Camino De Santiago: Day 2-Puente La Reina to Estella

Day 2 was another in what would be a long string of  exhaustingly beautiful days. I remember finally making it to the hostel (I'm pretty sure I got a little bit lost trying to find it--finding the albergues frequently was a bit tricky...probably made worse by the fact that my brain was generally mush by that time of the day) and just lying down on my bunk. 

Even though I was ready to eat dinner by 5pm, I ended up waiting until almost 9pm to eat. The albergue was a parish hostel and the local priest, a really young guy, kept the kitchen stocked with basics. Ricardo, an Italian pilgrim, offered to cook for us. After mass, where we all received a pilgrim's blessing in our language, Claire and I helped cook--which was interesting because Ricardo, sweet as he was, didn't speak hardly a lick of English or Spanish. He was great though, and didn't even mind that I couldn't beat the eggs the way he wanted...or that I eventually spilled them all over myself. 

Sunrise from Puente La Reina--eventually I would start sleeping in a bit more! 

Claire!

Puente La Reina gets its name from this bridge (puente) built for the queen (la reina)

Still a long way to go

"It's like a long lost Picasso painting"

Up, up, up

Up, up, up...

Starting to get into wine country

So many green, green fields. Spring was an absolutely gorgeous time to walk the Camino

So much hay! It also happened to be the only shade for miles. 

Cathedral in Estella

Enjoying dinner! Ricardo is in orange, also included are a Spanish couple from Avila, 3 Brazilians and a Portuguese guy. 

Camino De Santiago: Day 1-Pamplona to Puenta La Reina

Day 1! I was SO excited. Unfortunately my first day one of my biggest fears about the Camino (right after bed bugs) came true--I got lost. I couldn't even find the Camino! Eventually I realized that the map I was using didn't indicate that the road I was on, which should have run right into the Camino, was actually an overpass. Once I figured it out (after about 30 minutes of walking around) I ended up climbing down an embankment and jumping through some hedges. Hello Camino!

Day 1 I also learned that while the Camino could go around some mountains, it much prefers to go right over them. My first day included climbing Alto de Perdon--or, the Summit of Forgiveness--the idea being that by the time you have climbed to the top all of your sins will have been atoned for. I was generally in such a good mood about being on the Camino at last, and had fresh feet, that it didn't kill me. 

On the way down I also met my first pilgrim friend! I met Claire from Montreal on the descent and ended up walking with her for the next week or so. 

By the end of the first day I was 100% spent. When we finally found our hostel (at the far end of town, up a giant hill) we stayed put for the night. We had dinner at the hostel (so-so food, but great company), and shuffled around until about 8:30 when we hit the sack!

My shadow...going in the wrong direction!

Man, I learned to love those arrows!

After walking what seemed like forever...still 17.2 km to go!

A memorial + a place for a nice sit down (I'm pretty sure I took advantage of every single one of those in the first days!)

Getting close to the top of Perdon. Also the first of many sets of wind-turbines. 

Pilgrim monument at the top

Claire!

The town at last! I would soon learn to look for the church bell tower on the horizon--where there was a church, there was a town!

OK, that's day 1 on my Camino! You can check out this for my update from the scene of the crime. 

Camino De Santiago (In Photos!): Pamplona

Now that I have been reunited with my computer and had a few days to relax, I've decided to dive into my (thousands of) Camino pictures. Just looking through the pictures has been a lot of fun, so I thought I would get down to the business of sharing them with you. It'll probably be a long series as I have not so judiciously edited down the pictures. But hey, who doesn't like pictures?

Pamplona is where my Camino began. I bused in from Girona (Barcelona) and had a couple of days to find the supplies I would need and give myself a final rest. I had never been to Pamplona and was really surprised by how nice it was. It was full of beautiful churches, which (in what would become a trend) were all closed. It's also where I saw my first flechas (arrows, or trail markers) and my very first pilgrims. 

In the window is a Basque separatist flag--throughout the camino it became very apparent that Spain's different regions do not like to play together. 

Bullring and the end of the running of the bulls

Some churros y chocolate to celebrate the beginning of my Camino!

My first steps!

OK, more to come! PS. To see the blog I posted from Pamplona way back when, check here. 

What I Was Looking For

I found it.

Rovinj, Croatia is just what I was looking for.

I stumbled into town without any plans, found a cheap private room in a cute little Italian grandma's house (this part of Croatia used to be part of Italy), and set up shop for a few days. I've been reading novels at the beach, eating good food, soaking up the sun and trying to remember a few Italian phrases (but oddly, French seems to be coming out instead). It's been pretty idyllic.

It's incredibly lovely here--Venetian towers, tiny streets with laundry hanging, ice cream colored buildings (and ice cream itself!). Best of all--I have it almost to myself. IThe crowds of Dubrovnik haven't made it this far. t's one of the last true Mediterranean fishing villages. In fact, today I shared the beach with fisherman taking a lunch break. It's been a beautiful place to rest up for a few days.

Picnic at the beach

The town saint. 

My view this evening--drinking coffee, listening to some good music and finally getting around to being productive.