Eat, Pray, Walk

This April we are hiking el Camino de Santiago from France through Northern Spain to the Tomb of St. James in Santiago de Compostela. It's an approximately 852 KM pilgrimage. We will also be visiting several other countries. Follow along!

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"what good is livin a life you've been given...if all you do is stand in one place. "

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We arrive in Berlin and step off the bus into a wave of heat and humidity. It was almost 35 degrees in Berlin while we were there. Geo immediately turns me. "Can we go back to winter please?" Geo's response to heat is usually to melt whereas mine is to bask so we interpret summer a little differently. He managed quite well in Berlin despite the heatwave. It helped that we ended up doing two days of bike tours so we could create our own breeze as we pedalled around town. However, the tours were a bit of an adventure to find... We weren't staying at the Busabout hostel drop off point. The way it works is the bus comes and goes from a hostel that the company recommends as a good one, but there's no obligation to stay there. It's convenient to be that close to the pick up point later on, but those hostels fill up quickly and sometimes you can get a better price elsewhere. As it happened, my good friend Lily had recommended a hostel called Heart of Gold that she had really enjoyed. It wasn't far from the pick up point (maybe a 15 minute walk) and it was Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy themed so that's where we ended up. We quite enjoyed our hostel, but unfortunately our Busabout tour guide got a little confused when giving us directions and had us go to a meeting point that didn't end up being correct. Between the two hostels is a famous marketplace. He told us that the bike tour actually leaves from there. They just collect people from the Busabout hostel and bring them there; so we might as well skip the extra walk and just stop at the mid-way market. So we get there early and wait. And wait. No bikes, no people. Very concerning. Eventually we walk over to the hostel. By this point we've definitely missed them, but we wanted to see if we could contact anyone. The hostel there only knows that they collect people in their lobby and aren't sure how to contact the company directly. Luckily we had four days in Berlin so we weren't panicked about rescheduling the tour as need be. We were going on a pub crawl with the same tour company that evening so we figured we'd speak to someone then. Instead we went up the Berlin Needle. It's 368 m high so it was a good view (Sky Tower in Auckland is 328 m as a comparison. Sadly they don't let you jump off the Needle though.) We also went to the Berlin Dungeon which was a lot of fun. We spent almost our entire visit in East Berlin. We only ended up on the west side briefly at one point. Berlin is massive-- 8 times the size of Paris-- so it's difficult to see it all. That night we did a pub crawl. The company said to just come back in the morning for a bike tour as they run them everyday. So the next morning we go to the hostel meeting point nice and early and wait. And... Nothing. No bikes, no people. Now I'm a touch grumpy. Eventually we spot a small group of bikes outside and it's the right company. The leader is mid-spiel about a statue in the park across the street when we join the small group (an interesting point of Nazi history actually). He kind of side eyes us as we join them, but waits till the others are examining the statue to ask us what's up. Right company, wrong tour. We were supposed to do a more general city tour and this is a Nazi specific one. And apparently the company has a third undisclosed meeting point. But after conferring with his boss and running back to the Needle to pick us up some bikes we take a Nazi specific tour somewhat by accident. It's actually a lovely tour. Berlin has a lot of bike lanes and much of the tour goes through parks. It was a beautiful day for it. We visited the Holocaust Memorial which looks from the outside like football-field sized space with a bunch of knee to waist high tombstones. It's only as you walk into the field that you realize the ground isn't flat so you end up dipping between the stones that soon tower over you. That's me between a few. At the end of day we discussed it and decided to do the Soviet specific bike tour they had the following day. Berlin is particularly well suited to biking because it's almost entirely flat. The only small hills they have are from there they buried post-war rumble so they like to say that the only hills Berlin has are fake ones. We enjoyed the Soviet tour as well. That's us in front of the East Side Gallery which is a section of intact wall covered with art depicting themes of peace and oppression. The day after (sadly our last day in Berlin) we toured the New Synagogue of Berlin which is a very pretty building although it's nicer from the outside. We also went back to one of the sections of the Wall. There's a park now where the Death Strip was so we wandered around that for awhile. I would have been interested in more of the museums, but Geo has a limit on how much sad history he can handle at once which is fair. Instead we went on our one trip to West Berlin to find the largest museum in Europe dedicated to computer and video games. We may have found Geo's happy place. They have a lot of the old games set up so you can play them. We spent a lot of time there. It was a blast. They have one particular game though that's kind of unique. It's basically Pong, only with pain incentives. Both players put their hands on the table. If you miss a ball the table either burns you, electrocutes you, or it has a built in whip that raps your knuckles. First person to remove their hand from the table loses. Our Nazi tour guide raved about this game. It seems like a very guy game to me, but apparently it's fun. It's 18+ only so the staff have to turn it on for you. Geo and I decided it might not be the best idea to play a game based on stubbornness that warns of third degree burns and possible paralysis. But it did look unique. That's Geo by the game in the picture. It was a really awesome museum and completely worth the field trip to find it. We basically only left because they closed for the day. In short, Berlin was awesome. I would absolutely go back.

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We left Barcelona and flew to Amsterdam. We only just made our flight due to some hiccups getting to the airport so it was a relief things mostly worked out. It took a conscious effort for a few days to not order things in Spanish. Even now we still automatically say hola and gracias even though we know the proper words in German. In the Netherlands everything is in English with Dutch in the small print which I found helpful but odd. Incidentally, in Germany everything is in German with English in the small print. In both cases basically everyone is fluent in English. I felt both very lucky that my native tongue is one everyone tries to learn and a little ashamed that English speakers don't return the courtesy. We were theoretically going to meet up with some of Geo's family in Amsterdam, but we were never able to get ahold of them while we were there sadly. Hopefully we will see them when they visit Canada later. Our hostel was on a main road near the iconic train station and down the street from the Red Light District. It made for some of the most interesting people watching I've ever done. Our hostel had what Geo called "authentic Dutch stairs" which basically means I was missing my climbing harness. Our room was near the roof so we climbed three sets of stairs of progressing steepness (the stairs themselves also get thinner so you're balancing on ledges essentially) in order to get to our door and then we open it, and yes, more stairs to actually get into the room. The picture doesn't capture it. We took a walking tour through some of the historic sections. Our guide was actually an anthropologist studying the red light district so our tour was a touch less historical than I would have liked. She had some interesting insights into Amsterdam though. For instance, one always hears about the coffeeshops in Amsterdam. I hadn't realized the name is actually very important. A "Cafe" is a place one goes to get coffee much like Starbucks while a "coffeeshop" is a place to consume cannabis. Even if you hadn't noticed the semantic difference, however, you wouldn't mix them up. One can usually smell a coffeeshop about half a block away. Then we promptly got utterly lost trying to find the museum quarter. They were having insane thunderstorms while we were there. Like, the building is shaking thunderstorms. It was really cool; although, it made it easier to get lost because the downpour would ruin the maps and phones were out of the question in that much water. Geo and I had fun being lost though. It's a nice town to do it in. We both ended up with head colds though so the next day ended up being a sick day. On our last day in Amsterdam, Geo very nicely put up with me dragging him to four different museums while still sick (in my defence two of them were small-ish and I had suggested he stay in bed). There was a lot we could have done still in Amsterdam, but it's a sign of a good city that you can always find more to do. So on the 23rd we caught the first of our Busabout buses to Berlin. As it happened, when I originally planned out our route I had us starting on the 25th and had the dates mixed up. So we could have spent more time in Amsterdam. That said, we just got to have four days in Berlin instead of two which was probably for the best. Berlin is another city where there's way more to do than you can fit into a couple days. But that's another story. --the other pictures are the Dutch idea of a parking lot, Geo by a canal and me in front of the Rijksmuseum.

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And the story continues. We reached Barcelona after 18 hours on an overnight bus really really tired. It was about 25 degrees when we were there but a bit rainy. We went to the beach anyway. (As any Vancouveite will tell you: we ain't afraid of no rain) We spent a bit of time just getting lost in town. After spending so much time following a closely marked trail it was a novelty to have no idea where we were. Barcelona was a big change of both pace and theme; it took some adjusting to for sure. While we were there Sonar was happening which is the second largest music festival in Europe. That combined with the Eurocup festivities meant the town was basically overflowing with partying people. After a month of early-to-bed-early-to-rise hiking lifestyle it was hard on the brain to just switch to club-till-6-am thinking. We didn't see as much in Barcelona as I would have liked, but we had a lot of fun with what we did see. We particularly enjoyed a tapas tour we did where we learned how to drink out of Catalan wine jugs. Geo has the art of it down. As for me I probably shouldn't try it with a shirt I want back. On the 19th we flew to Amsterdam. Goodbye Spain, it's been sweet.

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Hello from Prague. Long time no talk. So last we left the story we had reached Santiago and its lovely cathedral. After a couple of days of recuperation we hiked out of Santiago headed 88 km further west to Fisterra and the End of the World. It took us four days. We could have done it in three if we pushed but we weren't in a rush. Sadly the stops along the way don't line up evenly so one of the days basically has to be a 30 km day and one a short day. We decided to make our last day into Fisterra the short one so the day before we hiked about 31 km. There's one particular stretch that's 15 km of trail and off road section that has nothing on it until you reach its end. You know what is not comforting as you're stumbling through a thick fog bank down a deserted road in the middle of no where? Signs telling you "this way to the End." We reached Fisterra about the 10th of June. The fog made it hard to see the coast, but it was clearly the end. Coming from a seaside town the ocean is not usually thrilling for me, but given we had walked for so long and so far to get to it the first sight of water was a special one. The town of Fisterra is about 2 km from the actual point so we were able to walk the last piece without our packs. We felt so light it was like a stroll. There's a lighthouse at the point just after the 0 km marker (which we are standing beside in the picture above). Past the lighthouse you can climb down a ways to a cross. Geo is sitting beside it in the picture above. The rocks beneath his feet are blackened from fires where people have burned things they wished to leave behind. (Included was a half melted set of metal walking sticks and the frame from a backpack). It was a very special moment getting to the end. The fog prevented us from much of a view, but it also blocked other pilgrims from view so we felt very alone just then. It's a powerful place. The next day we caught a bus to Santiago and then on to Barcelona. We missed the connection so we ended up spending an extra day in Santiago. It felt like coming full circle. The bus ride from Santiago to Barcelona was 18 hours. Geo called it trippy to spend almost a month and a half walking to get to one coast then be at the other in about a day.

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On June 6th after 605 KM, one broken tooth, two very sore knees (one each), and many many blisters we arrived in Santiago de Compostela. Many thanks to everyone who offered us kind words, thoughts, or advice. Despite evidence to the contrary I'm not sure anyone walks alone. After a couple of days of rest and contemplation we have continued on our way to Fisterra, another 88 KM from Santiago to the coast. The adventure continues. Pictures are us in front of the traditional stone slab on the outskirts of town and the sign as you enter the city itself. The cathedral with people in the foreground for scale. A favoured activity for many was sitting or lying in the square (collapsing possibly) and just staring up at this building and all it represents. One group had champagne. Geo and I opted for ice cream as it was over 30 degrees the day after we arrived (it rained on our walk in hence the silly outfits and Geo's turtle look). Geo contemplating as he overlooks the square on our wander through the cathedral museum. Also the view of Santiago from the cathedral walkway.

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Random Overheard Coversation

Person A: Hey, this hostel has the Guinness Book of Records!

Person B: It will be in Spanish though

Person A: I wonder who holds the record for fastest Camino

Person C: Some girl just did it in 8 days apparently. I think it was a record

Person A: Was she a witch?

Person C: An ultra-marathon runner

Person B: Same thing really

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We are about two days walk from Santiago this morning. This will put us in Santiago tomorrow afternoon/evening. In short, it's getting very exciting over here. (561 KM walked, 44 or so to go!) Our plan is to walk to the coast afterwards (3-4 more days) and then see Barcelona before heading to Northern Europe. The plan had then been Paris again, but given that it's currently underwater that's now a debate. We may head directly to Amsterdam and see Paris on the other end of our loop through Europe. Hopefully it will have dried out by July. We're a little tempted to go anyway (how often do you get to see a historical city sink?) but much of what we'd like to see has been taken in the Great Art Evacuation so it might not be worth it. We'll see how things are proceeding later in the week.

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Today we crossed into the province of Galicia which is the fifth and final province we will cross. (Spain has a more complicated system of provinces and autonomous regions but for the sake of simplicity let's call them all provinces). We are about 150 KM from Santiago de Compostella. Tomorrow our goal is to reach the city of Sarria, a 30.5 KM distance. If we stay on schedule we should be arriving in Santiago in about 6 days. With the coast another 3-4 days after that we have about 10 days left in our walk. Things are going really well. We stayed an extra day in Ponferrada. It was a larger city so we had a chance to run necessary errands and rest up. The bonus was the castle in the middle of the city. It used to belong to the Knights Templar when they guarded the pilgrimage route to Santiago. Although neither of us were impressed with the audio tour we enjoyed exploring an actual castle. There's a couple more on the itinerary for after the walk and we're really looking forward to them. Today we had some of the best views so far. Living in British Columbia we are a bit spoiled for mountainous beauty, but the Sierra do Rañadoiro are giving the North Shore mountains a run for their money.

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In Montes de León today. The views were lovely between the clouds.

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Random story

We were waiting in line to book beds at the municipal albergue in Santo Domingo de la Calzada a little before Burgos. We'd gone a bit slow that day so the first place we'd gone to was fully booked (very common). Luckily it's a city so there's a couple and we were very glad they still had beds because it was 6.5 km to the next town and that's just no fun at that time of day. The lady in front of us we would end up encountering a couple of times. Let's call her a character. In this particular instance she was pitching a fit at the poor receptionist insisting on, "touring the facilities to make sure they are up to my standard." (Bear in mind this place is massive and there's a line behind her besides us). I turned to Geo with some perplexity. N: I have literally never asked that question... G: Do... Do they have beds? N: They appear to. G: They have met my standard. N: Pretty much, yeah.

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We found stone lounge chairs on our way. Surprisingly comfy and helpfully placed just after a big hill. If it had been warmer I'd have been tempted to bring out my book.

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Adventures in Spanish Dentistry

So we spent 5 days in Burgos. It's a very pretty city, but our visit wasn't actually that long by design. (For those that care, I will be posting an account of our walk Roncevalles-Burgos more step by step on the blog itself but I won't be linking them to Facebook so I don't blow up people's feeds) Most people are probably not aware but I'm rather prone to breaking teeth. It's not as alarming as it sounds (usually). ---Dental side note: If it doesn't hurt when it breaks you haven't damaged the root. Damaged roots mean pain, root canals and general badness. If you haven't hurt the root though it's generally just a filling to reduce sharp edges and make the tooth smoother and less exposed for cleanliness reasons. Unfortunately filling isn't as strong as real tooth so it tends to break off under enough pressure. Ergo the same tooth will break multiple times but it's mostly just filling breaking not real tooth each time although every break has the potential to take real tooth with it--- Anyway, I broke a tooth in St. Jean the day before we started our walk. Not unexpected really, just annoying. Then shortly after Logroño I broke it again and this time it was more serious break and the inner tooth was much more exposed. But still no pain. Approximately 5 days after that it abruptly started to hurt in ernest. The next morning my face had swollen. By the next day I was a chipmunk and taking the maximum of over the counter pain meds. We were due to arrive in Burgos that day thankfully. It's a big city so there are dentists (yay for dentists!) Unfortunately it was a Sunday. Spain takes Sunday's very seriously. So not only were no dentists open [not even an emergency number :( ] but neither were the pharmacies. And I ran out of pain meds :( I was a very unhappy chipmunk. Poor Geo had to put up with my bad company. It was a stressful day for us both. We debated an emergency room but in the end decided to wait till morning. It took three dentists till the next afternoon to begin treating it. By then I was hella feverish, dizzy, and struggling with things like walking and standing. Your head is a bad place to get an infection. I do not recommend. I got to try and explain it in my broken Spanish to dentists with whom I have no appointment who are not expecting me. All while I was feverish and struggling with English, let alone Spanish. They were very nice about it. I vaguely understood what they did. Once the pressure was relieved, the pain was much more manageable. Unfortunately they couldn't actually fix the tooth until the antibiotics got my face under control. The earliest that would be was Thursday (they told us on Monday). We could either wait in Burgos until Thursday or walk to Leon and see a dentist there. I wasn't well enough to walk anyway so we stayed. Geo was very helpful throughout. This put our Camino at a crossroads however. We didn't really have time in the schedule to stop for that long without altering some aspect of the plan. We could change our post-walk plan and give ourselves more time at the expense of other sights. Or we could walk from Burgos and see how far we get before our schedule stops us and keep the walk consistent. Although we most likely wouldn't reach Santiago that way. Or we could bus ahead along the route and walk from a point further on. Less consistent walk, but we would reach Santiago. We decided on door number three and bused to Leon on Friday. It was surreal being in a vehicle after so long. We covered the distance that would have been something like 8 days walking in two hours. It felt weird. One thing I will say for this walk is that it completely changes your sense of scale. Yesterday we spent a day in Leon seeing their cathedral. There are cathedrals and then there is that thing. It's a monstrosity. Gorgeous and astounding, but in a kind of train wreck way. I liked it better than Notre Dame I think. We also caught up with some friends from Pamplona quite by accident. Today we walked 22 km. A comparatively easy day, but nice to get back in the swing of things. Tomorrow is supposed to be 28 km. Thankfully, as Geo puts it, "Your face looks like a face again." I didn't know that was something I should be thankful for, but I am now.

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“We’ve had every kind of weather but wet snow today!”- Geo

Go to Spain they said, it’ll be hot they said. Uh huh. Sure. So we get into the fog and the hail turns to snow. Powdery at first and then packing snow and it sticks.

We passed by the hiker’s refuge (complete with sign explaining what it’s for) and mused it was a good idea they have one although we in no way needed to take that extreme a measure. By the time we passed the second refuge I could see using it but we weren’t quite that desperate.

The wind was all on one side so half of Geo’s beard had him impersonating old man winter. He had to take that as a selfie because my hands were too frozen.

At one point I had lost all feeling in my hands and we still had another five hours or so to go so Geo sacrificed a pair of socks and made me mittens. That’s me posing as T-Rex.

There was one sections the pilgrim’s office had recommended a detour. The route is too steep for the weather. They gave a picture of the fork in the road which was really clear. We had to climb down a foot deep snow bank just to get to the fork and there we paused.

The instructions were clear. The picture was obviously taken in nice weather but it was the right spot we were sure. We still paused. The route is very clearly marked usually and this area is no different. The route did look steep but it was also the path with what looked like footsteps in the snow (hard to say they filled quickly).

In the end we followed our instructions and went along what may be a road. I say that because it was climbing through snow mostly. In a little while though we arrived back on the trail and we felt we made the right decision.

In Pamplona we ran into a pilgrim who didn’t get that memo and they followed the normal route. She described it as the worst day of her life and that particular section as what hell might be like.

All I know is that considerably earlier on the path we were passed by a fellow who was moving quite quickly. A while after that detour he came up behind us again. That section took him a very long time.

Unfortunately there are no pictures of the really snowy section because we couldn’t take the camera out anymore. The lens was hopelessly foggy by the end of it.

It was 8 pm and still light when we reached Roncevalles. We were Popsicles by the time we made it into town though. I think it took me two days to thaw.

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The pass was open when we got there and we had confirmed with the pilgrim’s office that it was okay to cross before we started out. This section is usually closed for the colder months and for good reason. Four people were evacuated the week we started (exhaustion and hypothermia). The path is dotted by crosses to those who didn’t make it through. It’s an area to treat with due caution, but a reasonably prepared person can manage. We passed two crude refuges for desperate hikers. The area is famous for sudden storms. There were also two emergency call buttons along the route. We did get a taste of why it might be off limits sometimes. As we came over the ridge the wind hit us, strong enough to make me stumble. It felt like being on top of the ferry at home. This was fun until the hail started. The hail was fun as well but then the wind whips it into our eyes. Geo’s hat worked better as a shield than my hood because he could just lean forward into it. We learned that when caught at the right angle the rain covers for our bags become sails. I can definitely see how someone could be blown off the trail. We spoke to two pilgrim’s who crossed a few days after us and they said the officials had put route marker flags up so you could find it in the fog and snow. They said without that they wouldn’t have made it along. One wouldn’t want to wander off the ridge; it’s a long way down. So we climb higher through the hail and wind until the fog starts. I suppose we climbed into a cloud layer. Visibility was not great for most of the rest of day so that was the end of the views. Then the hail becomes powdery snow as we get higher. Geo turns to me and says, “You know, I think we’ve had every kind of weather today except for wet snow.” I may hold this comment against him for awhile.

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At first we're on the road, but eventually we split off onto a trail. Traffic is pretty rare here so it wasn't really a problem. The views in the first part of the day were lovely. Being from British Columbia kind of ruins one for mountain beauty but it was still gorgeous. The hills were such a vibrant green that I felt like I was in New Zealand. I told Geo that if we replaced the cathedral with a volcano and found ourselves a ring we could be hobbits. That may partly explain why I had "The Road Goes Ever On and On" stuck in my head for about three days. Just under 8 km into the walk we reached the one and only place to stop between St Jean and Roncevalles. Some people hike here (Refuge Orisson) in day one and stay overnight to try and break up the hike. The 18 ish KM after it is really the hard part though so it only helps so much. We stopped for lunch and it was after that the adventure really began.

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Eleven days ago now we started our walk. I have been documenting it as we went along, but unfortunately the Internet here, while plentiful, is of the slow variety which makes posting things a bit impractical at times. Ergo there’s a backlog so I apologize for blowing up anyone’s feed.

Tonight we are in Logroño, approximately 165.5 km from where we started. It’s the second largest city we’ve encountered so far, Pamplona being the first. We’re taking a rest day here after hiking 28 km yesterday and before we hike 31 km tomorrow.

St. Jean Pied de Port feels like a lifetime ago, but that’s where the story starts.

We arrived on Friday April 29th in the afternoon on the tiniest, cutest little train. St Jean is a handful of streets and it was the largest town that train went to on the route. Getting there had been a mini adventure because after flying down from Paris the taxi took us to the wrong train station (apparently there are two?) and we had to re-figure out our route in time to catch the only train of the day to St Jean.

It was too late to start walking the day we arrived so instead we explored the medieval town walls (what’s a town without arrow slits and murder holes after all?).

We also went to the pilgrim’s office to see the officials and get our credentials. The officials take this walk and the certificate one earns at the end quite seriously and in Spain one is not allowed to stay in pilgrim’s albergues/Refugios (i.e. Hostels especially for pilgrims) without an official credential. This booklet contains stamps that we collect at every place we stay and in important historical sites we pass. By examining this book the officials in Santiago will be able to trace our route and confirm we have travelled the way. It will also be a nifty souvenir :)

The next morning after some organization we started out from St Jean to Roncesvalles in Spain. It’s a 26 km hike over a 1230 m gain in elevation. Near the top of the pass one crosses into Spain. We followed what’s called Naploneon’s Road for historical reasons you can google.

The first day is like a inoculation against suffering. It puts the bar really high for things you are willing to endure. The very first thing you do is don your pack (mine is about 28 lbs with the water bottles) and hike up a hill similar in steepness to Oxford Street in White Rock for those who are familiar.

This walk does not kid around. Early on the wind actually did that howl is does in horror movies when someone says something ominous. Turns out that was a bit of a sign…

(More to come, I have to split the pictures up on this app)