One way to reduce weight is to do a better job of planning to pick up water along the way instead of starting out with three or four pounds of it. The conversation table tells me that 16 ounces of water is one pound. If I normally start out with 48 ounces that's three pounds. If I can get that down to just 16 or less that is a significant weight reduction. The key will be to take the time and look at my guide book to plan on where along the way I can replace the water I have consumed.
Today is a walk of about 12 miles and my first water stop could be at Zariquiegui which is about four miles from the start. I will need to double up my supply there because I will be walking up hill from threre to Alto del Perdon or The Hill of Forgiveness. A serious climb where I will need lots of water. The top of the hill represents an elevation change up about 350 meters or about 1100 feet. At the top of the hill there are a dozen or more of these enormous wind turbines which can be seen for miles. The view back down to Pamplona is really spectacular. I've done it before and I know that at the top there will be a place to buy water, coffee and more. So that's the plan. Look ahead and reduce weight by carring less water and replacing it more often. It will also force me to stop and rest more than I have been.
I get a late start because I'm waiting for the Camino shop to open so I can replace the bungee cord, aka clothesline I brought with me. I left it at the last hotel. For those of you keeping score figure it out.
I'm not concerned about a late start because it's a fairly short walk to Puenta La Renia. Net result is I
don't get started until 10:30. I am so wrong about the Hill of Foregivenss and worse the climb down down that I will pay later for these mistakes.
The climb up is much longer than I remember. At about the two mile point the trail just starts to go up and up. It just never gets better. Then there are the stones, rocks, boulders. Call them what you want they are just unending. I got a message today from Pat who has walked two Camino's and he points out that it was during his climb down that he experienced his first injury and fiscal challenge. It makes me feel better because Pat is as fit as anyone I know and could walk back to the US from Porto if he wanted to.
I consumed about 100 ounces of water including a couple of power water type drinks. I still ran out of water in Obanos a short one mile from my destination. Here is what can happen so quickly on these rock coveted paths especially going down hill.
I'm taking a break before I get to the serious start of the uphill challenge just drinking some water sitting on a park bench with my backpack siting next to me when a young women walks up to me with a young guy and asks me if I left a sleeping bag back at the little cafe behind us? She speaks to me in English but she is from Brazil. I find that out later. Anyway she is trying to help someone, it's just not me. They move on and they are both very strong and moving at a really good pace. Cut to the last mile from Obanos and I catch up to them and she is walking on the toe of her right foot very badly and putting all of the pressure on her left foot. The young guy she is with is just slowing down to her pace. Not a good situation and I would bet it happened on the rock farm going down from the Hill of Forgiveness. It's hard to describe. It's completely downhill, all of your backpack's weight has shifted and you are looking only at the ground working hard with the poles trying to pick out the best path over the rocks. This goes on for two miles.
Once you reach the bottom the rocks disappear and you can now concentrate on gentle hills with no shade for the next five miles. There is no place for water so if you missed the last opportunity you will soon be without water and it's getting hot.
This day becomes my first real "Camino day" when I reach the bottom of the downside challenge and I get to the only place that has shade. It's a place covered in shade by one tree with a simple stone bench which is facing a statue of The Virgin Mary. There are stones and flowers at her feet, left behind to honor someone. it is clearly a place of reflection. I sit and I reflect and I take a drink of water when from absolutey nowhere two dogs simply come and sit beside me. One black and one completely white. They have the look of sheep dogs. They make not a sound and just sit one on my left and one on my right. They walk beside me for the next two miles. If you saw them with me you would just assume they were mine. As I walk with them they keep pace and occasionally just look up at me.
Just before I strarted the Hill of Forgiveness I stopped at a small cafe to by water. I actually bought two bottles of the Spanish version of vitamin water. Before I leave I see the cooler with these pressure packed packages of ham. I buy two. I don't need two, I don't want two but I buy two.
After about two miles with my companions I stop and I take out the ham and open both packages. I feed my new friends and they move on. It was nice to walk along with them. They were in fact the only companions I had today for another tough walk. Where did they come from? Where did they go? I don't have a clue. I walked into Puenta La Reina at 7:00. A longer day than I had anticipated. I'm tired and I'm hungry. Of course I have sweat though everything. I did make a good decision when I selected a pair of shorts for today.
Here is the BC-AC Jim part. I find my Hotel with no problem. I get to the front desk and I present both my pre-paid room voucher and my passport. The young women trying to check me in is working on a computer that is older than me ... That's old. She begins to go through all of the draws in front of her and it does not take long for me to figure out that she cannot find a key for my room. I'm tired and desperately want to get in the shower and it's already nearly 8:00. My check in has now taken thirty minutes.
She finally grabs what appears to be a master key tied to a scarf and she is now going to take me to my room and try to find my key later. My room is on the third floor. Great just what I need. We arrive at room 35 and she tries to open the door but the women in the room is not having any part of this idea. So we head back down the stairs and about one hour from when I first arrived they are going "walk" me to another hotel. I'm prepaid but I don't have a room. It's now been about an hour and a half. BC Jim just might make an appearance. I'm not happy and the two women that tried to get me a room are apologizing but it's really not helping.
I arrive at the other hotel with the clerk. I really did get "walked". It's a term I know because travel is Robin's profession. Actually she is now in Amsterdam with a group on a river cruise. So, the clerk is asking this guy at Hotel #2 for a room for me when the other women from the original hotel runs in and tells me that it's all been cleared up. They have a room for me. Back we go.
My new room is also on the third floor but at this point I don't care. I'm amazed, BC Jim has not yet made an appearance! I get to my room and all I want is a shower. Laundry is out of the question. It will never dry and I'm just to tired. I just want to shower and get something to eat.
Here is BC Jim's next test. The hot water is gone! It's a small hotel and I guess that by 8:30 they run out. I was not planning on a cold shower but it is what it is. I complete my cold water challenge and I head downstairs. The older women tells me that dinner is free because of the problems. I don't tell her about the water .... why bother she can't do anything about it. I'm not sure that I want to eat here given their track record but before I can decide she hands me a glass of an eleven year old Navarra Reserva and a small dish of roasted mushrooms in garlic and olive oil and I'm sold. She hands me the menu. It's in Spanish and the only thing I understand is the mista salad. I ask if they have pasta and she says yes. I ask for the salad and before I can say anything else she is gone to the kicthen.
She places the bottle of wine on my table and soon after I'm having the freshest salad. The pasta arrives. It's in olive oil with black olives and capers which was unbelievable. In the end I will not let her feed me for free and I take care of both her and her young helper.
If BC Jim had made an appearance I would have had a ham sandwich at the nearest cafe. AC Jim was rewarded by his behavior and it turned out to be a really great night. That's it for now. Tomorrow it's on to Estella. My guide book says its a walk of 13.6 miles and notes " the first section is a steep climb on a heavily eroded path before descending into Estella". Great!
Until tomorrow , Buen Camino.
Awesome Jim! Cheers to you.
ReplyDeleteSo glad that AC Jim prevailed today!!
ReplyDeleteJill
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ReplyDeleteVery good read , keep going Jim !
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