The Adventures of Miam-Miam, Do-Do

So, after probably 45 minutes or an hour, Rita, Ingeborg, and I get up, repack everything and get back on the trail to Linzoain. We emerged out of the woods, the trail took us up close to the highway, and then away again. We arrived at Linzoain at around 4 p.m., by this time, hot, sweaty in the afternoon sun, and ready to set the packs down for the night. The first thing we notice as we walk into the town is what looks like a 2-sided open air handball court. There is a stencil of 2 crossed raquets on the wall, but none of us can figure out exactly what kind of sport it is. Across the street is a small playground, so small, in fact, that at first I think it's just somebody's yard. We continue on into the town which seems shut up like a ghost town; however, there is the always-present construction crane, and many of the builings seem brand new, though uninhabited. Also, there are "Se Vende" (For Sale) signs everywhere. Shortly, we begin to go up a hill which looks like it's going to take us out of town, so we stop to get our bearings. We have already passed one place that had the bed sign on it, but we knocked a number of times, and though we heard rustling, no one ever came to the door. Not a good sign. From the vantage point of the hill, it seems to me that we are sort of at the back of the town, so I suggest walking back down, and trying to find a more populated area. We trudge back in our steps, and wander to the right, up some stairs, past a church. Ingeborg tries the door, but it's locked. Then, as we are walking up a flight of stairs, we see, to the right, another place with the bed sign, and also with clothes hanging off lines on the balcony. This must be the place!

Ingeborg goes to the door, and I go across to a fountain to refill my water bottles. She knocks and knocks, and again, no response. We are just about to leave again, when a rather thin and suspicious woman comes to the door. We ask about camas (beds) for the night. No, no beds. No beds anywhere in the town, no one does that anymore here. Great. It's about 4:30, it's another 8 Km to Zubiri, over pretty rugged terrain if we are reading right, and we are very tired, even with the siesta. We all fill our bottles and decide to go back to the playground area to regroup. Ingeborg has a cell phone, and she will try some of the phone numbers in Miam-Miam, Do-Do to try to phone a taxi to take us to Zubiri. She asks me if I will speak, since my Spanish is better than hers. That sounds good to me, so we head back to a bench and take off our packs. We find a number to the taxi service. Ingeborg dials. The number doesn't work. She tries again, no luck. It's either the wrong number or it's been disconnected. There is a second number, so she tries this one, and speaks to whoever answers the phone to make sure she has reached the right place, but the woman says that all the taxis are on vacation, no taxis. Ingeborg asks if there is another number. Yes, there is, and then she hands the phone to me, to make sure that I get the number down right. I write it, and repeat it back to the lady. Yes, that's right, the number for the taxis that are not on vacation. Fine. I call the number, and just as it connects, the phone goes dead. Well, so much for having a phone on the Camino!! Now, we REALLY need a new game plan!

During this time, we have noticed that some men have been over at the ball court, opening a small concession stand, and taking out cases of beverages and loading them onto a flatbed truck. I figure it's time to make contact with the locals, so I go over and tell them that we are 3 pilgrims and we need a telephone. I'm HOPING that one of them will volunteer to make a call for me, but instead, one of the men pulls his phone out and just hands it to me. Well, that's nice, but I haven't had much luck on the phone so far this afternoon, so I'm trying to ask him if he can call a taxi for me when a woman, dressed in double knit clothes that are just wee bit too tight, and fuzzy slippers, with a tookpick firmly in one corner of her mouth, comes out from the house next to the playground and asks what's going on. Obviously, she's speaking in Spanish, but some expressions are just universal, you know? I give her the "three pilgrim ladies" speech, we need a phone, a taxi to Zubiri, etc. She takes the guy's phone out of my hand, gives it back to him and beckons me to come with her. I glance over at Ingeborg and Rita, who are still at the playground, shrug, and go with her. She goes to her house, tells me to wait, then goes inside. After a few minutes, she comes back with her own cell phone. I can see that she is scrolling through numbers, and finally finds the one she wants. After a moment, someone answers. The conversation goes like this (again in Spanish, but it's really not hard to understand). "Hey, Paco, I've got 3 more lost pilgrims here." "Yeah, pretty old and tired, need the taxi to Zubiri." "Yeah, this not putting up pilgrims any more has really been good for you, eh, Paco?" "Yeah, I'll tell them". She hangs up and says, "1o minutes, maybe less." The taxi, here? I ask, yes, yes, she says, toothpick never moving, by the playground. I thank her profusely, and Rita, who has walked up behind me, offers her money, but she refuses, "De nada, de nada!" she says. Instead, Rita kisses her on the cheek, and we go back to tell Ingeborg. So, we wait for Paco and the taxi. Again, I wander over to where the men are still loading the truck and ask what kind of game this is. "Fronton" they tell me, which I find out later is actually the name of the court that the game, Basque pelota, is played in.

Rita buys a soda from one of the men, and we are just languishing there, watching the sun go down, glad that at least we have a taxi coming (we hope). And, sure enough, in about 15 minutes, a van taxi pulls up, and Paco, around 50, grizzled, toothless, but oddly attractive, gets out. At first, he seems to ignore us and is talking to some of the men at the fronton court, but when I walk over and speak to him, he is more attentive. He takes my pack and puts it in the back, then Rita's, but when he gets to Ingeborg's he lifts it, grunts, and just looks at her. Did I say that Ingeborg is carrying FOURTEEN KILOGRAMS??? That's nearly 30 lb! At 61 years old, my God. "Ella esta una mujer muy fuerte!" I state to Paco...She is a very strong woman. He seems to agree with me, and gets the pack settled in with the others. Ingebord and Rita climb in the back, and tell me to get in the front so I can talk to Paco. I'm not too sure of my small talk ability, but what the heck, I'll give it a go. Soon, we are all belted in, and on the road. Going by road is actually quite a bit longer than just walking nearly as the crow flies. The roads are winding and twisty, and as we sway back and forth in the taxi, Paco asks us where we have come from. Roncesvalles, we tell him. When did you leave, he asks. Eight o'clock this morning. He looks at us, looks at his watch, his expression easy to read--all day to make 13 kilometers? 8 hours? Oh, we had lunch, we tell him, we took a siesta. Yes, he says, but 8 hours to go only 13 KM? You'll be in Santiago by Christmas, he pronounces, causing me to crack up. I translate for the ladies, and we collapse in laughter. It may be that he's right, but we are going forward anyway we tell him. Paco just shakes his head and grins a sardonic little grin. In no time at all we are entering into Zubiri, and Paco must have called ahead to make our arrangements, because he takes us past the public albuerge to another place, stops, and hollers out at a woman who's standing outside. He goes around to unload our bags, and delivers us to our hostess. "Hay tres camas?" I ask, "Are there three beds?" She says, no, only one. But we needed three! Just then a woman from across the street comes up and says that she has two beds, so Rita and Ingeborg will go there, and I will take the one bed here. Fine, just fine! We thank Paco profusely and pay him his fare of 20 euros. As far as I'm concerned, it would be cheap even if it hadn't been split 3 ways. I wasn't relishing another 8 K of uphill walking--not at 4:30 in the afternoon!

So, now on to my bunk bed, my shower, and my night in Zubiri!!