A Good Day to Walk

In the morning, we agreed to meet outside our respective refugios at 8 a.m. I am there (as always) a little early, and Ingeborg and Rita are there promptly at 8, and we set off. The way goes up over the little bridge I was on last night, and then off (and up) to the right. We pass through an area of houses, very quiet, no people about even at this hour. I wonder if everyone has already gone to work (doubtful, since this IS Spain after all), or sleeping in. The sun is coming up, but it's still cool. After walking briefly by these houses, the way leads off through some woods, and then behind a vast industrial area, a mine, or a mill, or something similar. The property is posted and we are warned to stay only on the marked path, but we are also wished a good journey. As we walk, I am struck by the contrast of the industrial ugly view to my right, and the forested, autumnal, lovely rural view to my left. The two halves collide right on the path, and when I walk, that is how I feel. I am realizing that the Way really does not follow the roads through the country for the most part, but is actually more like the crow flies--going directly across fields and farmland and woods. This morning, as the sun comes up, I like the way my shadow looks on the road--almost like the silhouette of the Wicked Witch of the West, thanks to my hat (more on the hat later). I am walking well today, and as we come to a rather steep hill on an actual road, I pull far ahead of the other two ladies. I do my best walking in the morning. Soon, we pass the mine site, and are back into open country/woods. I love walking in the trees, not only for the shade, but for the abundance of foliage and always trying to identify the plants and flowers. I discover that they also have silver lace vine in Spain! Eventually, I stop on the path to enjoy a bit of chocolate, and my companions catch up to me. We ascertain that Larrasoana is not far, and we look forward to coffee, as none of us had any before we left. Shortly we arrive in the village, which seems to be fairly well populated. There is another little stone bridge, and we cross over to look for a cafe, but apparently we are too early, for nothing is open, at least not right at the edges of town, and we don't want to venture too far in. So, we sit on the bridge to air out (I am again steaming in the sun), and I put some more foot cream on my problematic toe. I have a bit of a glitch when the snap buckle of my backpack slides off the strap. This could be bad! I had thought there was some kind of stop, or that the buckle was sewn on, but apparently not. I try to figure out how to get it back on so that it won't slide off again, for I really need the stability of the tightly cinched waist strap. I consider my sewing kit (not enough thread) and a safety pin (ouch!), and finally, I just TIE the darn thing back on using the end of the strap. This means I can only adjust the tightness from one side, but at least I have the buckle back in working order. And we're off again. This is a very good day for walking. There are lots of woods where the path runs by the river, and later, we clamber down and have a nice break sitting on some big rocks just listening to the water chatter by. After a couple of hours, we are walking through woods again, and we happen upon two older men who are sitting by the road, having either a picnic or a work break. They have bread and chorizo, and a bottle of wine. We say hello and stop for a bit. They ascertain that we are peregrinas (pilgrims). We are, indeed, and they offer us bread, sausage, and wine directly from the bottle. When they find out I am from the U.S., they immediately want to know about President Bush. I give my standard response of rolling my eyes, and stating that Senor Bush is no friend of mine. That seems to be a good answer where ever the subject comes up. One of the men tells us that he made the pilgrimage to Santiago years ago, on his donkey. We all laugh at that image, and thanking the men for their generosity, we move no. We pass through a number of small villages, and the day begins to heat up. Ingeborg is consulting both Miam-Miam, Do-Do, and another guidebook so we can avoid our previous fiasco. It looks like there is a refugio at a place called Trinidad de Arre, about 18 km from Zubiri, so we make that our goal. At one point, the path follows the highway and I see my first (and only!) "rest stop" with an actual functional bathroom! It's not pretty, but it works. It's getting hot, and I decide to change my socks. The others go on, and I tell them I'll catch up. I rest a bit, drink some water, and head on. The path, of course, goes UP on a track high above the road. At one place, the rather straight dirt path has crumbled, and there is orange tape, and temporary fencing. The alternate path is, you guessed it, even HIGHER up the hill alongside the highway. I see my friends on the other side, headed into a stand of pine trees. I wave my walking stick to let them know I see, and then slog on into the increasing midday heat. That is the disadvantage of walking with people; where I might stop at noon regardless of where I was, and just look for a place, others like to set a goal and shoot for that. But, it's fine. At least I'm not walking backwards anymore. The afternoon carries on, and it is really hot. I've been walking in the open now, and we really haven't stopped much since the earlier part of the morning. I'm munching on my store of nuts and dried fruit. At last, I round a bend under some trees and see Ingeborg and Rita conferring. They are happy to see me, and they had just decided to have Rita come looking for me while Ingeborg went ahead to secure our beds for the night. We are not far from Trinidad, but still have a ways to go, through a tunnel under the highway, and then up and down another big hill or two. As we get closer to Trinidad de Arre, my pack is getting heavier, and I swear it's hotter with every step. I am past looking at the scenery, which really isn't great, as we are passing through another rather industrialized area, but still there are some trees overhead. Shortly, I realize we are walking on pavement, and that folks are coming the other way, just strolling in the afternoon. We must be close, and sure enough, the road turns down a rather long, steep hill, and over a medieval bridge. I had thought that Ingeborg said we had another kilometer to walk after that bridge, but here is the refugio, just on the other side! It's been a long, hot day, but we have completed the 18 kilometers, and here is our refuge. It's been a good day, harder as we went on, but I kept up fairly well, and here we all are together! Now, to secure our place for the night...