Hot day to Quiroga.

The GPS says only 28.5 but it felt like a lot more. We left early and the first part of the walk was along a totally unused paved road with great views down to the Sil River. 

It was cloudy at first but by noon the sun was out in full force. We went through several towns that are hanging on to life by the smallest of margins. Very few residents under 60 or even 70 in most of these places. 

We found a little shack by the river where we could sit in the shade and have a cold drink. That felt good, but those last 9 km from there to town were mostly sunny and hot (with the exception of one long green tunnel down to the water and then back up the other side. 

We were very happy to arrive in Quiroga, whose main street seemed impossibly long. We passed the albergue and were quite relieved that we weren't going to be sleeping there, as the place was overrun with a huge group of young teens. Finally we came to the Hostal Quiper, got a two bed room for 30€ and are happy just lying clean on the bed with our sweaty clothes washed and hanging outside. Life is good. 

Making my way --slowly

I left the pension today around 7, knowing that I had an extremely short walk. Great timing, the 13-14 km were very flat and virtually no rocks!! Just unpaved and flat or some paved and flat. Not too much inspiring scenery, but there were some pretty river views. 

My knee was very cooperative and only squawked at me once or twice. But then, slowing down and being patient seemed to do the trick. 

I was in town by about 9:15, which felt really odd. But I got my very first proper desayuno, with a croissant, seated in a  nice covered terrace with flowers. About ten minutes into this luxurious coffee, the phone rang and it was my good friend Paco from Madrid. These unexpected contacts are so terrific, they just shoot the warmth of friendship through my veins, especially when I'm walking alone. We are trying to work out a rendezvous on the camino before Santiago, which would be great. 

I'm in the private albergue run by Asun, president of the local camino asociarían. Her 92 year old mother is still very active and loves to talk. They are wonderful people.

 Asun is working hard on the long delayed but often promised official recognition for this camino. She is guardedly optimistic that the wheels are rolling and it won't be long. It would make a huge difference in the viability of this camino and would undoubtedly be the catalyst for more albergues. We have spoken with many "locals" about the need for albergues, but it's the quintessential chicken and egg problem. People don't want to invest in an albergue when there are so few pilgrims, but more pilgrims won't come because there are so few albergues. 

My good friend Rebekah, who lives along the Camino Frances but has walked the Invierno, should be stepping off a local train around 8 pm, and we will start out for Quiroga together tomorrow morning. So lucky to have such good company coming my way! 

A new camino

Yesterday was a long day for me and my knee, so I knew I was going to have to slow down. Today's walk had a lot of descent, not the best for a gimpy knee, but I met up with the gang after 8 km and told them I was slowing down. It was hard to say goodbye to Lee, but it was clearly the right thing. 

The walk was lovely-- the first 8 km were through the mountains down tip the border with Galicia. The next 20 km were along the Sil River with ups and downs but nothing too strenuous. No pics because my phone battery was dead. 

Now I've got a revised walking schedule with only a few days close to 30 km, and none more than 31, so I should be fine. 

I am now in O Barco de Valdeorras, which has a very pretty park on the Sil river. Here I said goodbye to Armando. Who knows, we may all meet up again in Santiago.

I have spent a few cool hours in the park watching the knight kids go tubing over some little white water rapids, while the small kids feed the ducks and stay in shallow water. 

  I now have less than two weeks walking so I have to forget about this knee thing and just enjoy!!! 

In As Medulas

Lee decided to stick with the Camjno de Invierno (and me), so off we went at about 6:45. 

Much darker here at that hour that further east. (That's the moon!!)

Shortly after getting on the camino, we met a young guy Armando, an attorney from Avila, and I walked with him the rest of the way while Lee went on ahead. It was a lovely off-road walk with an occasional stretch of pavement thrown in. 

Two big ascents, one up to the Castle of Cornatel (closed, victim of budget cuts),

 then down to the town of Borrenes with a good Kas de Limón bar stop, then 7 more up to As Médulas. It's an amazing place, where Romans mined gold on the mountain by channelling rushing water through the mts. till it exploded the mountain and the gold come pouring out. We were even able to walk through part of the canal system, long tunnels on three different levels of the mountain. As a guy in the museum explained, the Romans figured out how to turn water into the equivalent of dynamite. The result is eerie looking, with there'd mountain innards shooting up into the sky but  spectacular in its own way. 

Of course this exploration added 8 or 9 km to a 31 km day but at least it was without a pack!!

Not sure how far I'll get tomorrow with my slightly unhappy knee but there are choices at 9, 18, and 28 km. So we'll see!  

Ponferrada

A Mexican restaurant in Ponferrada???

Plaza Mayor at dusk. 

Travel Day

Our 8 hour train ride is underway. The first leg was a regional train to Vitoria. That's a city I've never visited but we only had an hour layover so there was no time to leave the station. 

Now we're on the second train, which will soon arrive in Burgos and then trace the Camino Francés, through León, Astorga and finally Ponferrada. 

My knee is "talking to me."  I can walk but there is something going on, no doubt from some of the awful descents we had in the last week or so. The plan is to start taking Diclofenaco, which Lee has used for knee pain in the past. I'll also buy a good knee brace to stabilize things and keep fingers crossed. Since we have dropped our previous plan to walk in the gorgeous Valle del Silencio as we did last year, that opens up some days. That means I can shorten a few of the monster stages I did last time I walked the Camino de Invierno. 

But basically this means it's just time to play it by ear. Lee will have a tough decision to make. Should she slow down with me and hope I make it?  But what if I have to stop a few days in on the Invierno?  She definitely doesn't want to walk alone and this is such a solitary camino, she might find herself stranded. So she is just going to have to decide which camino to take in Ponferrada. Gimpy old me just doesn't have to make a choice--just start walking and hope for the best. 

If my addition is correct I have walked more than 825 kms in 27 days. That's about a 30 km average, which I now know is pretty close to my limit. From now on I will be less ambitious in my stages. Live and learn. 

So end the musings of this peregrina. 

In Pamplona

We arrived in the city about 3:15 and by 4:15 Lee was in the albergue and I had bailed to a hotel.  It's nice enough, with a great bathroom and air conditioning, which is quite nice when the temps are over 100. 

But alas, my dreams of sleeping in till 9 will not come to pass. The 1:30 fast train tomorrow is full. Only seats available are on the slow 8:30 train. So that means that I'll have to be up a little after 7. Still, as compared to my 5 am wake-up these past few weeks, this should feel luxurious 

So who goes to Pamplona and goes to her hotel room at 7 pm to use wifi, have a glass of wine, and ice her somewhat sore knee?  ME!  I did get a little walk around the beautiful centro histórico, but I realized today that I was kind of dragging and running out of gas. My theory is that some pampering and a day off walking will help bring back that zoom zoom zoom. 

Pamplona is gearing up for San Fermines, better known in USA as the running of the Bulls, but we will be gone tomorrow and will miss all the hoopla. It's a crazy fiesta. Let's hope no one gets killed this year. 

Tomorrow we will take a train to Ponferrada, that's where the Camino de Invierno begins. The last time I walked this route I did it in 10 days, but later realized I had walked a couple of days over 40 km. I'm done with 40 km days for now, so we will be recalculating stages, so that I'll arrive in Santiago on July 13 or 14.  Fingers crossed that the temperature drops below 40. This is not conducive to walking.