Today's blog is by Julie....STAGE 1, We're all excited about beginning the camino. Quite surprised when we leave the hotel that we are met by light showers. I told Mario the street cleaner had just gone by. Wrong, it's raining! We stop for coffee at the only place open on the playa. It was very crowded with young people and a few workers. Then we began the beautiful part of the Camino, full of energy, happily chatting with other peregrinos. We are full of energy!
STAGE 2, the climb is quite steep but I feel up to the challenge. Mario, on the other hand hates climbing, so he slows down. I am laughing and joking around until we hit STAGE 3. Scrambling up and down over big rocks, especially scary as it has rained. Mario helps me at the really awful spots, showing a safer route over the rocks and offering a hand (and foot) to stop me from falling.
STAGE 4 is really scary because of the slippery mud. My shoes and legs are splattered with mud and I'm so thankful I didn't fall in.
STAGE 5, uphill but the rocks are not slippery. By now I feel hip pain, both from tensing from the fear of falling and the weight of my backpack.
STAGE 6, a nice paved route and Mario is way ahead of me. I slowly tag behind waiting for a rest stop. We have hiked over 5 hours not stopping due to the muddy and rocky conditions. I am exhausted, hips in pain. Mario has sore feet, but no choice but to plod on. He does much better than me. I perk up at the smooth pavement, but melt at the rocky descent. Will this ever end!? More rocks which Mario is able to navigate. Me at a snails pace, definitely slowing us down.
We reach Orio, with only 6 km. Sad to say, I'm still behind but still alive. We eventually reach the town of Zarautz, but still a lengthy walk to our hotel. We register and unload our backpacks and explore the town, walking along the beautiful promenade. It was very crowded, and many people enjoying drinks and food.
Okay, the above is Julie's interpretation of the day. Mine is a little different. Each time we start a a Camino I ask myself the same question. "Why am I doing this?" It's an obvious question. We don't spend the rest of the year scrambling rocky and/or muddy terrain. We don't do hikes in the rain, and we don't hike for 6-8 hours a day 7 days a week. But in the end we reach our destination, and another accomplishment achieved!
This was the best part of the terrain. There were many worst parts - river beds, pools of water and lots of mud.
Entering Orio.
Leaving Orio.
Zarautzm in the distance.
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