I am having the time of my life and have mannnny stories now to tell. The Camino is like the road on Wizard of Oz and Harry Potter mixed. Everything I wanted it to be and more.
August 26th
After coming back from the internet cafe I went back to the Albergue where Dwoerthe has finally shown up. She was about 30 minutes behind me. She told me of this strange French guy in the bed below her. He refused to speak French with her and told her in English not to move in the bed above at night. Katja came about 15 minutes later and our Alburgue was full. She had to go to the giant one with everyone sleeping together. We decided to meet for dinner at 7pm. At the restaurant it was myself, Katja, Dwoerthe, an Italian/Hungarian who spoke no English/German, a German from former East Berlin who spoke German and Russian. Next to us was the Japanese guy (Toya), the Dutchman ( who walked out his door in the Netherlands 900 km later and is still walking towards Santiago now), and two more Dutch. We had a great dinner and headed back to the Alburgue.
August 27th
The strange French guy had gone to bed at 9pm though lights out are at 10pm. He screamed at anyone coming in to shut the door. About 6am everyone in the room (8 people total me,Dwoerthe,a Spanish couple, an English couple, lady below me and French guy) heard someone going through their things. It was the French guy looking for his Creditial to be able to stay in the Alburgue. Dwoerthe started yelling back that he would not find it in her bag. It woke everyone up. The English couple started argueing with him also. Now everyone was awake. The French guy was not even embarassed, just brushing his teeth. We decided to get cafe con leche at the bar from the previous night before walking to Pamploma. The bar of course was closed for some reason. We decided to go to the next town for breakfast about 3km away. It was Dwoerthe and I. She had bad blisters on her feet now and was going slower. When we got to Larrasoaña it was like a ghost town. A Spanish guy with a dog said that it was closed. While I was waiting on the bench for Dwoerthe to fix her shoe Bo Kyong came by. She is a pilgrim from South Korea. She speaks great Spanish, better than me. No coffee we told her. The English couple came by. No coffee. The Dutch came by no coffee. About 20 other people came by no coffee here. The Spanish guy said there was a vending machine in the next town. We shared what was in our pockets, a cracker, granola bar and a banana and set off with Bo Kyong,Dwoerthe and myself. 2 hours later in a middle of another deserted village was a lone vending machine. Nada mas. Everything but the Sprite button was sold out. No Caffine. 4 hours later we came to the outskirts of Pamploma. I have never been so hungry in my life. We ate and ate. All the same people came after us looking the same way. Every one stopped and ate. Lesson of Spain. They close things on a whim. Always carry extra on you. Pamploma is a wonderful city. You come through a draw bridge and see the old castle walls. The city is so colorful with the buildings all a different color. As the 3 of us were walking toward the Alburgue Toya came around the corner. He helped us find the new Alburgue. I in life have not had good money luck but always seem to have good travel luck. The Albergue was clean and only 13 days old with a better kitchen than mine. Free washer and 1 euro dryer. Washed clothes where I met up with the 5 Spanish traveling together. Katja joined us there after getting lost on the bus from the town where we finally ate. We went out to explore the city. Not enought time to really see to much. Saw the street where the running of the bulls is located. Katja went one way and Bo Kyong and I another. We arrrived back at the alburgue at 10:02 after some wine and tapas to find the door closed. Luckily Katja was waiting at the door and let us in. I have finally gotten over my jetlag and was able to sleep.
August 28th
The nuns start kicking you out at 7am though you technically have until 8am. The cute 5 Spanish told us to leave early as it was going to get hot. Dwoerthe said she could not go on because of her blister and wanted to stay in Pamploma to see the city. Dilemma do I go on with Bo Kyong or stay with the German girls............................I decided since one of the reasons I wanted to go on the Camino was to make changes in my life and to put myself in unknown situations. I chose to leave with Bo Kyong onto Puenta de la Reina. It was so hard. The German girls and I had bonded over the Pyrennes. We exchanged emails and agree to catch up at Burgos in about a weeks time. We left after having a great breakfast and seeing the city together. It was about 11am when we left. OMG mistake. Once we started walking outside the city I looked at my thermometer. 110 degrees.....It was a long and painful day in the sun. We ran into another cute German guy named Zunkel. He decided to walk with us awhile. We had a great chat and because we were walking slow in hot sun he decided to walk faster on his own. We got lost a couple of times and decided to follow the road. Finally at the top of the mountains. We met another Spainish guy. He only had 2 stamps on his Credital. St. Jean and Zubiri. See my posts. He did over 50 km a day! 60ish. Damn. The other Spanish bike rider that was listening called him correo camino (beep Beep road runner in English.) Going down the mountain in the heat was just as hard. At the top of a town about 3 before our destination I ran into Zunkel. He wanted to go on with us. I saw some of the French from the first night in the first town. Bonjour. On we went. The 5 Spanish yesterday had invited to a party at the Alburgue in Puenta de la Reina. Zunkel in the town before Puenta de la Reine asked if we wanted a beer. It was so hot. We stopped. After the beer decided to just stay in the Basque town of Obano for the night at their alburgue. We got the last beds as their was a fiesta that night. We decided to go to the only bar to get some food. A Basque man (Ignostio) befriended us. Lots of Spanish beer. He told us he wanted to us to see the Toro de la Fuego. What is the Toro de la Fuego I asked. Come he said. OMG. It is this metal Bull head with all these fireworks shooting out the head. A person is inside and runs around chasing people. The children were crying. He charged us and I felt something hot. All the fireworks (like Sparkalers) had singed my shirt. I ducked down. Crazy Basque. The partied until 4am. We had to return at 11pm or be locked out. Crashed.
I am running out of Euros for the internet. I will continue with more stories tonight.
August 26th
After coming back from the internet cafe I went back to the Albergue where Dwoerthe has finally shown up. She was about 30 minutes behind me. She told me of this strange French guy in the bed below her. He refused to speak French with her and told her in English not to move in the bed above at night. Katja came about 15 minutes later and our Alburgue was full. She had to go to the giant one with everyone sleeping together. We decided to meet for dinner at 7pm. At the restaurant it was myself, Katja, Dwoerthe, an Italian/Hungarian who spoke no English/German, a German from former East Berlin who spoke German and Russian. Next to us was the Japanese guy (Toya), the Dutchman ( who walked out his door in the Netherlands 900 km later and is still walking towards Santiago now), and two more Dutch. We had a great dinner and headed back to the Alburgue.
August 27th
The strange French guy had gone to bed at 9pm though lights out are at 10pm. He screamed at anyone coming in to shut the door. About 6am everyone in the room (8 people total me,Dwoerthe,a Spanish couple, an English couple, lady below me and French guy) heard someone going through their things. It was the French guy looking for his Creditial to be able to stay in the Alburgue. Dwoerthe started yelling back that he would not find it in her bag. It woke everyone up. The English couple started argueing with him also. Now everyone was awake. The French guy was not even embarassed, just brushing his teeth. We decided to get cafe con leche at the bar from the previous night before walking to Pamploma. The bar of course was closed for some reason. We decided to go to the next town for breakfast about 3km away. It was Dwoerthe and I. She had bad blisters on her feet now and was going slower. When we got to Larrasoaña it was like a ghost town. A Spanish guy with a dog said that it was closed. While I was waiting on the bench for Dwoerthe to fix her shoe Bo Kyong came by. She is a pilgrim from South Korea. She speaks great Spanish, better than me. No coffee we told her. The English couple came by. No coffee. The Dutch came by no coffee. About 20 other people came by no coffee here. The Spanish guy said there was a vending machine in the next town. We shared what was in our pockets, a cracker, granola bar and a banana and set off with Bo Kyong,Dwoerthe and myself. 2 hours later in a middle of another deserted village was a lone vending machine. Nada mas. Everything but the Sprite button was sold out. No Caffine. 4 hours later we came to the outskirts of Pamploma. I have never been so hungry in my life. We ate and ate. All the same people came after us looking the same way. Every one stopped and ate. Lesson of Spain. They close things on a whim. Always carry extra on you. Pamploma is a wonderful city. You come through a draw bridge and see the old castle walls. The city is so colorful with the buildings all a different color. As the 3 of us were walking toward the Alburgue Toya came around the corner. He helped us find the new Alburgue. I in life have not had good money luck but always seem to have good travel luck. The Albergue was clean and only 13 days old with a better kitchen than mine. Free washer and 1 euro dryer. Washed clothes where I met up with the 5 Spanish traveling together. Katja joined us there after getting lost on the bus from the town where we finally ate. We went out to explore the city. Not enought time to really see to much. Saw the street where the running of the bulls is located. Katja went one way and Bo Kyong and I another. We arrrived back at the alburgue at 10:02 after some wine and tapas to find the door closed. Luckily Katja was waiting at the door and let us in. I have finally gotten over my jetlag and was able to sleep.
August 28th
The nuns start kicking you out at 7am though you technically have until 8am. The cute 5 Spanish told us to leave early as it was going to get hot. Dwoerthe said she could not go on because of her blister and wanted to stay in Pamploma to see the city. Dilemma do I go on with Bo Kyong or stay with the German girls............................I decided since one of the reasons I wanted to go on the Camino was to make changes in my life and to put myself in unknown situations. I chose to leave with Bo Kyong onto Puenta de la Reina. It was so hard. The German girls and I had bonded over the Pyrennes. We exchanged emails and agree to catch up at Burgos in about a weeks time. We left after having a great breakfast and seeing the city together. It was about 11am when we left. OMG mistake. Once we started walking outside the city I looked at my thermometer. 110 degrees.....It was a long and painful day in the sun. We ran into another cute German guy named Zunkel. He decided to walk with us awhile. We had a great chat and because we were walking slow in hot sun he decided to walk faster on his own. We got lost a couple of times and decided to follow the road. Finally at the top of the mountains. We met another Spainish guy. He only had 2 stamps on his Credital. St. Jean and Zubiri. See my posts. He did over 50 km a day! 60ish. Damn. The other Spanish bike rider that was listening called him correo camino (beep Beep road runner in English.) Going down the mountain in the heat was just as hard. At the top of a town about 3 before our destination I ran into Zunkel. He wanted to go on with us. I saw some of the French from the first night in the first town. Bonjour. On we went. The 5 Spanish yesterday had invited to a party at the Alburgue in Puenta de la Reina. Zunkel in the town before Puenta de la Reine asked if we wanted a beer. It was so hot. We stopped. After the beer decided to just stay in the Basque town of Obano for the night at their alburgue. We got the last beds as their was a fiesta that night. We decided to go to the only bar to get some food. A Basque man (Ignostio) befriended us. Lots of Spanish beer. He told us he wanted to us to see the Toro de la Fuego. What is the Toro de la Fuego I asked. Come he said. OMG. It is this metal Bull head with all these fireworks shooting out the head. A person is inside and runs around chasing people. The children were crying. He charged us and I felt something hot. All the fireworks (like Sparkalers) had singed my shirt. I ducked down. Crazy Basque. The partied until 4am. We had to return at 11pm or be locked out. Crashed.
I am running out of Euros for the internet. I will continue with more stories tonight.
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