We are in a hiker bubble and seeing some of the same people during the day or at the albergue/hotel/casa rural. We were surprised to see a young couple who began on the same day leaving St Jean Pied de Port. We exchanged a few words as we stopped to put up our umbrellas on that first rainy morning and here we meet again on Day 6.
They are from Austria. When we saw them today we were surprised because we expected they would have been way ahead of us. Their pace was much faster. However, they told us they had taken extra time in Pamplona and we did not.
We stopped at Hotel Jakue for breakfast and also took a ham and garlic mayo bocadillo along with a can of Coke for later. We enjoyed the freshly baked ham and red pepper tortillas along with cafe con leche for me and cafe Americano for Stoney. It would have been a beautiful place to stay. Saw our Irish friend, Joe, as well as Amy from Australia and the Money sisters. Met Anna from Ireland who was walking with Amy. They had stayed in the municipal albergue in Pamplona along with 300 others packed into bunk beds so close you could barely walk between the beds. They got very little sleep and left at 5 am to check into a hotel.
As we walked on we passed a couple we had been seeing since the beginning.
They spoke French so in my best French I introduced myself. Marie Claude, if you read this please excuse the misspelling of your name. I think her husband's name was Jean ...
I came upon the woman below who was having great difficulty walking. I thought perhaps she had experienced a stroke at some time in her life. I admired her guts to walk the Camino. I had walked by her earlier in the day but had just nodded.
On the second passing, I said "hello". I was surprised when she said "hello" and I realized she was American. We walked and talked for probably 30 min. She injured both knees on the first day by walking from St. Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles. She liked the company and wanted to keep up with the group. Then she had to take time off because her knees were shot. She wears one knee brace and has the other one wrapped. She walks by not bending her knees and using her poles as support. Her name is Frankie, 56 yrs. and she is originally from New York but has lived in South Africa for many years. Her husband who was considered physically fit died 3 months ago from a heart attack at age 58 after they had returned from a hike. Of course, she is grieving. I was amazed at her optimism and spirit. You can see it in her eyes and smile. You go, girl!
On the second passing, I said "hello". I was surprised when she said "hello" and I realized she was American. We walked and talked for probably 30 min. She injured both knees on the first day by walking from St. Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles. She liked the company and wanted to keep up with the group. Then she had to take time off because her knees were shot. She wears one knee brace and has the other one wrapped. She walks by not bending her knees and using her poles as support. Her name is Frankie, 56 yrs. and she is originally from New York but has lived in South Africa for many years. Her husband who was considered physically fit died 3 months ago from a heart attack at age 58 after they had returned from a hike. Of course, she is grieving. I was amazed at her optimism and spirit. You can see it in her eyes and smile. You go, girl!
This young guy always had a smile on his face whenever I saw him despite the difficulty he was having walking. I learned that he had sprained his ankle but was determined to keep walking. A couple of weeks later we saw him with his dad enjoying dinner in a plaza and his ankle had healed and he was walking normally. Wonderful.
I don't think I would have had the mental fortitude to continue if I had experienced an injury. I admire these two people and many others we saw along The Way who continued to walk despite blisters, ankle and knee problems, etc.
I almost crawled into Villatuerta and La Casa Magica. I was exhausted but thankful that we had a reservation. We watched 4 people walking ahead of us come out and say there was no room. Next town 2 miles.
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