Jubilation! 13 1/2 miles, 5 hours, and NO DRAMA! In 2011, my huge issue was the excessive heat (105 or more on many days) and subsequent dehydration. This first day last time was almost a disaster, with me being very close to heat exhaustion towards the end. This time, coolness prevailed, and the experience was like night and day. This am started off cold with light rain; as you will see in the photos on the next post, snow covered much of the Camino, the only way to know The Way" is to follow in the other dirty boot prints. Fortunately, the snow had melted off about 2 miles down the trail. However, the rain increased enough to need the poncho.
The rain eventually cleared, sun came out, poncho stowed away again, parka removed, and a beautiful day blossomed. The country is just beautiful. There are very few pilgrims, I expect there will be more starting in Pamplona. The big issue on the trail was mud and very slippery conditions, especially on the steep downward hike the last 2 miles. So Yes, I am tired, but not exhausted. It appears I have trained well and have the right equipment, so I am optimistic I can handle each day.
I am staying on a small Pension in Zubiri, with a small simple room. But the unexpected luxury is an upstairs very comfortable common area, a tiny kitchen, and FREE washing machine. Fabulous! Especially with really muddy clothes. They are now hanging on the line, in the sun. I am truly living large!
I appreciate all the emails and responses to my posts ... I am not alone!
My Hawaiian word of the day is "lawelawe" which means "do" - how appropriate 'cause you're do-ing it my friend!
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