From St. Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostella, October-November, on my own
This morning was a late start. Daylight saving time ended, giving an extra hour, AND our group met up to say goodbye to 2 members. Three of us left Viana. We marched on resolutely to Navarrette where we consumed vast quantities of tapas instead of dinner and got rooms (a single and a double, without…
The Camino Rose’ Club (sorry for the poor imitation of an accent) had an urgent meeting this evening – its last for 2015. A-Irish and New-Yorker-T will be going home instead of walking further. A-Irish came to Viana in a taxi, while New-Yorkers-J&T arrived on foot. New-Yorker-S decided to take another rest day here. I…
This was a particularly nice walk – mostly sunny, warm but not hot, easy distance, some ups, some downs, interesting agricultural practices, and a few historical ruins scattered about. I caught up with and passed the Sisters early in the day. Beautiful day for a walk through autumn vineyards and olives. Taking care of necessities…
The Sisters (SSS) are keeping up and bunked nearby last night. In the morning I stepped out at 7:30 and since I don’t like to walk in the dark, I went on search of breakfast. This is a common Camino breakfast (or lunch). The coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice are great but i have…
I was hoping to go a little further today but after a poor night’s sleep and some new suspicious itchy spots, the priority became finding good laundry facilities by the end of the day. Estella is a major stopping point and the municipal albergue is great – again, clean and efficient. I have just spent…
A leisurely start this morning. Stayed for brekko and chitchat with various people. This is a very friendly family-run place and the mother/grandmother, Ana (68) started walking today with her sister Pilar (70ish). Here is Ana on the left, multitasking at 8:30 – serving breakfast and talking on the phone while her own backpack was…
I slept like a log in my comfy bed and didn’t get out of Pamplona until noon. That was OK, though, since New Yorkers J&T and I were planning to stop in Zariquiegui, at 10 km, saving the hard hike up to Alto del Perdon and the harder hike down, until tomorrow morning when we’d…
After morning eviction from the albergue, I found some breakfast and wandered over to the 4-star hotel. Eventually my friends came down for coffee. A-Irish is staying a couple of days due to injury and she invited me to stay the night with her. I accepted and spent most of the day showering, washing, lying…
Seeing Clarely 