100 km down, only 700 km to go

I am in Cirauqui which is about 35 km past Pomplona. We are at 676 Km which is exactly 100 km from the start. (you can follow Hans' progress on this interactive map: http://24.87.77.102/camino/mapa.asp?Lang=3DEng )

Here is a brief rundown on my health:

  • Feet are fine!
  • Pain in left lung is gone and is not a problem. (Just 2 days before he left Hans had his doctor check out an annoying pain in his chest. Turns out he had a slight touch of pneumonia...! However, on the eve of his departure he really didn't want to cancel it only to find himself hale and hearty a few days later. So he took the antibiotics and evidently they worked.)
  • Knee was still sore through yesterday but fine today although I will continue to wear the knee brace.
  • First blister! On my hand from the staff. Go figure.

Wasn´t able to email yesterday as there was none available. Today we walked 31 km including an extra 3 to view a Templar church. Got to Punta la Reina (Queen´s Bridge) and decided to go on for an additional 8 km to here, Cirauqui.

Leaving Punta la Reina we walked along the river and then all of a sudden the path veered towrds a ravine. At the top of it (about 2-3 km and a climb of about 300 meters) we could see cars on a highway. Didn´t think we were going all the way up there....yes we were! It was brutal with grades continuously from 10 to 20 degrees. On top of that we were all running out of water and the temperature in the sun was 45 degrees C and we were in the sun continuously!!!!

My Hungarian partner almost fainted and the fountain at the entrance to the town at the top was a godsend. I immersed my head under the faucet and drank half a liter of water in one gulp.

From there it was a relatively easy 3 km to here although the last km was all uphill and became very steep as we entered the town which is built into a hill side.

Give my best to everyone....I am confident that I will make it all the way to Santiago!!!!

Glad to see that Alethea is starting to get better. Make sure she doesn´t overdo it in her hurry to become fully functional. Love to you both.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Summer Palace

Image
Wow. Our days are full of strange sights and long hours. In the bus every morning at 7:00, and never home before 5:00. The summer palace was built by Rama V to commemorate the village where he met his wife. How romantic is that! Lo hiding between the antlers The gardens are gorgeous, with topiary herds of elephants, deer and rabbits. Sounds of peacocks echo through the gardens but they remained frustratingly elusive. Their cries were augmented by the screech of other unseen birds in faraway branches. But we did see an amazing variety of bougainvillea in all colours. Hans standing by the elephant's trunk. From the walls in the Reception Hall, yellowing faded faces of Ramas I to IX gazed out from acestral photos. Each Rama is believed to be an incarnation of Vishnu. Other rooms held lacquered furniture inlaid with mother-of-pearl and stunning teak carvings. As with all Buddhist buildings, we have to remove our shoes and in some cases, we were asked the night before to dress respectfu...
Read more

At Sea

Image
Today we were scheduled to stop in Marseille but overnight the wind picked up and we apparently have heavy swells. Too heavy to allow a vessel of this size to dock safely, so the port was cancelled. Didn’t matter much to us since we hadn’t scheduled a tour and were just planning to take the shuttle into the old part of the city for a walkabout. Instead, we have a day at sea and that’s never a bad thing when you’re on a fabulous cruise liner. Already, I was part of a losing team at a game this morning and now I’m catching up on blogging. Later, who knows? There’s never a shortage of things to do on the ship. And there’s always the fitness room. I can only hope it will be full.
Read more