Zubiri

Heading to Roncesvalles

Walked with Natasha to Zubiri today from Roncesvalles leaving the hostel at around 7:30am. It was around 23km today and much more relaxing of a walk than yesterday.  The hills weren´t as steep, there wasn´t any rain, and there were villages to stop at in between.

Passing through Burguete, a traditional Navarese village, we see a hotel where Ernest Hemingway used to stay.  Several pilgrims stopped to have breakfast, but we continued on to make the most of our energy and agree to sit for a quick snack later.  At one of our stops I bought a sports drink and an energy drink at this refreshment cart on the side of the road that seemed to be waiting for thirsty pilgrims.  The person running it looked like a traditional Basque man, and though I had to point at everything I wanted to buy, he gave me some chocolate candy as a treat as well.  We sat off to the side in the shade with our shoes off to let our feet breathe as we still had about an hour left in the walk and it would be mostly downhill.

Kittens we found

We decide to stay in Zubiri in a private hostel called Albergue Zaldiko with 8 beds to the room for 10 euro including breakfast. Everyone in our room aside from Natasha speaks Spanish so I smile and say ¨Gracias¨a lot and hope that it´s appropriate enough.  My allergies kick in which means I normally sneeze three times in a row and the man in our room says ¨Salute¨ and asks me what the correct response is in English to a sneeze.  I tell him ¨bless you¨and I have to remind him of this later when he asks again...because I definitely sneeze again. And a lot.

There is also a medieval bridge here called Puente de la Rabia.  Apparently the legend is that leading an animal three times around the arch cures it of rabies.  Not sure when the last time that legend was tested and Natasha always has a laugh when I refer to it as the, ¨rabies bridge¨.

Tomorrow is Pamplona and the end of the Camino for Natasha who has to return to England for work.  I think I´ll spend the day in Pamplona to see what it has to offer as a bigger city in comparison to the other villages along the Camino.  It seems like it would be a nice break even though I´ve just started.

My feet began to ache today a few hours into the day and my hips are rubbing from the weight of my pack.  I´m still hesitant to lighten my load because I am using everything I brought aside from maybe bug spray and nail clippers, which I´m sure will come into use later.  There are so many days left ahead and I´ve decided already that I should do what I can to make the next day easier than the last, whether it´s in my overall attitude or how I adjust my gear.

I may have had my first blister today, but by the late afternoon we were already showered, hand-washed our laundry, and were drinking a beer with our new Canadian and Austrian friends who we hope to see for dinner.

It´s just the second day and I wonder why everyone doesn´t do the Camino.  I´m pretty sure I´ve met both a 17-year-old and a 70-something-year-old.  For some Spaniards, the Camino is a requirement to be on their resume.  For me, a while back, I made it a requirement for my future happiness.  And I hope it works even though my feet and body may not agree.