PrayerWalker and Stoney - Pilgrims on the Camino 2014: Day 2, 3 & 4 - April 29, 30 and May 1

I have not had decent internet service until today. We left Zubiri about 7 am and arrived in Pamplona today about 1 pm and made our way to a hotel with very good high speed internet. It is 8:30 pm and Stoney is sleeping. He is coming down with a cold. Please pray for him. He also fell today into a ditch as he waited and turned around to see if I was making it up the incline. We were walking with two doctors from a French Basque town. I have pics of them but they are on my camera and I have not had time to move them to my Ipad. Nick walked with the husband and I walked with his wife. Sure made the miles pass faster. Stoney had a cut on his finger and ear and she pulled out two bandaids and antiseptic wipe. He hit his head but we are grateful nothing was broken. When I topped the hill and saw him in the ditch. That was a shock. He wasn't moving. My first thought was this could be the end of our Camino. It was hard for him to move to get us with his pack. He got some mud on his pack and seat of his pants and was very embarrassed by all the attention. Several guys pulled him up out of the ditch and we walked on. (No pics taken) but I'll never forget it. So glad he was not seriously injured except for his pride. But, hey, don't we all need a little more humility.

Day 2 - Orrison to Roncesvalles. Incredible!!!! Long climb but so worth it. It began looking like this.

And then it started to clear... WOW !

It was a road walk for a good part of the day - UP.

Not hard to smile walking this road UP all day when we had such incredible views.

Getting closer to the top.

Walked some with 27 yr. young nurse from Australia, Amy.

Also walked with Louis from South Africa and Gunwar (below) from Denmark but living in Australia.

Boot sucking mud coming down.

One of the few pictures I have of Stoney with me in front of him looking back. He won't admit it, but he intentionally slowed so he could watch me, see where I sunk into the mud and avoid those places hoping to keep his shoes clean ...hahaha. He does not like dirty shoes but they were baptized in mud today. The leaves on the side provided some help from the mud.

The sun came out.

We are heading down - a very long down!

And down ... notice how the trees are growing

In the center of the V in the trees below is our first view of Roncesvalles - our destination for today but it will be awhile before we get there.

I was so tired when we arrived. I thought I took pics of our cubicle for four. Maybe I just dreamed it. My third stamp and my shoes in the entry of the albergue. We had to put on our clean sandals and check our shoes in a special room for dirty shoes before we could go upstairs to our bed.

First pilgrim Mass and Blessing was here.

St. James side altar.

Day 3 - Roncesvalles to Zubiri

I awoke about 5 am having slept soundly. We were in 4 person cubicles (180 of us). Lights went out at 10 pm and the silence was incredible. At 6 am music started to play. Then guitar players walked by singing and playing Wake Up Little Suzy. That got young Harry's attention and he got up. He had told us it was difficult for him to get up in the morning.

We left the very clean and new municipal albergue about 7 am after a good and restful night. It had filled to capacity(180) and they opened the old one for about 40 pilgrims. There are lots of pilgrims on the Camino. Rained a lot again today.

We walked until 10 am and stopped at a bar. I was MORE than ready to sit down. The place was tiny - about 10 ft. wide by 16 ft long with seating for about 22. Backpacks were everywhere and we found a spot for ours. I must have looked dreadful. A man got up to give me his chair but we chose a long table with bench seating. I spoke briefly with a woman from Australia who grew up in Scotland. She was about finished eating and when she left a woman from England (72 yrs ) sat down. She walked the entire Camino when she turned 60 and wanted to do it again. We had an omelet with cheese served on delicious French bread. Each one was about 10 inches long so we ate half and carried them with us for later. I had a coke and Nick had coffee. Wish I would have taken a picture of it. Because of the weather I did not take many pics today.

This seemed odd - a paved trail. It was slippery but it sure beat the mud and rocks.

The final descent to Zubiri was dangerous. It was very steep. The picture below was taken before the very really vicious decline began.

Thick and slippery mud covered rocks on a descent which would have been difficult on a dry day made this very frightening. At times I felt like I was skiing on muddy rocks. My soles were so thick with mud so as to make the tread nil. My trekking poles helped a little but they slipped too. We were lucky not to fall. At one point I literally froze (thinking about my falls on the AT) and all I could do was keep repeating "I am going to fall, I am going to fall." Stoney turned around and saw me stuck there afraid to move but sliding nevertheless and pointed to the side and said go for the grass on the slope. I made it down. Many people arrived with mud on the seat of their pants and backpacks from falling.

Welcome to Zubiri

My pedometer recorded 16 miles; the guidebook said it was 13. Either way I was done! We arrived about 1 pm and opted for a private room with shared bath at Usoa (3 private rooms).

Price was 16 Euros per person compared to 8-10 E at an albergue where we would be in a bunk bed in a room with 8, 10 or more. Stoney isn't too enamored with that environment. Here we have full use of the kitchen and living room area. It is very clean and quiet. The young girl who is running the place while her parents are on vacation offered to let us do laundry but it had just been done last night. Nick cleaned all the mud from our shoes and I cleaned it off our pants' legs. We hope our shoes dry by morning. We have them stuffed with newspaper but there wasn't any sun to set them in.

Stoney went to the little supermercado and bought Aquarius (like Gatorade). We had chorizo and cheese from SJPD and we finished it for dinner along with a potato and ham thing they call a tortilla (it's like a heavy quiche).

I had a bath today. What a treat.

Population of Zubiri is 400. The church is in the center which we are very near and the bells toll the hours and rings once on the half hour. We wonder if they ring thru the night. It is hiker midnight and we are in bed. Nick is already asleep. He may be coming down with a cold. I hope not.

Day 4 - Zubiri to Pamplona

Again a 7 am start after a great night of sleep. Stopped at bakery for treat to have on the trail. We had made Starbucks Via coffee before leaving room.

Terrain was gentle compared to previous days. It rained some and drizzled off and on. There were stretches of slippery muddy rocks on descents but less dangerous overall.

Again stopped after walking nonstop for 3 hours; that's the max I can do and then it is imperative for me to sit down. We split a cheese and ham bocadillo and Coke; Stoney had Cafe Americano (expresso with hot water added so it's more like our black coffee). Sat across from Louis and Gunwar

who had walked further to Loassana yesterday and they had stopped here for an early break. They said we must be having a good walking day to have made it there by 10 am. All I knew was that sitting down was heavenly. Breaks are very short, 20 min., but if we sat for longer, we might not be able to get back up.

After the break we walked with a young couple

from the Basque region of France not far from St. Jean Pied de Port. Arno (misspelled) and Amaya are doctors. He surprised her for her 40th birthday with the gift of walking 4 days on the Camino and staying in VERY nice places (breakfast in bed type places). It was wonderful to talk with them and enjoy a slower pace.