Wednesday 29 May 2013

Two tough days

Sorry for not writing yesterday but there was no signal in Zubiri so I will do two days in one.
Tuesday 28th. We left our hotel at 8.30am after a nice breakfast. There were some very steep and demanding climbs today. It wasn't the climbs that caused us problems but rather the conditions under foot and the weather. It was slippery, muddy, and very dangerous. We stopped at Espinal for a bite to eat and to get out of the wind and rain. We had to ford the river Erros at Gerendiain because of the floods. The last 10 K from Linzoain to Zubiri really tested both our mental and physical strengths. The paths were very steep and because of the wet mud we had to concentrate on our footing. Trust me I nearly went arse over tit several times whilst the other three were like mountain goats skipping from rock to rock. Very tired and dirty we arrived in Zubiri at 4.3m to find no room at the hostel. Fortunately a local offered us two lovely rooms and after showers and IBULEVE we felt human again.
Wednesday
We left for Pamplona at 8am and guess what. It was throwing it down and it was freezing. Today was about 22 K and again was very muddy and slippery with several killer hills. We had a nice hot drink stop at Irotz and met up with people whose journeys have been criss crossing ours. Today was demanding and we arrived at our rooms at about 4.30. I've skipped through today because I must tell you about an incident that happened that sums up what the Camino means to people.  Going through a wee small village this morning we took shelter for a few minutes from the driving rain. We were joined by an Irish couple we had met in St Jean and then during several other occasions. In the church at St. Jean, Mary was lighting a candle, and this woman, Muriel, had no change, so Mary gave her money for her candle In the wet and cold this morning, Muriel came over to Mary, and gave her 20 euros for our charities. It was a very emotional moment but that is the Camino.  We are taking a rest day tomorrow and I am giving you a rest but Mary will post a blog.

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