Camino 6 - Pain Negotiation

We have finally completed our first 100 miles of walking! Our bodies have cottoned onto the fact and have decided to make their presence felt in a variety of different forms. Up until now we have been blister free - but today's 32 km brought with it a couple of sizeable ones on the balls of Sally's feet and a small one just on the end of my little toe - perfectly placed to cause the maximum amount of pain whilst making it almost impossible to place a Compede plaster on it in a way that would do any good.
We arrived in the city of Logrono around midday in reasonable high spirits, the weather once again had been good to us by being warm and overcast - perfect for walking. We had had an little break in Viana at a cafe opposite a spectacular church archway where the barmaid decided to have a go at a German Pilgrim for having taken his shoes and socks off whilst enjoying his morning breakfast coffee and Tortilla. We sympathised with our fellow pilgrim but could also see the barmaids point of view, so we sat outside and removed our shoes and socks in secret.
Logrono was a very busy city, with a local produce market setting up in the main square when we arrived. We sat and had a light lunch and decided to continue on to Navarette - another 12 km away. As it turned out a good portion of this part of the Camino was tarmac, which although sounds good, is unforgiving on the feet. The landscape once again was beautiful, and having crossed into the Rioja region, was endless waves of pristine rows of Vines. This kept our minds off the growing complaints from our feet.
We finally arrived about 4 hours later in Naverette where the first Albergue was full. There were only two others. Fortunately we found a bed for the night at the third - a twin room, as opposed to the large bunk rooms of previous albergues. Had ourselves our first real taste of communal pilgrim eating at the local bar where we enjoyed the best pilgrim menu so far with French, german, Swedish and Slovenian Caminoers, all served by the colourful waitress who was prepared to butcher any language at the table in the hope that together we might understand what was on offer. It was all done with great hospitality and good humour and the food and conversation was just what the doctor ordered to distract us from our weariness and bodily aches.

TTFN

Camino 5 - Flies swallowed : 3

Uphill struggles are made worse when ones mouth remains open to draw in breath. Even gasping for air when stationary can catch the weary traveller, and unwitting flies unawares!
Yesterday's trek from Obanos to Estelle was made a little easier by setting out at 7am, as is much cooler before the Sun gets it's act together by about 10am. Unfortunately the previous day's heat and downhill punishment decided to take its toll, with my left knee going on strike with about 30 metres of leaving the Albergue.
Walked very slowly trying not to limp until the next village 'Puenta de la Reina' which is a beautiful medieval place with plenty of character. A couple of healing hands and an adjustment or two of my boots and things were looking more promising. The heat once again however was determined to slow us down, and by 2 pm my left ankle had decided to make its presence felt. The Albergue was just beyond Estelle in Aygui based in a sports hall. Cheap, pleasant and clean with good company (but rather too many snorers!). This mornings adventure started out at 5.30am as we knew the day ahead, although reasonably flat, had very little shade available along the way. As it turned out we were granted a warm and overcast day with a perfect breeze. The going mostly easy with jaw dropping scenery. We covered 30 km without too many aches and pains and found rest in 'Torres del Rio' in a lovely little Albergue "Mari" run by a colourful Spanish lady who waxed lyrical in her native tongue, at speed, regardless of whether the recipients understood or not.

TTFN

If you would like to make a donation to our chosen charity 'Rowcroft Hospice' for this 500 mile journey please go to www.virginmoneygiving.com/SallyandAustin

Camino Day 3&4 - Feel the Heat!

Scenery change as we get further from the pyrannees. We have discovered that Spanish sign posts lie - in some cases considerably! In the hope of stopping at Larasoana, we were greeted with a rather empty village with the one place of refreshment being closed. After an hours rest for our feet, we (perhaps foolishly) decided to continue on to Trinidad del Arre; another 10km away. Fortunately the path was mostly level until the last 3km which turned out to be somewhat further. 3 hour later we arrived weary and broken at the Albergue set in a 12 century convent. As welcome as the aged guardian was of this beautiful establishment, he was determined to give us the guided tour of the place regardless of our quite evident weariness. Thankfully the showers were hot, and the beds clean and comfortable - best nights sleep so far. The morning was started with a morning prayer in the rather unique basilica, which although space in numbers was surprisingly blessed with meaning. With such a start to the day we set out for Pamplona (where they run away from bulls in the summer) where we had ham tortilla for breakfast. The day started warm and the temperature kept climbing. The route up towards the majestic line of wind turbines beckoned, yet the first understanding of how this pilgrimage can still present dangers to the modern traveller became suddenly apparent. A previous pilgrim had died from thirst on this particular stretch - as there were no villages until the summit and no sources of water! With today's heat we were getting through our supply of water quickly, and with the knowledge of no water available to us in the forseable climb ahead we were becoming more concerned at finding shade and also, because we were worried about the lack of water, we were becoming more thirsty. Fortunately since the death of the previous pilgrims and also the documentation written about the lack of water - a new fountain had been installed near the summit. Needless to say we were rather happy about this, and refilled supply. We continued on through the punishing heat down to the nearby village of Obanos via some spectacular views.

Camino Day 1&2 - UP & UP, then so much down

Our first day started From St Jean de Pied de Port through blistering heat up to the Albergue Orisson. Setting out at 3pm we ascended to beautiful views across the Pyranees to 800m. Our welcome was warm, but alas the showers were freezing. The food and company jolly and international ranging from europeans; French, German and Polish to folks from the USA and two young ladies from South Korea. Our first taste of Basque Hospitality was great and highly recommended. We shared a room with 8 others - clean and pleasant (not too many snorers).
Our ascent the following day was pleasant as the mountains were covered with mist with visibility down to a few metres. The temperature was just perfect for walking, and the light mizzle was refreshing. The descent to Ronscavelles although beautiful was far more arduous than the ascent, and various tactics were used to adjust our pain levels on knees, back and ankles including a zig zagging dance to the tune of ´Brazil´¨which worked surprisingly well for several kilometres.
Sally and I then arrived at La Posada Resturant and Albergue for a quick cafe con leche and the boon of internet connection.
we are now negotiating with our feet as to whether to continue on to Burgette (another 7km) to find a place to stay for the night.

TTFN

Austin & Sally Burn-Jones

Make a Donation to Austin and Sally´s chosen charity for their walk on the way of St.James

www.virginmoneygiving.com/SallyandAustin

Changing Posture

Time seems to be hurtling by. With only a couple of weeks to go before our 500 mile trek across Spain. Managed to break the 12 mile barrier yesterday and forced ourselves to do another 4 miles first thing this morning. Aching a little but nothing major.
As a Bowen Therapist I am finding it interesting to note just how quickly our bodies are changing, particularly posture. The body will always adapt to circumstances. Prior to this we have done little walking, so our bodies have been working hard recently to make what we need to do as easy and efficient as possible - remember that our body is exceedingly clever and is always asking the questions "Fit for What?" & "how can I improve?"

It will be interesting to see how our bodies change over weeks of continuous punishment.

Family and friends think we are bonkers, and I have to say I think we must both be missing a marble or two. However if a great charity like Rowcroft Hospice can benefit from our folly, then at least there must be some method to our madness.

If you would like to make a donation to our chosen charity please click on the link below (and also tell others too)
www.virginmoneygiving.com/SallyandAustin

Training miles 9, Injuries 1

Fully packed and loaded. We set of on our first extended walk around Devon as part of our training regime for next months adventure across Spain.
The 9 miles went quite quickly and the views around Marldon & Compton were spectacular. The only slight fly in the ointment was that I managed to removed half of my nail off of my little toe! Not a good start.
Not much Bowen Therapy can do for that. Attached is a little picture along the way.
This is also my first experiment of using my iPhone to blog with, as access to a computer will be a rarity on the 500 mile walkway.

Remember to donate to our chosen cause by clicking on the link www.virginmoneygiving.com/SallyandAustin

Walking 500 Miles for Rowcroft Hospice

The month of June is going to be an exciting one for me and my wife Sally, as we are setting out on a month long adventure on the 'Way of St. James'. This is an ancient pilgrimage route dating back to at least the 7th Century. The route we will be walking will take us from St. Jean Port de Pied in France at the northern end of the Pyrenees. We will then be travelling west for 500 miles to finish at the town of Santiago de Compostela. For those who wish to benefit from some Bowen Therapy during the month of June will just simply have to wait, or meet me somewhere along the way in Spain. It has occurred to both of us that this is possibly an insane escapade, yet will be raising money for a worthy cause: Rowcroft Hospice. We have therefore concluded that if such a great charity can benefit from our folly, all the better. If you would like to make a donation, large or small please go to: www.virginmoneygiving.com/SallyandAustin I will also be keeping up to date through this blog whenever possible along the way. TTFN