurts, I would love to sleep some more! But there is no point in doing that so I get up. After all, I have something planned for today and that is crossing the Pyrenees!
Saint Jean Pied de Port – Roncesvalles Read more »
Everything is damp when I wake up in the morning. Right next to my tent, a blackbird is serenading away with its sober medley of notes, unlike anything I have ever heard from a songbird of this species. As I wriggle out of my sleeping bag whistling in return, hoping to encourage the blackbird to try something different, it starts to drizzle. I don't want to put anything on the wet grass, so I carry my things into the woods, where it's still relatively dry, and get myself organised there. Dark clouds are gathering in the sky, and I can't help thinking about Andrew and Aki, who have to cross the Pyrenees today in this weather.
Roncesvalles – Zubiri Read more »
My night ends at 6:30. I haven't slept this well in a long time. Most of my fellow sleepers are still in bed, so I pack everything up as quietly as possible while sitting on my mattress. If I am staying in a hostel ever again, I will have to come up with a different strategy.
It's getting light. I pull out my earplugs and hear an echoing rumble from all directions from people getting ready. Around me though everyone is still asleep, including the fartman. I climb down from the bed, quietly retrieve my rucksack, and sort my things in the corridor. My pain is barely noticeable today, the rest day will do me good.
Andrew and I are leaving Pamplona together today because he is afraid he won't be able to find his way out of the city on his own. Everyone else has long since gone, only Lukasz is still sitting on his bed, leisurely packing his things. I wonder if I will ever see him again as I say goodbye, and my heart feels heavy. That is my thing - I find goodbyes the worst, they really get to me.
Pamplona – Puente la Reina Read more »
In the night i have to go for a wee and as I climb down the ladder and stand up on the floor, I practically collapse in on myself from the pain. It feels like stepping into a pincushion, the soles of my feet are burning so badly. I can only move forward with flat feet, taking small steps and in a stooped position, and I realise that I fit right in with the elderly Frenchmen in the room. Incidentally, no one in the room actually snores, which I hadn't expected given the occupancy. One of the men, however, sleeps with a CPAP mask, and the machine makes strange whistling noises all night. There's always something.
Puente la Reina – Villatuerta Read more »
I wake up in the morning with a strong rumbling in my belly. I barely manage to get out of the tent in time and relieve myself right next to it. Oh no, please no. Every minute now I am making a huge mess which I try to cover with some cardboard lying around. Once, the Frenchman comes around the corner just as I am emptying myself again. He probably wanted to say goodbye, but at the sight of my bare bottom, he quickly turns around and makes a hasty retreat.
Villatuerta – Estella Read more »
I still have terrible diarrhoea, but I don't feel so exhausted anymore. I even walk to a nearby supermarket in the afternoon to buy biscuits, noodle soup and lemonade to get my circulation going a bit.