5. Puente la Reina to Estella

Camino Frances - Day 5 - August 31st 2013: Puente la Reina to Estella

Contour Map: Copyright John Brierley click here to see notes

Click here for Google Map for my starting point today

Looking back at the ancient bridge as I leave Puente la Reina at 7;30am

Another restless night last night. I was actually cold and will have to keep my thermals close at hand in future to ensure I am not cold during the night. There are enough distractions (e.g. snoring and other noises) outside of my control keeping me awake at night without scoring an own goal by not wrapping up properly. After sharing breakfast with Antoinette, Vicki from California and Jane from England I set off at about 7:30am.  Ellie from Victoria caught up with me along the way and we walked together for a while. She is a young nurse and is travelling with her parents. Ellie suffers with Rheumatoid Arthritis but this did not deter her from pushing herself each day despite the pain. She used to love participating in various sporting activities but is now restricted to walking. She highly recommends sky diving, an item on my bucket list, so maybe I should move that one further up my list : ) She was great company and such a brave young woman. 

Sitting on this ancient bridge just beyond Cirauqui I spent a short while updating my diary but my main reason for stopping was to take a break from walking on my blistered feet. My left foot in particular was very painful with pain darting through my foot and into my leg.  I should have known by now that stopping often makes everything worse. When I started back on the road every muscle and bone in my body seemed to have seized up  and again I'm walking like someone 100 years old. I though the stiffness would pass as in previous days but no. I was now being passed by just about everyone I had passed earlier in the day. I stopped again just outside Villatuerta and sat on a bench in the shade of a couple of large trees. More familiar faces passed by, some stopping for a brief chat. One poor lady, looking as exhausted as I felt, stopped and asked me if she was approaching Estella. I had to inform her she still had about 4 klms. She was already shattered and this news seemed to drain the colour out of her face as if all hope had just abandoned her, still, she marched on. I got up again not feeling any better.

I noticed a small church just off the trail, the sign said 'Ermita de san Miguel Arcangel' despite being tired I felt compelled to make the short diversion and check it out. I address this part of my story later under a section about my brother Tom. Tom is on my mind every day.

Today I came across Alexandro from Napoli again. I met him on the first day when he came racing up behind me and looked capable of completing the Camino in record time. He slowed down and we talked. His English was not perfect but good enough for us to enjoy our conversation and start to get to know each other. I would meet Alexandro many times along the way. Such a really nice guy.  He had advised me when we first met to take it easy and to 'listen to my body' before he took off again at speed. However, today Alexandro was really suffering with his blistered feet. We walked together for a while. I think if we were to listen to our bodies we would each be heading back to our respective homes, taking to our bed and waiting for the aches to pass. 

I also walked behind three Irish lads who sang all 41 verses of 'Bog down in the Valley-oh'. I envied their energy level but eventually grew tired of the song. If they only knew something different but I don't think they did requests.

I passed through these wedding guests in Estella

Antoinette appeared on several occasions making good time. I also came across Stefanie and Daniel. She was not doing well between tiredness and trouble with her legs or feet. We discussed diet and the fact that, so far, there have been no green veg served with our evening meals, something we all agreed we missed very much. We all said we would not eat the pilgrim meal again but instead seek out a restaurant where we could enjoy some fresh vegetables.

As I walked into Estella I came across a wedding party. Everyone dressed in their best attire while I squeezed passed them in my sweat soaked clothes. They must have noticed. They were setting off deafeningly loud fireworks which echoed through the narrow streets while the smoke floated up between the building on this windless day. 

Arriving at Albergue Juvenil Oncineda (Mun) I was greeted by a very friendly young woman who said she loved Ireland having spend several summers there as a student. She gave me two options on accommodation, either a shared or a private room. Believing I had a better chance of a good night sleep if I was on my own I opted for the latter. As it turned out it was a room to sleep four but I would be the only occupant with a lock on the door. She asked me if I would be having dinner in the albergue and I immediately went back on what I had said to Stefanie earlier and said yes to the pilgrim dinner. My rational was that I knew I was too tired to head back into town so eating in was a better option on this occasion.  I showered, changed clothes, rinsed out a few items of

clothing and put them in the window to dry. I then went outside to take a few photos while enjoying the coolness of the late afternoon. I stood at the railings surrounding the albergue and watched some locals playing netball. I also took the opportunity to check out my exit route for the morning which involved heading out across the playing area in front of me, through a small industrial area and then rejoining the Camino route. 

Hungry now I went back inside and set off for the dining room, it was empty. A lady came out to greet me and, in her very poor English, explained that there were only three 'guests' in the very large albergue and the other two were not pilgrims. I would be dining alone. Well that was a blessing in disguise. This lady was so nice, so pleasant and she piled on the food too. A great tuna salad to start with lots of tuna in it, followed by a thick, home made vegetable soup. I had several bowls of this. Then three fine cut pork chops with chips. I'm not a great fan of pork chops but these were delicious. Finally a yogurt and a fresh peach, I decided I would pack these for tomorrow. 

As each day passes I am becoming more relaxed and my head is now clear of the clutter that blocks our minds from reaching inside ourselves. This enjoyment is of course tempered by the aches and pains which I think I am now going to have to accept as part of the experience.
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Other Links, relating to this section of the Camino, you may wish to follow 

Puerte la Reina:

Images of Puerta la Reina on the internet

Wikipedia on Puerta la Reina - This is Spanish version, use the 'Translate' button for your language.

Estella:

Images of Estella on the internet

Wikipedia on Estella

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Topic: Aches, Pains, Blisters etc
I could have used a more extensive title on this topic like, 'Aches, Pains, Blisters, Tummy Bugs, Injuries, Old war wounds, Fatalities and much more' but I thought the one I used was even too long already. 

Perhaps there is an endless supply of information about what you can expect to endure while walking the Camino, especially for those who wish to complete the Camino Frances in one go. All I know is that I did not inform myself about the down side of walking great distances each day, day after day, and what that might do to my ageing body. Although the Camino seemed to treat all us pilgrims just about the same with young and old suffering the same ailments. In fact, I think many young people appeared to get more blisters as they set off with great intentions to complete the journey in record time only to find the Camino is a great leveller for all ages. 

There were many days when I asked myself 'what the hell are you doing out here' as I walked on blistered feet in the great heat of the day, exhausted and wishing to be anywhere else. These thought pass but they do come back from time to time. Thankfully there are far more great experiences to overshadow the bad stuff. 

time to dress my feet again

Blisters:
I have to confess that I believe I got away lightly in that the bigger blisters I got early on did clear up thanks to an abundant supply of Compede. They are expensive but I found them a great help and made it possible for me to walk on blistered feet over several days. Each morning you could see so many pilgrims attending to their feet before setting off. I often cam across people changing their dressing along the way. Sometimes I offered Compede but everyone had their own supply or their own remedy. 

Aches and Pains:
Many people reported suffering from aches, pains and limps associated with injuries they received many years ago. They all said the Camino will find your weak spot and aggravate it until it becomes painful. My hips were very painful for the first week but after that they were OK. Towards the end of the journey my knees started to pain me, particularly my left knee. Often the pain would get fairly bad and I would start to limp but after a very brief rest I was able to get back on my way again. I did fear that my knees might let me down and I had a couple of knee supports in my bag just in case but they were a last resort. I never had to use them.

Tummy Bugs:
Some I met had tummy bugs, others sore throat  and various other illnesses. Some were advised to a day or two to recover before walking again. I had a sore throat and headaches for a couple of days but it did not interfere with my progress. Towards the end of the journey I did have a nasty tummy bug and that did knock me back a lot. I will cover that later in the blog.

Injuries:
I saw so many people with bruises, cuts and stitches on their face, arms or legs. While most of the terrain is easy to walk, if we ignore the angle of ascent or descent for the moment, some parts are very rocky and you need to pick your steps to avoid spraining your ankle or a nasty fall. Clearly many people fell. You have to remember that once you start to fall the chances are you will not be able to save yourself as the weight of your backpack will pull you down. 

Fatalities:
Sadly people also die on the Camino. Statistically that should not be a surprise because so many people are doing this every year. However, While I walked the Camino I was informed, I have not tried to confirm this yet, that a Canadian man fell and died and a short while afterwards two German pilgrims were hit by a car and died. There are many places along the Camino where people have erected crosses, statues, stones etc to mark the spot where pilgrims died. 

None of the above should deter you from making the journey of a lifetime. Just be prepared and take care.

6. Estella to Los Arcos

Camino Frances - Day 6 - September 1st 2013: Estella to Los Arcos

Contour Map: Copyright John Brierley click here to see notes

Click here for Google Map and my starting point today

Disturbed sleep again last night. I woke at 2:30am to what sounded like a mosquito hovering (if that's what they do) around the room. It kept flying very close to me so I decided I would have to get out of bed, put on the lights and find the little bastard before he devoured me. I react very badly to insect bites, usually swelling up all around the bite. Couldn't find him so I had no choice but to go back to bed and try to ignore him, her, it. I finally got up at 6:30am and to my surprise I felt very refreshed as if I had slept all night, maybe the mosquito was just a bad dream?

I met Anne from Seattle over breakfast, just the two of us in the whole place. She hopes to complete her  journey in 33 days and is on track to do just that.

I'm thinking of an old song
 ' The Pub's got no beer' 

I left at about 8:45am heading out over the hills behind the Albergue to link up with the Camino trail at the top of the town. There I met Alexandro, Stefanie and Daniel. I walked with Alexandro as far as the wine fountain which. unfortunately or maybe fortunately, was turned off. There we met with Stefanie and Daniel again and we all took some photos of the 'dry well'. I walked with Stefanie for a while, she hopes to keep going for another nine days but feeling very tired today. Her bag and Danial's bag are much heavier than my own so I can only imagine how this would be impacting on her well being. They have already left some gear behind to lighten the load but still have too much gear. (See Topic on Equipment) 

I stopped to take some photos of the mountains in the distance, Saoirse and Rachel came by and after I took a photo of them, with their own camera, they moved on. 

Shortly after I started to walk again, on my own now, my mind drifted to distant memories, as was happening with greater frequency over the past couple of days. I have no doubt that I was reaching into my past because I had cleared my mind, found great

Saoirse and Rachel

tranquillity in this beautiful place with no distractions we associate with modern life. Anyway, on this occasion I suddenly had a vivid memory of my wife when we were both just teenagers, not married yet. She slipped me a note with the words 'I Love You' written on it. While I had no doubt we were already madly n love with each other this was the first time it was stated. Even now, walking along a pathway in Northern Spain more than four decades later I had that same all consuming elation I felt way back then. We were so young and yet we knew we would always be together. I cannot imagine life without her. This was one of the occasions when my elation was followed by loneliness because I now missed Brenda very much. I was consoled by the thought that we would be back together on the morning of October 11th. 

My mind then drifted to my dream from last night. I have always had vivid dreams and over the years loved sharing them with Brenda. Today I had nobody to share this with and even if I had I probably would have kept it to myself. I will share a couple of my dreams under one of the Topics entitled Dreams. 

I'm really enjoying today, taking regular breaks, having these brief chats with new friends and all those beautiful memories coming back to me that I had sadly forgotten. 

I came across a lovely shaded area beside a water font. The timing was perfect, I needed to top up my water and take a short break. See photo on the left. A french couple I have come across every day had also stopped at this spot. They were maybe five or six years older than me, he was stretched out, asleep on the grass, she was sitting beside him finishing her lunch. They had no English just as I had no French yet we could communicate as many pilgrims do with greetings, smiles, hand signals and the parting 'Buen Camino'. 

Stefanie and Daniel came by, we finally exchanged contact details and I took this photo of them together. 


As I took t the road again a guy came up behind me at speed, asked if I was heading for Los Arcos and if I would like to keep him company for the rest of the way. I picked up my speed to match his, but I think he also dropped his pace to make allowances for me. We covered so many topics while comparing life in Slovakia with life in Ireland and the parallels were across every aspect of life. Valentino hails from Slovakia and sells heavy duty machinery. He was planning a trip to Ireland for training on machines to crush rocks. They will be used in quarries and to crush old material from buildings for recycling. The equipment is manufactured my McCloskeys in Ireland.  We covered many topics while walking including, population, employment, economy, politics, politicians, ethnic minorities and society. This conversation with Valentino and those I have had with others from across the world reinforce my very poor opinion of politicians. They are a breed apart with self interest above everything else and we all continue to let this form of 'democracy' prevail. Will we ever really have a voice? I digress again, this topic is for another time I think. 

I checked into Albergue la Fuente de Austria, showered, washed some clothes and got ready to go to dinner. Stefanie and Daniel asked me to join their group for dinner. I sat with 8 Germans for dinner in an open area between the restaurants and the church. The group were very considerate speaking mostly in English for my benefit and if Stefanie though I was interested in any of the bits in German she kindly translated for me. I exchanged contact detain with Karin who also likes to take photos. Karin I would meet over and over again during my Camino experience. I had a great evening in their company before parting to take some photos and then head back to the Albergue. I met Anne from Seattle who had a bad day and was hoping things would be better tomorrow. My clothes were not dry so I would have to improvise on the sock front in the morning. 

Apart from a very helpful and attractive receptionist, this Albergue has some way to go to come anyway close to the standards set by the others I have stayed in to date. 
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Other Links, relating to this section of the Camino, you may wish to follow 

Estella:

Images of Estella on the internet

Wikipedia on Estella

Los Arcos:
Images of Los Arcos on the Internet
Wikipedia on Los Arcos - very little info, use external links and 'translate button if necessary.
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Topic: Walking Alone Vs with Others
I've already said that I believe there is no single right way to travel the Camino. In this section I want to look at the advantages and disadvantages of either walking alone or walking with others. 

As you must know by now I chose to walk the 800Kms alone for reasons I will outline below. Of course, from time to time individuals would join me on the walk or while I was taking a break. I always enjoyed the company, it was a great opportunity to get to know a little bit about my fellow pilgrims, share experiences or compare the economic, political and social issues facing our respective countries. 

This is not an exhaustive analysis of the different options, just a few observations from my own experience. Please feel free to comment and let me know about your walking preference and experiences to add other perspectives on the topic as mine is very limited

Walking Alone:

Some Advantages:
I chose to walk alone because I felt it gave me the best opportunity to be completely chilled out. In doing so I though I would be able to strip away all the unnecessary stuff we all carry around in our head. You know, the day to day nonsense that gets in the way of the real issues we need to think about or to attend to. 

Within a few days of walking I found myself thinking about my wife as she was 40 years ago, about my mother, (who died five years ago) and how she looked when I was a young boy. Every day I spent time thinking about my brother. Many other memories came to me and I am convinced that this was only possible because I had so much time on my own to relax in the beautiful countryside. So often I was not even aware of walking I was so relaxed and I can only compare it with a form of meditation. I don't believe I could have achieved this state of relaxation if I were walking in the company of others.

My walking pace varied so much over the entire journey. There were days I was passing everyone out as I pumped my legs and arms, giving my heart and lungs a great workout. There were days I walked like I was about to just fall over for lack of momentum. The great advantage of walking alone is that you can set your own pace to suit you mood or physical capabilities on the day. Injuries, as they occurred, also impacted on my pace but being alone I could work within my own pain threshold. Walking with others you may end up walking quicker or slower, on a given day, than the rate at which you would like to be performing. 

Stopping and starting whenever you feel like it is also something you like to feel you have some control over. I like to take photographs, so stopping often along the way to take a quick snapshot could irritate a companion who may not have the same appreciation for photography. Taking a break for water, food, admiring the scenery or just to give the body a break should be something you feel able to do without impacting or the enjoyment of your companion or companions. 

I think you meet more people when you walk alone. People will join you on the road or at 'pit stops' along the way, sometimes other lone walkers and other time couples or groups. 

Some Disadvantages:
There were times, not often, when I did feel lonely. It usually happened when I saw a couple together and this reminded me of my wife and at that moment I really missed her and would love to have had her beside me. When I saw children playing or out in the evening dining with their parents and grandparents I missed family. These were only fleeting moments of sadness, they would pass quickly as I was distracted by something else.

I got lost up a mountain early one dark misty morning. This is a risk you run when you head out on your own before sunrise with a torch that does not function well due to low battery life and with my mind not on the job of observing the camino markings.  

Being alone could present you with some difficulties if you sustained an injury on a quiet stretch but thankfully it was not an issue for me. 

At no time along the way did I ever feel concerned about personal safety but you cannot rule out the risks when walking alone. 

Walking with Others:
There are many advantages to walking with others whether you set out with a group or joined a group along the way.

Some Advantages:
Safety in numbers is clearly a great advantage. Groups I observed in the early hours on the morning were cross checking all the markings to ensure they chose the correct path, I often took advantage of the group decisions whenever I stumbled upon them and then set off on my own assured there were at least some others on the same path. The group can care for an injured individual and also address any concerns about personal safety.

Groups can have great craic and build bonds that may last for the duration of the walk or indeed for life. They can support and encourage each other a achieve more collectively that an individual who may feel down. I observed group singing as they marched along the road, sharing food and drink and generally having a wonderful, shared experience.

Speaking to many who were part of either couples or groups they said they would, from time to time set themselves apart to have some time with their own thoughts. They felt they were getting the best of both worlds. I did notice couple who walked together occasionally drifting apart only to unite after a short break. 

Disadvantage:
The only disadvantages, from my perspective, to walking with others all the time is the lack of time to be on my own, not being able to set your own pace, stop and start as often as you want and for as long as you want, settling for the collective decision about destination for the end of day. These are not major issues but could, over time become challenging. 

Group dynamics also change over time. Little idiosyncrasies of an individual can appear bigger over time. Personalities may clash, people who normally get on over short periods of time can find  that they don't get on over protracted periods. Groups forms on the Camino begin to find out more about each other, leading to great friendships or dividing the group. These are issues you do not want on the Camino.
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More to follow...........................