One thing about being a pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago is that you become very sensitive about any type of sensation in your body. If for instance your toe nail hurts for a second, you begin to wonder if your whole toe nail is going to fall off.
Today those familiar feelings and thoughts came to mind.
I knew our day was going to be a bit interesting. We were starting from Pamplona and were going to make the iconic climb to Alto del Perdon.
Last time I was in Spain I missed this part of the Camino because I had terrible pain from my Plantarfaciatis and I thought the climb was going to be too much and that I would not be able to make it. In 2016 I took a cab to Uterga where the owner of the Albergue Del Perdon helped me heal and get better in order to continue.
This time I knew the climb was going to be a challenge. Dan is less than thrilled with heights and although I don’t fear them I hate the climbs. They are just hard on me.
As we began the acent on the mountain range, I could see the windmills on the distance. It seemed so far.
The countryside was a beautiful site it was filled with gorgeous greens and scattered red poppies.
Just when I thought I could no longer move on up the trail we got to the top. Dan who had been a few steps ahead of me was sitting waiting for me.
I put my pack down and went over to the iconic pilgrim statues and took the obligatory picture with them. I then asked Dan to come and pose with me and to my delight he did. I know he edge was a little too close for comfort but he did well there.
After a delightful picnic of French bread and havarti cheese we began our decent. I knew from stories and picture that it was a steep decent full of rocks.
The stories and pictures I had seen did not do it any justice. It was so steep and so rocky that you needed to watch your step and proceed with caution. Any false step meant you could really fall and get seriously injured. This is where my body began sending me tons of signals like “hey these are your thighs, you have not used this muscle group for a while so we will be transforming to jello now” or my shoulders saying “hey, what is up with this heavy pack on us… we were meant for cold shoulder shirts or this”.
At one point I though i was going to not make it. My walking sticks were not helping me and I was ready to just be air lifted out. At this point as the saying goes, the Camino provides. Out of nowhere this nice older French gentleman came over and walked up to me and said “allonger vos poles” or make your poles longer. Wouldn’t you know it but this made a whole lot of difference.
Actually it was life changing! This knight in shinning backpacker was gone before I knew it. As iI descended more easily, I found myself wishing I had told him to find the tall American walking up ahead and tell him the same thing. As I finally caught up with Dan he told me that he was saved by a Frenchman that told him to lengthen his poles.
As we made it to the village of Uterga we went to grab a coffee from the Albergue where I had stayed before. I saw Anna the owner who had helped me so two years ago. It turned out she remembered me and we hugged as long lost friends usually do.
We stayed there for a bit and as we had coffee and a small meal we met a family from Belgium also walking together. It was so cool to hear the Mom share that her 10 year old son was missing almost a month of school but that this was no problem. After all as in most of Europe, travel is considered as such an enriching experience that it is not a big deal for kids to be out.
The rest of our afternoon consisted of 
a small cab ride to get to the town where I had finished my journey during my last Camino. From there we made it to Villaruerta where we checked in to the Casa Magica or Magic House. This was going to be our first real Albergue experience together. Dan quilckly learn the pilgrim routine and we showered change and got our clothes ready to wash. It turns out that as Dan waited to wash our clothes he met a couple from Houston. We enjoyed some nice conversation before they left to nap for a bit. As our clothes dried we got a bottle of wine, and talked about our day.
Yes there are a few body parts that hurt, perhaps every new uncomfortable sensation makes you wonder if this is the beginning of something more serious.
Dan had a good laugh as well reminiscing about he guy that asked me if I was a Mayan Indian.
Perhaps…. however today, I am just a typical pilgrim connecting with the journey that is the Camino and also one that makes friendships I am sure will last a lifetime.
Our dinner consisted of a huge Paella which is what this Albergue is know for, we shared our meal with Chris and Mark from Texas and now we are tucked in to our beds excited for what it is to come.
NY RedRose 