Los Arcos to Logrono (19.8 miles) July 6, 2017

We once again started our walk early in the morning just before dawn.  The streets of Los Arcos were quiet except for the occasional click click of pilgrim walking sticks.  We walked past the cathedral where we had attended the Pilgrim’s Mass the night before.  It was quiet and peaceful.  Walking a bit more we turned and said our goodbyes to Los Arcos knowing that this was our last day on the Camino.  By now the sun was just beginning to rise and we could see that there were some clouds in the sky.  A pilgrim’s dream!  Although the day was going to be hot, the clouds would give us relief from the intense Spanish sun and heat.  The day once again wound us through the vineyards of Rioja.  We have come to enjoy drinking a Rioja wine during our pilgrim’s dinner!  There were many uphills but they were somewhat shorter in duration.  Of course those uphills lead to downhills where caution always is order.  At our stop for cafe con leche and something to eat, we ran in to Joe and Marisa from the San Francisco Bay area.  They were more disciplined and had gotten up earlier in Los Arcos than us.  Happy to see them, we all had breakfast together and talked about the upcoming journey.  They left the rest stop before us.  As is always the case on the Camino, you are never certain if you will see them again.  Chris and I continued our journey to Logrono and came across a spontaneous monument by some pilgrims.  It was a tree where people had left symbols of their journey.  I have very mixed feelings about leaving things like this along the Camino.  Here is a picture.  What do you think?  In Armananzas we came across a beautiful tile mosaic.  Along the way, you can see small rock shelters.  It is fun to think about who built them and who subsequently occupied them!  Near Bargota we came across more vineyards and the ruins of some type of dwelling.  Coming in to Viana, the path became steep and it was really warming up.  The high clouds and slight breeze were a blessing!  Tired and hungry we arrived in Viana and who do we see but Joe and Marisa.  Happy to reconnect, we all enjoy lunch in the shadow of the cathedral.  It turns out that July 6th is the opening day day for the running of the bulls in Pamplona.  The tv in the cafe where we were eating was on and the locals were cheering.  The pictures below are of the square in Pamplona that I took a few days ago and the square on the tv during the festivities.  What a festival in Pamplona.  It rivals Times Square on New Year’s Eve! Knowing that we are pilgrims and not tourists we could not linger in Viana any longer.  We still had several miles and the afternoon was turning hot.  The four of us decided to walk together to Logrono.  Joe and I spent the afternoon talking about religion, life and death, the 60’s, and everything else in between.  Chris and Marisa conversed about life and its twists and turns. Chatting certainly makes the walking seem easier!  Approaching Logrono we found ourselves on asphalt which by this time of the day was radiating heat!  We soaked our scarves to keep our necks cool which really helps in this intense heat.  The last couple of miles were extremely difficult not because of the climbing and descending but the very hot weather and heat radiating off of the asphalt.  Soon, however, the spires of the cathedral were in sight!  You can see how church spires and towers were used as a navigation beacon over the centuries.  We walked along the path that was adjacent to a park where we came across Camino roses.  Roses are among Chris’ favorite flowers!  At the river, the four of us parted but agreed to a last dinner together as Chris and I had finished our Camino and Joe and Marisa were going on.  We went to the cathedral in Logrono which was magnificent.  Behind the main alter is a painting by Miguel Angel Buonarotti also known as Michelangelo. What an incredible find in this northern Spanish city!  Chris and I spent time in the cathedral praying, giving thanks, and reflecting on our Camino that encompassed three years, a traumatic experience, an encounter with a Camino angel, blisters, near heat stroke, our friends and family whose prayers and wishes kept us going, and the many new friends also on their own Caminos.  We concluded our Camino the next morning with a cafe con leche at the Logrono cafe where we had started in 2014. Buen Camino.

Injury and Discovery on the Camino

June 28, 2017

This blog today is being written by Mark.  The photos above were taken on July 2-3, 2016.

“What is the value of a path without challenges?”

While most of the blog posts on the American Pilgrims on the Camino (APOC) emphasize the beauty and fellowship on the Camino, today’s blog will be a little different because our path on the morning of July 1, 2016 took an unexpected turn from the one we had anticipated.  If you were following our 2014 & 2016 Camino blogs, you might have noticed that they stopped on June 30, 2016.  The reason for this is because on July 1, 2016 my left boot caught itself on the shale on a downhill slope leading into Zubiri.  With nothing to break the fall, my head landed on the sharp edge of a rock resulting in a concussion and two severe gashes which, ultimately, required about 40 stitches.  This is where the Camino story of discovery really started for us!

A Camino Angel

You might have noticed that for the first few days of our Camino in 2016, we were taking half sections which put us out of sync with many other Camino travelers.  So, on the morning of July 1, 2016, we started off early.  We had planned to have our cafe con leche in Zubiri.  On our path that morning, because it was early and we were completely out of sync with other pilgrims, we never saw anyone else on the trail.  We started from Viskarret and were about 2 1/2 hours into our walk.  On a steep downhill stretch about 1/2 mile before Zubiri, I caught the side of my boot on some shale and fell forward with my forehead hitting first on a sharp rock.  You can tell from the pictures the place where my forehead hit.  The other gash was from my sunglasses.  All I really remember is the moment just before I hit the rock and then Chris yelling “Are you OK?”  When I went to get up, I was bleeding profusely but still did not know the extent of the injury.  Chris said that it was bad with a very large, deep gash of about 3-4 inches long on my forehead and another one about 2 inches long above my left eye.  We used some antiseptic wipes and pressure to slow the bleeding but it was clear that the injury was pretty bad and that I most likely had a concussion.  We decided that we could not stay where we were and that the only option was to try to walk down the trail into Zubiri and look for help.  I was very worried about the potential for blacking out and any secondary issues that might arise from the concussion.  It was no more than a minute or so after we started to walk that another pilgrim came from behind us and asked if he could help. Please remember that we had not seen anyone on the trail the entire morning.  This pilgrim turned out to be a fluent English-speaking Spaniard named Victor who had started out that morning from Roncesvalles which means by 8:30 a.m. he had walked almost 20km.  What time did he leave?  Why had we not seen him on the trail behind us when we had stopped for water breaks?  It turns out that Victor was not only fluent in English (which is important because neither of us speaks Spanish very well) but he was experienced in emergency medical procedures and had an app on his iPhone which told him that there was a medical clinic in Zubiri.  What are the odds of this happening?  Victor helped us navigate down the trail and into Zubiri.  Victor’s asked a man on the street how far the clinic was and he said that it was about 500 meters away from where we entered Zubiri.  We had walked no more than 20-30 feet into Zubiri when a woman who runs an albergue (Pension Usoa) came out of her albergue and saw us on the street.  She took one look at me and said that we needed to get to the clinic in Zubiri immediately and put the three of us into her car and drove straight to the clinic.  It turns out that the clinic was much farther than we thought and, as we arrived, the doctor and her assistant were just leaving the clinic to head to another clinic in another village.  They reopened the clinic and the doctor spent the next hour or so stitching me up.  While the doctor was stitching me up, both Victor and the thoughtful owner of the albergue stayed with us.  Victor provided translations because the doctor and her assistant did not speak English.  The albergue owner, whose name turned out to be Araceli,  thought I might need to be transported to Pamplona so she stayed just in case.  Afterwards, Araceli took all of us back to her albergue.  Victor called a taxi to take us to Pamplona because they have a trauma center and are better equipped in case the concussion progressed to something more dangerous.  In Pamplona we saw another doctor (who also did not speak English) who examined my stitches and checked my eyes.  We spent the next four days in Pamplona watching for secondary concussion symptoms.  When nothing developed, we left for Madrid where we saw an English-speaking doctor who said I still displayed concussion symptoms but I would be OK to return to the US for treatment and monitoring.  Needless to say we were very disappointed to stop our trip.

Leon to Villar de Mazarife (15.1 miles)

We left Leon at 6:20am while it was still dark so that we could avoid the heat of the day.

Our route out of Leon took us along the river (beautiful) and through an industrial part of the city (not so beautiful). As we have discovered on the Camino, something nice was right around the corner (cafe con leche and a chocolate croissant). An interesting thing we discovered was a small village of what I can only describe as cave homes. They had been dug into the hillside and were complete with chimneys. I am not sure how old they are but they look quite ancient.

Leaving the community of cave dwellings, we quickly were in the countryside along a beautiful path with rolling hills. In a very small village there was a man with water, fruit, nuts, etc. for the pilgrims. You could take what you want and make any donation you want. How very kind!

We arrived in Villar de Mazarife a little after one o’clock and are staying at the Albergue de San Antonio de Padua (our Claremont friends will appreciate the name!). This albergue has a wonderful, shaded front yard with a lawn and lounge chairs! We will have a pilgrim’s dinner and breakfast at 6am as tomorrow will be hot with a 17-18 mile walk. Wish us luck! Buen Camino!