Camino de Santiago -Day 3/4/5 - Arre, Spain to Viana, Spain - 55.9 miles
It's been a long three days. Walked through Pamplona on day 3. Great town. I really hope I'm able to come visit again. I continued to walk with John and we met lots of interesting people with all different reasons for doing the Camino. One of note I met on day 4. He is from Prague and his name is Joe. He said he is walking for his second time and this time with his girlfriend. He quietly pulled me to the side to tell me that he plans to ask her to marry him when they arrive in Santiago.
It's now the morning of day 6 and I made the discovery that I have lost my pilgrims credentials. This is a book of stamps from all the places I have stayed and shows where I started. It has the stamps of the first 5 places I stayed. I am going to try to check the restaurant where we ate last night to see if I left it there. If I can't find it I will just pick one up at the next town. It just sucks losing those first 5 stamps.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Camino days 1-2
I'm a bit behind but will get caught up soon. So far it's been 4 great, productive days. Here is a recap of the first 2days.
Camino de Santiago -Day1 - St Jean Pied de Port, France to Roncevalles, Spain - 15.6 miles
The first day was tough. It was 13 miles to the top of the Pyrenees. That's a hard hike to start the trip. The decent into Roncevalles wasn't any easier even though we were going down hill. In fact, it was probably more difficult. Very steep and my kegs were shot so it was tough to catch myself with every step. Sadly I do not have GPS data from the first day. About 2 miles from Roncevalles my watch battery died and lost all the data.
A few of the people I met on the first day were a father/son team from Canada that are here as a high school graduation gift for the son. Also I met a Korean girl when she noticed that I did not have the traditional pilgrims clam shell tied to my pack. She had an extra and insisted that I take one of hers.
I enjoyed the southern French countryside. It is in credibly beautiful with lots of rolling hills and thick green forests. The towns were ok and the people nice enough but now that I have spent a few days in Spain, the French can not compare.
Camino de Santiago -Day 2 - Roncevalles, Spain to Arre, Spain - 23.9 miles
Day 2 was the hardest so far but only because I made it so. A few miles outside of Roncevalles I met John, an army special forces officer. We struck up a conversation and just kept walking. He is on a tight deadline and convinced me to try to make it to Pamplona that day. That would be a total of 27 miles. That's a lot but I wasn't not going to do it once it was proposed. We ended up only making it to Arre which is on the outskirts of Pamplona. We stayed in an old monastery that was the oldest continuously running albergue on the pilgrimage.
We were walking pretty hard so I did not have a lot if interaction that day outside of my conversations with John. I was able to meet Peter, a priest from Poland.
I can not express enough how impressed I am with northern Spain. The landscape is nothing short of incredible but even more impressive are the towns and the people. Every town, and I do mean every town, now matter how big or small, is immaculately clean and manicured. The people are among the most helpful, nicest and friendly people I have ever encountered. This is not hyperbole and I am not easily impressed. It has been astounding.
Camino de Santiago -Day1 - St Jean Pied de Port, France to Roncevalles, Spain - 15.6 miles
The first day was tough. It was 13 miles to the top of the Pyrenees. That's a hard hike to start the trip. The decent into Roncevalles wasn't any easier even though we were going down hill. In fact, it was probably more difficult. Very steep and my kegs were shot so it was tough to catch myself with every step. Sadly I do not have GPS data from the first day. About 2 miles from Roncevalles my watch battery died and lost all the data.
A few of the people I met on the first day were a father/son team from Canada that are here as a high school graduation gift for the son. Also I met a Korean girl when she noticed that I did not have the traditional pilgrims clam shell tied to my pack. She had an extra and insisted that I take one of hers.
I enjoyed the southern French countryside. It is in credibly beautiful with lots of rolling hills and thick green forests. The towns were ok and the people nice enough but now that I have spent a few days in Spain, the French can not compare.
Camino de Santiago -Day 2 - Roncevalles, Spain to Arre, Spain - 23.9 miles
Day 2 was the hardest so far but only because I made it so. A few miles outside of Roncevalles I met John, an army special forces officer. We struck up a conversation and just kept walking. He is on a tight deadline and convinced me to try to make it to Pamplona that day. That would be a total of 27 miles. That's a lot but I wasn't not going to do it once it was proposed. We ended up only making it to Arre which is on the outskirts of Pamplona. We stayed in an old monastery that was the oldest continuously running albergue on the pilgrimage.
We were walking pretty hard so I did not have a lot if interaction that day outside of my conversations with John. I was able to meet Peter, a priest from Poland.
I can not express enough how impressed I am with northern Spain. The landscape is nothing short of incredible but even more impressive are the towns and the people. Every town, and I do mean every town, now matter how big or small, is immaculately clean and manicured. The people are among the most helpful, nicest and friendly people I have ever encountered. This is not hyperbole and I am not easily impressed. It has been astounding.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Buen Camino
Tomorrow, June 23, I will catch a plane out of New Orleans to begin my journey to Santiago de Compostella, Spain. I will be walking from St. Jean Pied de Port in the southern part of France just north of the Pyrenees, 490 miles to Santiago, Spain, the burial place of St. James. The purpose of this journey is varied, both personal and professional. First and foremost it is a creative research project to tell the story of the many incredible pilgrims who make this trek and why they choose to put themselves through such a massive undertaking. It is also something that I have wanted to experience for a number of years. It is a daunting task but I am excited to get started.
Here is a link to more info about the Camino de Santiago:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_of_St._James
This blog will allow those who are interested the ability to keep up with my progress as I make my way across Spain. I plan to post photos as well as the stories of the individuals I meet along the way. I will also share my gps daily so that anyone interested will be able to see where I walked each day.
I hope you all enjoy reading about and following my progress as much as I expect I will enjoy the journey.
Buen camino!
John Mark
Here is a link to more info about the Camino de Santiago:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_of_St._James
This blog will allow those who are interested the ability to keep up with my progress as I make my way across Spain. I plan to post photos as well as the stories of the individuals I meet along the way. I will also share my gps daily so that anyone interested will be able to see where I walked each day.
I hope you all enjoy reading about and following my progress as much as I expect I will enjoy the journey.
Buen camino!
John Mark
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