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🇪🇸 Camino FRANCÉS (Most popular route)
My first Camino: reflecting on my journey so far.
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[QUOTE="LuisaR, post: 1055697, member: 103223"] I’m currently enjoying a beer in Calzadilla de los Hermanillos feeling very fresh after only a short walk from Sahagún. [B]Day 5: Heatwave - Pamplona - Cizur Menor[/B] I woke up motivated and ready to execute my plan: phone to double-check that the Order of Malta Hostel was open (I’d read some conflicting things online), have some breakfast and then walk 5KM up the hill to Cizur Menor for 12pm. The hostel verified that they were indeed open, so I packed up my bag and went for a late breakfast in Pamplona. My new Teva sandals were feeling good and my feet had healed well. Following the advice of the Caminoteca owner, I wore them with my merino wool socks. I couldn’t care less what I looked like - all I cared about was being healthy and happy, but my foot attire really did get some funny looks in Pamplona, firstly because it did look ridiculous, and secondly, because it was SO hot. As I was eating my breakfast, a lady came out of a hotel and spotted me and my shell dressed rucksack. She came over to wish me a ‘Buon Camino’ and asked about my plans. I told her that I was feeling anxious about the heatwave, and also because I was suddenly travelling solo. She then told me that her Camino journey had ended. She had tried to walk out of Pamplona and hadn’t been able to cope with the heat, carrying her rucksack, and staying in accommodation which was so hot. She was going to fly to Scotland to do some walking, and come back to Spain and attempt the Camino when it was cooler. Although it was lovely chatting to her, it didn’t help me with my anxiety! So at about 11am, I left Pamplona and began the hours walk up to Cizur Menor. The temperature was already in the late 30’s by then, so I was really glad that I hadn’t attempted my first long, solo walk that day. The hospilatero at the Order of Malta Hostel was very welcoming and I was relieved to be out of Pamplona and on my way, even by just this short distance. There were already other arrivals, and more came in throughout the day. It was soon lunchtime, and I found a really decent restaurant in Cizur Menor. A local chatted to me in perfect English - I couldn’t believe that he was Spanish as he barely had an accent, but after suspecting that he might be the village drunk and all he wanted to do was to tell me how I should be living my life, I went back to the hostel. The hostel is attached to the church, and as it was so hot, all of the pilgrims ended up congregating in the church to keep cool. We mostly sat in silence and it was a really special moment for me. At one point, a French pilgrim sang a sacred hymn or song, and it was incredibly moving. Since the start of the Camino, I have often found myself overcome with emotion and on the verge of tears, and this was another of those occasions. That evening, a few of us sat outside to drink and eat together. I met some very special people, most of whom I haven’t seen since that day, but the memory of them has remained with me since. Later on in the evening, a blind Italian couple turned up with their young guide. They had been walking for the entire day in the scorching temperatures, and I had nothing but admiration for them. Again, the tears welled! We all discussed our plans for the following morning and every single one of us wanted to leave really early to avoid the heat. We agreed 5.30am, only to discover that the hostel locked the doors at night and wouldn’t open them again until 6.30am! I was a bit perturbed by this - with reports of forest fires not massively far away, being locked in an unstaffed hostel next to a field didn’t impress me. We enquired about sleeping in the church, but again, we would be locked in. An experienced Spanish peregrino advised us not to argue about this - he had witnessed a huge fight breaking out in a different hostel regarding the same issue. I had the best nights sleep in my first mixed dorm! I found it quite funny that every time the man in the bunk above me turned over, so did I, involuntarily! One peregrino was ousted as a prolific snorer and funnily enough, his name was brought up a couple of weeks ago, but surprisingly and luckily, I didn’t hear a thing. [/QUOTE]
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