So… I got home and snuggled up in my big warm bed feeling very sorry for myself… and more than a bit cross. How dare some stupid cold bug come along and cause so much angst and ruin my camino… it wasn’t fair.

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Day 5 : Zariquiegui – Cirauqui

Day 6 : Cirauqui…

On Monday night we had a lovely meal and retired to our beds full and happy. The Albergue is very nice and the owners are very kind… and it has a great shower and very comfortable beds but… there were 10 beds in a small space and the pilgrims chose to keep the doors and windows firmly closed.

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Day 4 : Zabaldika to Zariquiegui

Last night we were simply grateful for a bed but I reflected on that this morning.  In reality who am I kidding… we are walking across Northern Spain, complete with high tech clothes, a smartphone and a credit card.  We had the luxury of calling a taxi and booking into a hotel… and I felt kind of guilty when I considered all those people sleeping out in the cold without the mod cons.  We moaned as we walked how we wanted to do this “correctly’… no booking ahead, no deviating… and so on… but if we really believed that we would have left the phone and the credit card at home.  My only consolation is that at least I see the hypocrisy of my moans.

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Day 3 Roncesvalles to Zabaldika

You can’t fail to be impressed with Roncesvalles… the albergue is first class. But there have been some changes recently and the number of beds greatly reduced.  As a result there were long queues for many hours and some folks slept down in the basement and sadly some walked on. Continue reading →

Day 2 Orrison to Roncesvalles

So I’m walking with two mountain goats… and I’m a tortoise!

We slept well and managed to stay warm and toasty.  Only one crazy person left before 6.00am so it was actually a good sleep.  We were last into breakfast before setting off up the mountain at around 8:30.

I sent the two goats ahead… I’m just slow up the hills and it would be crazy to try and keep pace with the girls… so I ambled along taking in the views. Continue reading →

Day 1. St Jean Pied de Port to Orisson

Some folks would possibly have taken a day or two to rest from two weeks of travelling before walking up a very big hill… but that’s not my style.

Yesterday I was driving home from four amazing days in Barcelona, singing vintage songs for the poshest of posh tea parties on the poshest of posh yachts… and today I managed to bag a top bunk at Orisson Refuge… half way up a mountain in the Pyrenees. Continue reading →

I don’t leave for St Jean until the 28th of April but today was my last chance to get some training done.  I’m still nervous about my shoes and I wanted to give them another good test before I leave for the camino.

My waking buddy arrived bright and early but somehow we didn’t managed to start before 9:00am… and by the sun already had his hat on!  At least on the camino we know we’ll be kicked out well before this.

Today we wanted hills, so we headed off to the little village of Grignols.  It’s in a valley so there are plenty of hills, and it’s also on the GR65 so we hoped the marking would be good.  The GR65 around Grignols is one of the two (or three!) arms of the Camino Vezeley (or Via Lemovicensis) that runs through the Dordogne.

The drop in pace was a photo stop and it was time to fish out the umbrella… twas hot on them hills!

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What’s a week between friends?  Well if it’s a week on the Camino Frances then it’s actually quite a lot!

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