Almost - sleep

[Richard Ferguson]

Reading Doug's story, I wonder how much of it was a lack of experience in international travel,
how much was an aggressive trip plan, and how much was sleep deprivation.  I confess that I
was running on sleep deprivation for the first several days, could not get my body clock reset
for a while.  I was also doing a solo trip, but it was not my first visit to Spain, and my Spanish
is good.

For me, it was a stretch to go on a solo trip, it was a stretch to walk hundreds of miles.  One
thing that was also a stretch was that I had no reservations for the trip.  I mentioned to a friend
of mine, who I have made international climbing trips with, that I had made no reservations,
other than airline, and he was astounded.  He knows that I plan most trips in great detail.  I
guess it was a stretch to have no reservations for an international trip, to just believe that it
would all work out, and to have enough time that if I lost a day due to transporation problems or
whatever, I would still be OK.  I remember a friend of mine urging me to have the first night
hotel room reserved, and my train trip the next day reserved.  Maybe it was my first act of faith
on the pilgrimage to leave home without reservations, to have faith that it would all work out
somehow.

I went from the Madrid airport directly to my hotel (bus then taxi), dropped off my pack there,
and came back later when my room was ready. I slept part of the afternoon, and that night I
slept fitfully, I think I was awake when the alarm went off.  I took a taxi to the train station, took
a train to Leon, and luckily recognized that I was still screwed up on sleep, so I checked into a
hotel in Leon.  I did not sleep very well there, either, got up at 10 AM the next day, started
walking, and promptly got way off route.  I ended up that night sleeping alone in a kind of B&B,
but did not sleep well there either, according to my journal.  The following night I was in a
refugio, ending up talking to another pilgrim during the night due to sleep still being disrupted,
but things got better from that point on.  I have flown to Europe many times, but this was the
worst jet lag sleep problem that I have ever had.  So maybe I was also stressed about the trip.

Anyway, I suggest that anyone, especially those doing a solo trip, allow for jet lag, and figure
that you will be less than 100% efficient for days after your arrival.  I think that getting off an
overseas flight and immediately hopping on a bus or train is kind of crazy, your body needs
time to adjust. I suggest hotels until you can get your body clock reset to local time, easier to
sleep in a hotel than a refugio, and wierd sleep hours are not a problem in a hotel.  Allow
enough days so that you are not pressed, enough days that you can afford to lose a day
without screwing up your trip plan, so you don't need to worry about time and how many miles
you made today.

Obviously Doug should go with someone else, and maybe that was his big learning from the
trip.

For me, the solo part was important, I don't think that I would have learned what I learned on
pilgrimage if I had been with someone else.  But I did not know that going in.  Maybe if I had
gone with someone, I would have learned something else.

Richard