El Camino de Santiago - 213kms walked, 600 to go

It´s hard to believe, but we are more than one quarter of the way to completing El Camino de Santiago (St. James' Way in English). After 10 days of walking and 2 days of resting in Pamplona, we have walked 213kms from St. Jean Pied de Port in France, to our current location in Santo Domingo de la Calzada. The first 3 days were definitely the most challenging, up and over the Pyrenees in rain and wind. With sore feet, and my knee and right hip complaining, we decided to take 2 rest days in Pamplona, after just 3 days of walking. Our bodies definitely liked this break, and the past 7 days from Pamplona to Santo Domingo de la Calzada have been great - we have adjusted well to the routine, our packs feel good (especially after posting 3.5 kgs ahead to be waiting for us in Santiago), and now we just have to take good care of our blistered and bruised feet.

It´s a pretty amazing feeling to be walking on the route (if not the exact path) that millions of pilgrims over the past 1000+ years have traversed in order to reach Santiago de Compostela, where the remains of St. James are reputedly buried. Even now, about 26,000 pilgrims each year walk the 800km route from St. Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago, and over 100,000 pilgrims annually walk the last 100kms to Santiago, which according to tradition qualifies them for half their time off purgatory. The route also sees many bicyclists, who we watch with envy on the flats and downhill stretches (they have to cycle 200kms for the purgatory discount). The Camino is well marked by yellow arrows painted on rocks, signposts, farmers' fences and any other stationery object along the way, as well as badges of a yellow scallop. The scallop shell (which many pilgrims also have tied to their packs) has several different meanings - some say it is a pagan fertility symbol, others that it is a symbol that the pilgrim has successfully reached the ocean.

The routine of the day is quite similar to trekking in Nepal - lights come on at about 6:00, we race for the bathroom, dress and pack, and scarf down some bread, yoghurt and fruit. We then join the other pilgrims in our routines of bandaging our feet with plasters, bandages and duct tape (the best thing we´ve found to prevent and protect blisters). We set out around 7:00. Each day we walk 20 to 24 kms through varied terrain - some on roads, much on trails and on the farmers' roads through vineyards and huge fields of wheat, barley and oats. There are also splashes of brilliant red - fields of poppies like we have never seen before. We pass through the little villages, most of which seem deserted, pause to see the monuments and crosses along the way, and usually stop for some packed lunch of baguette and cheese at about 11:00. We usually arrive at our next destination between 1:00 and 2:00, which co-oincides with the long afternoon siesta. With no shops open until at least 5:00, we check in to the albergue (guesthouse) for a shower and nap until shops are open at 5:00 and restaurants start serving dinner at 7:00. We then join the other pilgrims at restaurants that offer special 3 course meals for the walkers, complete with all the bread and wine we can consume. To bed by 9:00 and lights off at 9:30. The albergues along the way are generally huge dormitories with bunk beds and communal showers and toilets. Accommodation is around $7.50 per person, or sometimes by donation. We are very happy that we have good earplugs to block out the snorers!

There are many interesting traditions and sights along the way. At the albergues, and sometimes at churches and tourist offices we collect stamps in our "Credencial" or Pilgrim´s Passport - proof of where we have been and how far we have walked. We will need to present this in Santiago in order to receive our Compostello and time off purgatory (which by the way we are thinking of selling to the highest bidder!) Just outside of Estella, at the Bodega de Irache (Winery), we sampled some of the local wine that is dispensed free of charge from a fountain. Every town has at its centre a massive cathedral - often the altars are guilded in tonnes of gold. Our favourite cathedral so far has been the one in Santo Domingo de la Calzada, where for over 700 years, a white hen and cock have lived in a chicken coop inside the church. The chickens are donated by locals and are changed monthly. Tradition says that in approximately 1300 AD a married couple and their 18-year old son Hugonell arrived in Santo Domingo on their way to Santiago. The girl at the inn where they stayed fell in love with Hugonell, but when he refused her affections she planted a silver goblet in his luggage and told the local Magistrate. For this crime of robbery the innocent Hugonell was hanged. When his parents found out about their son´s demise they went to see him and heard his voice telling them that the patron Santo Domingo had saved his live. The parents went straight to the house of the Magistrate and told him of the miracle. Incredulous, the Magistrate replied that their son was about as alive as the roast cock and hen that he was about to eat. At that moment the cock and hen leaped from the plate and began to crow. Since then the city is famous for the lines "Santo Domingo de la Calzada - where the hen crows after being roasted."

The local response to the walkers has been very warm. Occasionally, horns are tooted in encouragement, and people wave and shout "Buen Camino" to us along the way. Just outside of Logrono, an older man cycled past handing out handfuls of walnuts and hazelnuts to all the pilgrims he saw along the way. We are a bit surprised however that there are very few facilities along the way and every day we join the many pilgrims who dash off the path into the vineyards or behind a bush.

Surprising to us, we are amongst the youngest people on the walk. The vast majority are seniors - retirees who have been planning for a long time to do the walk. Everyone has a unique story about how and why they are doing the walk. Most of the walkers are from Spain, France, and Germany, with a few Brazillians, Americans and Aussies thrown in as well. I think I am the only Canadian who is not from Quebec, and Edwin is the only Kiwi we have met. In the dorms, it´s common to hear 4 or 5 different languages spoken. The common themes seem to be regarding blister treatments, sharing bottles of wine, and cries of "Buen Camino". Some pilgrims walk faster than us, some slower, but as the days pass, we see the same core group of people each evening in town. One of our favourite pilgrims (although we have to communicate in broken French and Spanish with him) is a 75 year old Frenchman named Girhaud who did a portion of the Camino last year with his family, and has returned this year to do the entire route "before he dies". At the pace he keeps, we are sure he has many more years ahead of him.

Location: Santo Domingo de la Calzada, Spain