Buen Camino 10: People along the Camino

As you can imagine, there are all sorts of people journeying on the Camino. A sample of people I have met or heard about includes (haven't got pictures for all however):
- James from Louisiana, chugging along between 20-25 km a day, his wife passed away last year so he's doing it for her. He is 85 years old!!
- Claude from France, easily walking 25-30 km per day, faster pace than most pilgrims.  He is 80 years old!!
- a lady from Switzerland who has leukemia. She needs to inject / treat herself before she starts each day. She's remembered by those who met her for caring about others; asking how they're feeling and how their blisters are. A Finnish guy was in tears telling me how she moved him so much. He said his blisters and sore legs were nothing compared to her situation but she still cared for how he was. She was only on the Camino for 10 days and had to go back to Switzerland for more treatment!
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Japanese family cycling from Burgos to Santiago (approx 500 km). Dad had youngest on his bike and oldest son (7 years old) had his own bike  (see middle picture with kid's bike at the front). They were in NZ for 3 months last year cycling from Auckland to Dunedin. Dad had older son in a trailer attached to his bike and mother had youngest on her bike! ! Who said children stop you doing active things. 

Alan, John, Paul and Mary-Ellen. 

Walked with these guys, on and off, for a few days. 

- Alan from Liverpool, great accent, Everton season ticket holder for many years. Taught me the expression  (I can't do the accent though) "Koppites are gobshite" - football fans will understand this!

 - John and Mary-Ellen from Georgia. John had really bad blisters but kept up a cracking pace each day. He couldn't stop for breaks because it was too painful to get started again. Finally went to clinic in Leon and rested for a day. When I saw them again he gave me a load of dressings and antiseptic liquid he wasn't using; which enabled me to do the surgery on my own blisters. They had a tight schedule as they were meeting their 6 sisters in Sarria and all doing the last part together. Mary-Ellen was also able to keep up a good walking  pace. All 3 were great people to spend time with. 

Jae-Soo, Sunday, Paul and Marteen.

Tom and Paul  (team uniforms)

Sunday and Paul (bunks at Roncesvilles)

First night in Roncesvilles, bunk mates were Jae-Soo, Sunday and Tom. Jae-Soo is a  teacher from Detroit in an inner city school. Saw him a couple of times on the road after first night. Sunday from Wallah in Washington state. Bumped into her a few times along the way. Her husband was commercial fishing in Alaska for 6 weeks, two kids were with grandparents so she was on the Camino and meeting friends in Leon to do the walk. Tom is a young guy from Germany who is walking the Camino on his own. We shared bunks the second night as well. Bumped into him again in Astorga and Foncebadon. Marteen is a young guy from Belgium who shared the table (pilgrim meal) and a few drinks after on the first night. Didn't see him again though. 

Three mother-and-daughter teams.

Carol (second from right) from Carolina. We were bunk mates a few times and walked together a little. She started in St Jean, met her daughter in Leon to walk together and will meet husband in Santiago and have a couple of weeks together in Portugal after.

As you can gather, there is a real variety of pilgrims that you meet along the way. Some you only see once while others keep getting bumped into. 

While there are real advantages to staying in hostals/pensions  (own room and bathroom, no one else snoring, waking for yourself instead of the early birds starting to make a noise before 5.30!!) you do meet a real community of people by staying in albergue. The best thing is probably a mix of the two - a real nights sleep sometimes and socializing with other pilgrims other times. The lack of sleep is the biggest challenge I have found. 

Buen Camino 9: on the road again.

Sitting in Astorga (west of Leòn) with red wine, pistachio nuts, dried fruit and Christine. Had a relaxing 5 days in Leon with Christine and to allow the blisters to heal.
Tried out my new boots  (full mesh, no hard bits but won't suit wet weather) on 21 km day from Leòn to Villadangas. Felt okay walking but had to force myself to walk slowly, and to stop after just 21 km as legs felt good. A bit of one blister seems to be coming up.

My regular companion - Shadow - has reappeared now that the sun is out. Because of the direction of the Camino, the sun is behind me for the morning - when most of the walking is done - so Shadow is leading the way.
The plan for the next two days is Astorga to Rabanal (21 km) or an extra 6 km to Foncebadon. Next day to either Molinaseca or Ponferrada and meet Christine again (approx. 25 km). This will take me to the highest point of the camino at 1515 metres. Hopefully the blisters will behave.
Blisters: if you don't like the sight of them stop reading now.
 I did 'surgery' on them a few times after the compeed had only worked a little. The blisters kept getting bigger under the compeed patches. The surgery rooms were an alburque kitchen table and a park bench while waiting for an alburque to open. It involved piercing the blisters with a needle and cotton. The cotton thread is left in to help drain the blister. It does seem to work and I had plenty of sterilizing liquid. The original blister on the ball of my left foot burst while I was walking. Please be aware though that these blisters don't even put me in the first division of the blister competition.

Came back second time!

Buen Camino 8: not everyone walks

It's interesting walking across the countryside and watching the plane vapour trails in the sky. NZ is a destination not a flyover so we never really see the trails. It is also fun to think where the passengers' journey is taking them. Also, those heading west will be over Santiago in minutes, the cars on the road in hours and the pilgrims still have many days ahead.
The variety of ways pilgrims make their journeys is quite varied. The whoosh of bike tyres coming up behind reminds of the stream of mountain bikes on the Camino. Also seen a tandem mountain bike and a unicycle. Most interesting has been a donkey cart with two women in it - heading in the opposite direction. Also a horse (and rider) from Italy.

 The size of backpacks varies a lot - from 30 litre daypacks to 100 litre monsters. Some travel each day lightly as they ship their bag to their next stop. Have seen people towing shopping trolley-style devices, as well as other ways to move your bag.
I wasn't quick enough to catch all but here is a sample of photos.

 Donkey cart at rest.

This Korean lady always smiling. 

 Uni-cycle parked and up the hill.

Buen Camino 7: Alburque : inside and out.

Alburque come in all shapes and sizes. There are Private and Municipal - and the quality is quite variable in either. The newer or renovated ones will often have individual lights and a socket for charging phones for each bunk. Most have double bunks with anything from 2 to 30 sets in a room. A parish alb. I stayed in had gym mats on the floor  - but a wonderful shared meal after the pilgrim mass and blessing in the historical church. Prices also vary - so far I have had: by donation, 5, 6.5 , 8 and 10 Euro per night. Even had a swimming pool at one!

                    

Bueno Camino 6: across the meseta

It has been cold and rainy across the meseta the last couple of days. Normally expected to be long hot days so the drop in temperature is okay but chilly nights. I am down to 10-13 km per day due to blisters.
While some pilgrims skip the meseta it really is beautiful. Because I am moving slowly I have lots of time to myself - the fast movers are gone quickly and the next wave doesn't come through for an hour or more.

 I have stayed at little villages I would normally only have had a coffee stop at.

 A cold wind this morning.