Fw: Recent Camino

[Norva Malone]

this sounds like our experience.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ted Kayes" <tckayesaEARTHLINK.NET>
To: <GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU>
Sent: Monday, August 25, 2003 11:18 PM
Subject: Recent Camino


> Having been a subscriber to the list serve for about three years, I have
> been a little disappointed that more peregrinos did not comment or report
> on their Camino experience.  My wife, Cheryl, and I completed the Camino
on
> 26 July and I shall share a few experiences and observations.  She is 58
> and I am 60 and we really did not do enough walking before we went to
Spain.
>
> Though I did not have a revelation (probably too much to ask) It was a
> great experience and I believe I had a few insights.
> My son asked, what problems did you encounter?  and answer was, nothing
> significant.
> Then he asked, what was the high point?  There were so many high points
> that it is difficult to identify one.
>
> Our boots were well broken in.  We wore sock liners and smart wool socks
> and good boots.  Mine were Lowa.
> We put Nivea cream between our toes, on the ball, heel and sole of the
feet
> every day before we put on the sock liners.  I had no blisters, my wife
had
> one.
> I specifically looked for people putting alcohol or other drying agents on
> their feet and never saw any.
>
> It appeared that the largest percentage of the peregrinos wore Nike type
> shoes, closely followed by those who wore boots.  Some wore sandals all of
> the time, more switched between sandals and Nike type shoes or boots
> depending on the terrain.  If I were to do it again I would wear boots
> because they were always a good choice and I did not have switch.  Other
> than on the meseta, the terrain frequently varied dramatically throughout
> the day.
>
> Our best decision was to start at Roncevalles, rather than SJPP.  Over the
> course of a month I spoke with about a dozen people or couples who began
at
> SJPP and the consensus was that even as beautiful as it was, it was the
> worst day on the Camino.  One couple said that it was beautiful and great.
> Many of them encountered heavy fog (including one couple that took a brief
> nap and woke up three hours later and described their descent as
> horrible.)  The climb was difficult for those not in shape and most of
them
> were not.  They were almost uniformly surprised by how much worse the
> descent was.  Most of those to whom I spoke estimated 10 to 13 hours
> (without a long nap).  One couple reached Roncevalles after the door to
the
> albergue had been shut and they said that they had to sleep outside.
>
> We started at about 20km per day and as we toughened up we walked a little
> further.  In the end we averaged nearly 25km per day and we were on the
> Camino for 31 days.  We had one complete rest day in Leon.
>
> The worst travel day was our first one.  We left Roncevalles and the day
> was a hilly one.  Lots of up and down.  By the time of the descent into
> Zubiri, we seemed to have no resilience left in our joints.  The descent
> into Zubiri was miserable.  As an aside, there appeared to be only one
> restaurant in town, across from a gas station.  The meal there was very
> poor and they charged 9 euros apiece and extra for wine.  We had many much
> better meals for 6.50 to 8 euros.
>
> The Spanish frequently go out of their way to help peregrinos.  At a point
> where the Camino splits, there was some construction and we started down a
> road that wasn't one of the alternatives.  We had not gone 150 feet before
> a Spaniard in a pickup pulled up blowing his horn and saying "no Camino
> that way, Camion that way or that way."  After thanking him, he reversed
> and continued on, having gone out of his way to help us.
>
> More later.
>
> Ted Kayes