So, you Think you've Hiked Before...

Wednesday, May 30 -- Arzua to Lavacallos  -- 28.7km /17.8 miles

We hadn't really planned it this way, but most of walked just as far today as we had yesterday.  Yesterday was intentional, today was a matter of "let's just keep going because we've got some time and we're feeling good.  So rather than stop at Amenal (about 14.6 miles out) about half of us kept walking another 3 miles or so.  We thought about trying to push through to Santiago but the uphill trail in the open afternoon sun convinced us of the folly of our ways.  But, we have only about 10 km left for tomorrow morning so we're pretty sure that we'll arrive in plenty of time for the pilgrim mass at noon.

The rhythm of today was like most other days we've hiked -- get up, walk, stop to eat, walk, stop to eat, walk, stop again, walk, arrive really tired, shower, eat, hang around, eat, go to bed.  Repeat. So I thought I'd use today's blog to give you some idea of what it's like to hike on the Camino.  In some ways, it feels very familiar to other day hikes/backpacking trips I've taken, yet there are a number of fascinating differences.  Let' start with the similarities.

   1) walking stick - I always take my stick and the familiar 4-beat cadence of my stick is a constant for me.  I use it to push up the hills and assist my knees on the way down, just like always.

  2) Carrying a pack - Although I'm only carrying a day pack (my wonderful new Camelbak) there's the familiar sweat against your back and reliable contents -- bandaids, blister kit, trail mix, ibuprofen, raincoat, little towel, suncreen, etc.  

  3) Hiking shoes & socks - I would never go hiking without my SmartWool socks and liner socks and gore-tex hiker.  I didn't here, either.  Except, I got some cool new liners that are toe sock and they're pretty swell.  I'll show them to you, if you'd like, after I get them home and through the washer.

  4) Guidebook/map - This is interesting because you don't need your guidebook for directions (I'll cover that later) it is a great help to let know what's coming up next.

  5) Blisters -- I don't usually get blisters but the long downhills through the many river valleys decided to trouble my feet just a bit.  Yesterday, I got a blister on the bottom of my little toe on the right foot, and today on the same to on my left foot.  But, moleskin and a good strong water-proof bandaid has everything under control. On the good side, I've had this blister kit for about 12 years, so I guess I might as well use it on a trip as memorable as this.

So far so good, based on this it sounds pretty familiar, right.  Well, let me tell you the rest of the story.

First of all, this account comes with two significant distinctions from the experience of most peregrinos (pilgrims) -- 1) we are not carrying all of our belongings with us.  Instead, we carry only a standard day pack and Ricardo, the bus driver, takes our suitcases from hotel to hotel for us while we are hiking. and 2) as I just mentioned, we are staying small hotels, pensiones, or a casa rural (a rural farm house).  Most pilgrims stay in the albergues, the bare bones pilgrim hostels that provide overnight lodging that is most often in large dormitory rooms.  So, we are doing a less physically demanding camino with less to carry and with no worries about where will be sleeping every night.  Is there less snoring than in the albergue, probably not so much.  But let's focus on some of the other differences.

1) Hikers -- There are lots of people, and I mean LOTS!  They come from all over the world, although mostly from Europe, and communication is challenging but lots of fun.  And they range from college students to an 89-year-old Italian grandmother who is walking while she holds the hand of her grandson.  She has stolen our hearts!!  Most pilgrims know some English and same Spanish, but not always.  There's lots of pointing and writing at the cafe's in the morning as cafe con leche' and bocadillos are purchased.  Sometimes you'll pass groups of 5 or 6, more often 1 or 2, but always with the ubiquitous exchange of "Hola" and "Buen camino." 

2) Bicylces, etc. -- Most people are walking,  but some are on bicycles.  So, you always keep a sense of what's behind you and listen for a voice, or the sound of bicycle brakes, or sometimes a bell.  I've not ben run over yet.  Like the hikers, the cyclists usually travel in  groups.  Not only do you share the trail with bikes, we've accommodated our share of sheep, cows, tractors, milk trucks, garbage trucks, cars, log trucks, and even a semi-truck full of lovely little piggies on their way to the great jamon factory in the sky.

 3) Walking surface -- This camino is a panoply of walking surfaces, and they change without rhyme or reason or advance notice.  I'll add some pictures when I get home but so far I've walked on the following -- cobblestones, flagstone, asphalt, concrete, sand, mud, grass, gravel, granite, pea stone, forest floor/leaves, a stream bed, a regional highway, a bike path, and a cow path.  We walked level with the road, and 6 feet below the surround fields.  It's so different from hiking in the woods of the U.P. ofn Michigan or the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

 4) Finding your way -- If you get lost on the Camino, you had to work for it.  This path is so well-marked, in so many ways.  The standard marking is a yellow arrow and they are prominently displayed all over the place.  And they are granites stiles with a carved scallop shell  ( the symbol of the pilgrim ) at every junction with an arrow, and at every 0.5 km mark with the name of the local village or pueblo.  I've seen brass scallop shells set in granite sidewalks, yellow lines on the side of the road or highway.  They are all other types of signs.  And, more often than not, you just look up and there are other pilgrims to follow.

 5) Amenities -- The camino is well-supported by a series of bars, cafes, tiendas (stores), mesons (inns) sometimes across the street from each other, and never more than a few kilometers apart.  So while the guidebooks I mentioned early for setting distances to walk, etc. they really excel at letting you know how close you are to the next cafe con leche or caña  ( little draft beer) or CocaCola Light or bocadillo (sandwich) or whatever.  It's really quite a civilized thing and leads to comments like "my goodness, it's already afternoon and I"ve not yet had my first beer."  Really, tho, little quenches a pilgrim's thirst and restores your energy like a cold beer available just steps from the trail.

 6) Advertising -- You must understand that we are hiking to most frequented part of the Camino - the last 100 km before Santiago de Compostela.  And, although this may be a spiritual quest for come, the locals are ready and willing to extract the Euros from our pockets.  Today alone, we came across the following -- 4-color posters on trees, piles of business cards held down by a stop on the top of  a kilometer marker, a motion-activated (I kid you not) talking sign -- in several languages -- and brochure stand for an upcoming pilgrim hostel (albergue) and two-little old Spanish grandmas passing out handbills for a hostel in Santiago.   I've never seen this in the Sierra 

  7) And the Big Finale: Taxis -- Yes, I am not making this up.  As I mentioned earlier, the route of the Camino is often along country roads and through the villages, either right on the road, or right alongside.  In the last couple of days, we have seen taxi cabs cruising this roads looking to pick up fares -- and we've seen people get in for rides. Oh, and they'll also take your luggage/pack for you, too, to your next stop but I don't suppose I should say to much about that as we have Ricard and his bus doing that for us.  In fact,  just check out www.peregrinotaxi.com for a full list of camino services  :-)  I think I could have used these guys one day out on North Manitou.  P.S. This guy advertises all over the place (see #6).

Well, there are probably lots more things that I could cover, but it's time for a shower or I'll disturb the rhythm of camino life around here.