3 Days to Santiago; Maybe

At the rate we're going we might be arriving in Santiago by Saturday afternoon. We did another 33 km or so from Ferrerios to Palais de Rei with just a bit over 66 km left. We weren't even planning to go that far. With wine and ibuprofen I'm surprising myself. I'm excited to be closing in on my destination. After spending time alone yesterday waiting an hour and a half in the wrong town and then running several km to catch up I was eager to stay within sight of my crew. Today was another long day but with a less incredible sunset.

Winter Wonderland Followed by Singing in the Rain

After 2 snowy days in the mountain; one 30 km day with 8 km up and then one 20 k day going down to the base. It was a fantastic day of climbing and I was smart and put my last feminine pad into my boots in order to increase the comfort on a long day with lots of road. The views were terrific until we got chased the last 2.4 k up to the top. We stayed in a municipal albergue for the night while the storm carried on picking up in intensity. The room was boiling but it meant my shoes were dry by morning; between the newspaper and the furnace by my bunk.
Yesterday we climbed all the way down and started with 14 km on the road and 6 km using the snowy trail. With plastic bags in our shoes protecting our socks we risked the trail and it was a lot of fun. None of us were 100% prepared for it and it ended up coming to our knees in some places. Arrived in a really luxurious cheap albergue last night and got the best sleep we've had in a while waking up at 7 instead of 6.
Today we're walking through some rain and fog. At a cafe having some protein. Haven't had good WiFi for 2 days or so but now you're all caught up.

Winter is Coming

The cold has set in just as we are approaching our last mountain before Santiago. In fact it snowed on that mountain last night. We have one full day of hiking left before we start the climb so we can hope for it to melt by the time we get there. I bought winter gear at a thrift shop in town yesterday. Got another good night's rest after a furnace of a room in Ponferrada the night before. Cold might be on its way out if I can keep my core warmer than was possible yesterday. We managed to arrive before the rain which was great. And last night a few Brazilians cooked up a huge pot of marvelous risotto for us. We met them while enjoying some wine just before our last 9 km leg of the trek. It may be getting cold but I am loving the comeradery on this trail.

A Lovely, Short Walk

Had a lovely time doing a 15 or 16 km day with a new friend. We hung out the whole afternoon in Ponferrada taking pictures of the cute alleys. Still fighting a cold off but it hasn't held me back too much.

Big Day

Did 34 km today! Saw another simultaneous Moonset and sunrise this morning and finally made it into the mountains again. Beautiful, warm day and the trail although up and down was easy on my feet since there was almost no roads. In fact, this time all we ever did was cross a road here and there instead of following one for a long stretch of time. Going to bed at the moment. Until next time.

Sunrise and the Astorga Cathedral

Started walking at 7:30 this morning after a restorative night's rest. Went to bed early with tea and melatonin as my sleep aid and fell asleep before 8 and woke up officially at 6:30. Despite the freezing morning, I started my trek at 7:30, 45 minutes before the sunrise. This meant I could watch the full moon set as I walked. It was a gorgeous site as was the fiery sunrise. The eastern horizon was very orange and that backdrop caused any plants between me and my view of the horizon to look black giving me wonderful photos.
Things did finally warm up today and even got hot. I reached Astorga by 12:20 and visited the marvelous cathedral for just 3 euros 50. Needless to say, I used that opportunity to fill my SD card with more pictures. Did 4 more km past Astorga meaning I did close to 20 total, if I remember correctly.

Short Day, Short Post

After 2 nights in a row of falling asleep sometime close to 3 AM and having been tired all last week, I didn't walk far today and had to accept that I'd be happier with a stupidly short day followed by rest than pushing too hard. I was about to walk another 3 to 5 km, but had just passed a beautiful looking albergue with a garden in their courtyard and felt called to stay there. Bought meletonin at the pharmacy in town. Perhaps tomorrow, I can push a lot of km out of the way.

Another Good Day

Today ended up going really well and last night I did manage to find my friend at the bus station to exchange numbers so my life now feels like a fun, cheesy chick-flick.
Started much later than normal today after finishing a book late last night and sleeping to 9 or so. Ended up leaving the town just 20 minutes before 11 o'clock. Hiked a really flat trail today, chose a variant on an intuitive hunch and blasted music the whole hike with newly downloaded David Bowie and Queen songs as well as What's Up by 4 Non Blondes. Even with just six songs, my playlist was epic enough to last the 5 hour hike. About to head to bed soon as I've been warned there are snorers in my room tonight.

A Long Walk Around Leòn

Today was a really fun day and I almost had a chance to share it with someone. Last night I met someone from Germany who knows a fair amount of Spanish and we connected immediately. We even made each other laugh and we were about to explore the city together this morning around 11 o'clock but then while he checked the mass times at the Cathedral, I went down a separate street thinking I'd be able to spot his maroon sweater and blond head through the crowd of people but then we never did meet up again. I ended up touring the place on my own and took a bazillion pictures as is my habit. Now it's 20 to 6 and my last idea is to search for him on the route to the bus station so we can at least exchange information. Before all this, I had woken up after 7, hand-washed some clothes, then met a few people at a restaurant across the street. From one of them, I learned about the possibility of going to mass in the famous Cathedral as a way to see it for free. So at 9 AM, I was attending my first mass. Yes, it was in Spanish so I didn't know what was being said. I did learn that the body of Christ = Le corpo de Christo.

Last Minute Trip to Leon, Spain

In order to finish the trail more quickly, for the sake of my visa and the fact that I'm weary of travel and am almost ready to head home, I took a bus ride to Leon today and booked a lovely hostel for two nights. Had a wonderful meditation during the trip but will post insights tomorrow since it is already time to start my bedtime routine.

My Trek to Logroño

Another successful day. A bit foot sore again but with the help of my mantras I can better handle the last 5 km. Despite being surrounded by gray clouds on all horizons we didn't get hit by a ton of rain. Since I pushed yesterday, I had an easier time with the hills and the last 5 to 7 km was very flat. This morning I tried out putting feminine pads in my shoes to soften the blow from the trail. (A piece of advice from a fellow hiker who was told by his sister.) It worked pretty well for a while but my crazy feet flattened them fairly quickly.
More amazing sites today and I got lucky and went to an overview (on the border of Viana) in the opposite direction of the trail and discovered a place to get my haircut cheaply. It turned out well despite not knowing enough Spanish to explain everything. At a Donitivo in Logroño this evening and they are going to serve us a free dinner.

Past Los Arcos

Successfully completed 28 km today and I don't feel too bad. My original thought was that it would be necessary to stop after 22 km in Los Arc is, but I made it one town farther. I think it's called Sansom. There are only 125 people living in this tiny town.
All the scenery was amazing and we followed a long, winding, mostly flat gravel path today which made things easier on my feet. Tomorrow should be an easy enough day of 22 km into Logronos.

Lizarra/Estella

Had another successful day and ended up in a lovely hostel. The sunrise was amazing this morning. Here in Northern Spain it doesn't rise until about 8 AM. There was fog in the valleys again and the dawn light colored the cliffs red. This time there were periods alone as well as in company. Will do another 22 km tomorrow to Los Acros.

Another Day, Another Hike

The WiFi was being overused last night making it impossible to log back in after spending the afternoon and early evening out. Anyway, yesterday was another gorgeous day and I got to spend time with many different people meaning I got to have a lot of memorable conversations during the trek yesterday. Completed another 24 km and am in Puenta la Reina. Had a tasty glass of wine with a German and an Italian last night and got pretty good sleep until I woke up. But the beds were loud and there was occasional snoring. Never look at the time in those situations but I think I technically got enough sleep.

Pamplona

This post will be short since it's already time to employ my early to bed stratagem to fall asleep before all the snorers. This is the 2nd hostel with 40 bunks on one side of the building and 40 on the other (estimation).
I had a really good easy day today. Plenty of beautiful sites contrary to popular belief. Some people claimed to be bored with the scenery today but I took another 130 photos of the varying landscape and of the fall leaves on our path. Even the stream we were walking next to was creating a noteworthy mirror effect. Not sure yet what tomorrow holds. After making new friends and discovering that there are no trains to my desired destination. (A town 4 or 5 days walk away.) Anyway, had a good time and wasn't feeling too lonely today.

Racing a Storm

So after a predictable consequence of having the beer, I completed 20 km with minimal sleep and still haven't taken a nap today. I have now befriended 4 other young Americans and had great conversations with them. Today ended up being especially fun since me and the other early birds were hoping and planning to outrun a coming storm. Obviously we had enough of a head start but it was taunting us for much of the day and I have some ominous pictures to prove it. It was only 20 km or about 12 miles today and I arrived in the small Spanish town of Zubiri at 1 and got to watch the rain pass the mountains and cross the valley from the town border and made it into the hostel before getting soaked. It proved to be more of a cloud burst and has left a nice chill in the air. Tomorrow I am walking to Pamplona (20km) and it looks to be a really easy day terrain wise.

Windblown

Well, today was interesting to say the least. I got to start early thanks to a breakfast served at 6:30. After sending my giant pack to Santiago, I started an 18 km climb. At first the wind was exhilarating. But then it started manhandling. It got tiring as hell and lasted just about half the hike wearing out my tendons. Towards the end, the last 5 or so km were finally down hill but it was steep and moderately treacherous. This is not to say the whole day was challenging. The hill climbing before the wind, although steep provided excellent views causing me to stop every 20 to 50 meters for another photograph. Then there were two or three places that were nearly flat and out of the wind to some degree which was pleasant. When I arrived with a Californian, we both stopped at the 1st obvious auberge (gite) which was actually perhaps a half hour from the town. Now I'm pondering where to eat dinner and if I can fall asleep super early. Snoring is guaranteed tonight. Excuse the typos that I'm sure are present. Using my phone since my computer will be meeting me in Santiago.

St. Jean-Pied-de-Port

So out of necessity I ended up choosing a 9:24 am train to St. Jean-Pied-de-Port. (I haven't fully abandoned this project.) Actually it wasn't just one train, it was 3. Another minor annoyance that they require that many trains to go about 151 km. I had wanted a later train but then I would have arrived late for the dinner they serve at the gite. It's 20 euros for the night and both breakfast and dinner.

Today after getting here, it was also necessary to buy a small sleeping bag since nothing of the sort is provided in most of the gites in Spain. There is also a way to send my sack all the way to Santiago from here for a cheap enough price which I will arrange tomorrow so I can have the time to plan out the trip and to prepare my packs accordingly. At the moment the latter is almost sorted but the other is up in the air. Maybe I will tell them that I will be done in 20 to 25 days with the aid of a couple trains or shuttles here and there.

Petit Lourdes and the Wax Museum

So today was a nice relaxing day where I wandered the town quite a bit, came back for a brief rest then went back out to take the tiny train to Petit Lourdes and see the Wax Museum. Just like yesterday there was a deal on the ticket price. Whereas yesterday it was the castle and the "Pic du Jer" ride up the mountain for 16 euros today was the train, the wax museum and Petit Lourdes for 18 euros. It was fun listening to the guide in French while in the Wax Museum but it seemed we weren't allowed to take photos so I didn't until the very end when I saw someone with their camera out.
Right after that was the train ride through town. When we got to what was the end for everyone else, I still hadn't gotten to Petit Lourdes and had a laugh when I realized I would be the only one left on the tiny train while it took me there.
The tiny sculptures, which represented how the town looked in 1858 when it was first built, took a railway worker 10 to 15 years to complete. (I give that window because in one recording it was 10 years and in another they claimed 15.) Either way that's an impressive amount of dedication. They even made up a sculpture of the basilica with accurate images in the stained glass windows. It was opened in 1954 and represents the story of St. Bernadette.
Tonight I will be going to the candle light vigil held in the Sanctuary every evening.

Busy Touristy Day

Today was a whole lot of fun! This morning I went to see the sanctuary in Lourdes and walked into the basilica. The mosaics in and around the building were stunning. After overhearing where we could go get water from the grotto, I emptied out my bottle of chlorinated tap water and made sure to get some of the blessed water. There was even time to go check out the baths. It wasn't a long wait and it turns out, they don't charge you for it. As I suspected, the water was just about as cold as our shaded, well water pool growing up but it only lasts a moment like a baptism.
It was a gorgeous day with some sun, some clouds, and a smattering of rain in the afternoon. Before the droplets came, I was able to visit the castle and buy a ticket for both the castle and another of the major sites the city has to offer. Oddly, the other one was all the way on the other side of town. During the visit, I discovered the place held a bit of a historical museum that was a lot of fun to see. But for the most part I was excited to see the Pyrenees from the top of the tower.
After seeing all there was to see in the ancient castle, wandering the town for a bit, snacking on the egg and banana I brought from the hotel breakfast this morning, I headed to the second site which was a sort of train ride to the top of one of the surrounding mountains (not one high enough to be covered in snow). By the time I was up there, all other memories of the day evaporated, and this became my favorite part of the day. With my memory back in tact, I'd say the sanctuary and this mountain top are tied for first place.

Arriving in Lourdes Followed by A Digressive Tangent

After three bus rides, I safely got to Lourdes around 7 and am right next to the Pyrenees Mountains! Super excited for tomorrow. I plan to visit the baths, the gorgeous cathedral I spotted from the last bus I was on, and perhaps a museum or two. Heck, who am I kidding, most of tomorrow is going to be a surprise even to me.
Despite the excitement, I have also been feeling lonely again. Part of it might be my own doing in the sense that I have a propensity for putting even my closest friends "out of sight, out of mind" and I feel guilty for that at times. I don't know if this has to do with a continuation of traits and qualities I developed from my experience in my early childhood or what but it's starting to wear on me. As someone who believes in soul groups, this makes me feel even more lonely because I sometimes feel as though I haven't found mine yet since many if not most of my friendships have been transient. Early on, it was because one friend moved away, then because I switched schools. Perhaps I have been connected to my soul group but we're all so good at being on our own, we don't meet up often.
There's also the strong desire to find another boyfriend. Over the course of my travels, I've met a few people who peaked my interest but there was no fruition. In fact one person of interest ended up connecting better with someone else on the farm in Leicestershire. Being single for this long is always hard. I'm starting to miss the day when all my walls were up and I didn't give a damn.
Sorry for the crazy post but after spending the past weekend doing almost nothing, I've been feeling down. I felt I needed the recovery time, but sometimes sitting around a lot makes me rather depressive. Things will be better tomorrow.

Moving On

After six and a half months of travel. I am wanting to wind down the trip. I am going to visit Lourdes next and then after 2 nights or 3 if I find a gite, I will go to Saint Jean-Pied de Port and try to continue the Camino. Still planning to use buses and trains to get close to the end an then start walking the last 100 km. I'm too tired to keep on going and am feeling ready to finish up the trek. The search in Toulouse turned out to just be a tourist visit but I have faith that the opportunity is still open. My mind keeps returning to Doctor Who and the improbable deadlines of an hour or of 30 minutes or even 12 minutes. He states in one episode that anything can happen in x minutes and I'm holding on to that idea. We'll see how things go. Just because things don't go as planned doesn't mean they can't turn out better than we planned.

Another Relaxing Day

Had another good day doing close to nothing not much to talk about. Just hung around and practiced more French by conversing and had a great dinner this evening at the hostel.

Finishing a Book and Finding New Mantras

So, today was a lazy day and I just hung around and read the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime for most of the day. I did get a couple things at the shop for a dinner this evening, but I wasn't in the mood to take the 30 to 45 minute bus ride to the metro and then take the metro into town. It being the weekend, I doubted there would be much success with finding professors and I was feeling too tired. This is one of the few times I think it has less to do with sleep, although it was a bit of a struggle last night, and more to do with feeling outright weariness from 6 and a half months of travel. After a dinner of vegetable soup with bread and cheese, I looked into the mantras I had found through the Fractal Enlightenment page and started practicing them. They felt really good and I hope to do more soon when the room is empty once more.

An Exploration

Today turned out to be more of a tourist visit to Toulouse since the few people I've met who can help me were either sleeping in, not here yet, or not in contact at the moment. It was another sunny day and I saw most of the attractions today. Two churches, a cathedral, some lovely bridges, a basilica, and the outside of another Cloitre, which I might visit tomorrow. It's cheap since we are now in the off season. By the time I took the tourist train ride at 11:45, I had already walked quite a bit and it only took me through one street I hadn't seen.
Perhaps tomorrow will go better research wise.

Toulouse

After spending a morning seeing more of Moissac including spending an hour in the Cloître, I retrieved my things from the gite and made my way to the train station. It was a quick and easy train ride to Toulouse but a metro and bus from the station to my hostel. I chose the cheaper one outside of town and ended up I meeting another person who can help me get information about the universities in Toulouse (there are three). Since I got here at 4 pm, I didn't feel much like spending another 3 quarters of an hour going back into Toulouse to explore and plan to start fresh tomorrow right after breakfast. If it had taken less time to get here after the train, I would have been happy to see more than the SNCF.

Arriving in Moissac

Today was only about 22 km or 13 miles but most of it was on the road again and the hills got pretty steep at the end. Despite the painful experience, I successfully finished the trek with just fruit and bread as gas. I left after breakfast with an apple and a yellow kiwi but no protein until after 1:30 when I arrived. My knees are just as furious with me as my feet for taking the ridiculously steep variant, but when I heard it provided a good view of the town, I didn't want to miss out. Unfortunately for me it was just as bad on the way down as it was on the way up...not to mention, the gite I am staying in is another 5 minute climb up something that could use a ski lift. The town itself is wonderfully flat, I just happen to be right on the outskirt.
Anyway, enough about hills. I made it and now tomorrow I can make my way to Toulouse and try to do some research and networking. I happened to have met someone who has gone to the university in Toulouse as an international student while in Cahors so we might be able to meet up and make some headway.
When I arrived here, I took my shoes and socks off to enjoy the cool tiles and then called home and put my feet up. Once well rested, I went back into town to explore for a small while.

New Plans Emerging

If there is no WiFi tonight, I would rather write this post now. After the best 10 hours of sleep yet, I ate a nice tranquil breakfast and talked to the hostess about my plans. How I want to find a family who wants an au pair in order to apply for a work visa and to save money again & how after that I would be able to apply for a university in France as well. She surprised me with yet another great gift! She has a friend who can help me with those things and she mentioned how easy it is to visit Toulouse from Moissac (where I will be Wednesday night). Once I find a youth hostel there, I can stay and scope the place out for a few days. Then it's even possible for me to walk to Lourdes with another branch of the El Camino!

Cahors to Montcoq

Today was another perfect day! The weather was lovely; cool, breezy, and cloudy. That's not to say the sun never came out but there were equal parts sun and cloud for today's trek. This morning I had a leisurely breakfast, not wanting to move too fast. Not much luck with sleep last night, so after a forgetful morning involving walking 10 minutes across town to the start of the trail and turning around when I realized I was missing my sun protection, I ended up walking with a group of French people meaning I got to speak French 80% to 90% of the time and learned some new rules in the language. In fact, I think I learned five new things: the difference in pronunciation between "debout" (stand: vb) and "debut" (the start), how to say barefoot: "pieds nus", the word for moss "mousse", that "jeux" (game) sounds exactly like "je" and lastly the the feminine form of "fou" (crazy) is "folle".
Between 11 and 12, with only 6 km finished, I stopped to buy a sandwich...which someone else offered to buy. He had spoken to the French lady who was serving us and then she didn't look twice at my €5 bill. While walking the next piece, I was having a conversation with one of the French group and he was mentioning that a friend of his, whom I met at our previous stop, had a car parked ahead of us and that it would be possible to ask him for a ride towards Montcoq. After perhaps another 5 km or so, we stopped again at a restaurant and as I was pulling out what was left of my cheese sandwich they told me to put it away and that they would pay for that as well.
From there I got a ride that cut out at least a good 10 km and only walked about 5.7 more to the town I made a reservation in last night. I arrived here at around 4:00 and just before visiting the town a bit, I called my mother. We had a nice conversation and I sent here a couple more maps of the trail I'm walking.
I already have plans made for the next two nights so things should go smoothly tomorrow.