Camino Wander #3 : Day 4
Cold, wet but it was FUN!
I’m now in Zubiri, about 50km in.
Last night, I joined some new Camino friends and had the best homemade pizza. It was raining and we were sheltered from the rain. But it was lovely. So was the lava cake we had for dessert.
I have finally had a chance to stop and reflect, have some tea and write in my journal.
It was an interesting day today.
I left Biskaretta after a lovely breakfast with other pilgrims. It was simple - cooked jamón (ham), toasted baguette with jam, orange juice and coffee that she could not keep up with. We were all guzzling it this morning. Despite the varied nationalities, we all spoke English which always makes things easier. There were a few Danish men (who called me their sister since their queen - Mary - is Tasmanian. “We are connected, they said.”). A priest from the Phillipines (who lived in San Antonio). An American from Arizona (whom I walked with yesterday). Elsa, the Dutch woman I shared a room with - and me!
Unfortunately rain was coming. By the time I got to the first town, a couple of kilometres along, the rain was bucketing down. Thankfully, I had my poncho, at the ready. And while taking a break under an overpass, Tim from Arizona joined me. I really wanted to walk alone, so I told him I was in a reflective mood.
When he said to me, "Then I'll walk with you, but I'll be quiet,” it would normally be okay, but I always feel obligated that I still need to carry on a conversation with somebody when I walk with them. And today, after walking with him yesterday, I felt that obligation. When I got to the top of the hill - Tim and I tend to go the same pace up the hills (which is very slow), it flattened out, so I just decided at that point that I would just continue on. So with poles up, I picked up my pace and I kept going. When I looked behind me a little further along, I saw Tim and Hans, from the Netherlands, joining up, so I felt a little better that Tim had a walking buddy.
From there it was heads down. The hail started and stayed on and off for a bit. It wasn’t hard hail, pea sized, and more of a bother. Both even with a rain jacket and poncho on, I was soaked pretty quickly. My pants, while water resistant and covered by the poncho, were dripping. My feet, even with two socks and Merrill Goretex hikers, were soaked. The puddles in some areas were ankle deep.
The descent into Zubiri is a challenge at the best of times. Today, with the rain, was treacherous. I saw one person slip and fall (it was not me!) and I won’t be surprised if people got seriously injured today.
Besides the ankle-deep puddles, it was rocky and steep in some places. I’m talking ankle- twisting crevices filled with gushing water, making the rocks slippery. My confidence slipped a few times but I knew that slow and steady works - and making sure that I stop to assess the situation before moving forward.
While all that sounds nuts, I had fun today. I reflected a lot. I made some decisions about setting boundaries for myself. And my characters finally had space to ‘chat’. I’ve made a lot of notes and taken a lot of photos. Yep, even in the rain!
Tomorrow is the first day I don’t have a reservation. I am hoping to walk to Zalbadika and stay with the nuns.
Steps: 17,717
Kilometres: 12.8km
Feeling: confident and at peace
Day 5
A challenge, but you've got this! You've got us thinking of stopping at Bizkaret instead of Espinal, so we hit the Zubiri descent earlier in the day. Looking forward to hearing about Zabaldika — ring the bell for us :-) Thinking of you 🥰