Day 6, yesterday, was cold and blustery. It was overcast all day and we got sprinkles a few times. We stayed in a combination Alberque in Uterga. It had the dorm and rooms and dinner. The room we got was very nice. We had a great dinner too. Soup and Paella for a starter and choice of meat for main course. I got octopus cooked Basque style, in it´s ink. It was good. Rob had a breaded pork, ham, cheese and lots of garlic cutlet. We´re not losing weight on this trip, love the food!

We thought we would make a short day of it but the walk to Puenta la Reina was short. There are a few places to see there but as normal, most were closed. We did see the church of St. James. It had tall guilded wall pieces, a kind of backboard that had statues beautifully done behind the alter and in the 2 naves. We crossed the famous bridge and continued toward Cirauqui where we hoped to find a hotel and spend the day. The town is build on roman ruins and in a old circular fashion that culminates at the top with the church. The off season has begun so we were not lucky enough to find lodging there.

We met a group of 3 in the town before. A Spaniard and the Swiss guy Wolfgang were traveling together. Rosemary, from Australia, was walking with them for a while. She is a very fast walker. They had already done 35 km for the day. The men were trying to convince Rosemary to continue to Estella but she was done at Lorca. We made that our stop as well and were very happy to find it.

I have not spent any time describing the landscape. It has changed. There are still hills with ups and downs that challange but it is the gardens and the trees and plants that have been interesting. Dill grows wild everywhere. We are back into the grape vines. They went missing for a while but now food seems more abundant. Olive trees and fig and fruit trees in small orchards. Blackberries line the path but they have long since dried on the vines. The gardens are full of cool weather things like lettuce but still the tomatoes are hanging on, some falling to the ground all red and in need of eating but nobody around to ask so we left them lay.

We stayed in another albergue like yesterday with dorm and rooms but no dinner. We were told to go up the road to the sausage makers house and buy some for dinner. There was some pasta and stuff in the kitchen so we made do with that. Rosemary and I walked to the shop and managed to get a few tomatoes and onion and garlic as well as sausage. We made a sauce of sorts with that and the half a sweet pepper Rosemary had. By the time dinner was done more pilgims arrived so there was 6 for dinner. There was plenty for all, thanks to the perigrino that left the package and a half of spaghettie.

Yesterday was not so bad. It was longer then the day before but not so hard of a walk as the other days. We are getting stronger. We will walk to Estella today and probably spend the night there. It is 9 km from where we are now. There is supposed to be a lot of things to see. I have waved off everyone in the albergue this morning, wishing them all Buen Camino. Rob is up sounding like he has caught a cold, coughing every now and then. I must go pack so that we can get up the road. See you!

Day 5 is now done, thank God.

We stayed in an alberque our first night in Pamplona. It was run by some Germans. Very nice! We enjoyed a good group of guys. The Swiss and French threesome came in a bit late but were let in anyway. They had been on the road since the middle of August. Everyone there was in for the long haul, in our room anyway. Peter from Germany started 6 weeks ago. The most interesting guy to me was Juan from Argentina. He is Korean and grew up in Argentina. Recently he completed a contract job in Cuba where he was a translator for an engineering group. Very interesting person, trilingual.

We spent yesterday in Pamplona and last night in a hotel. Pamplona is a wonderful place to spend a day. The old town is small enough to walk around even for two gimps like us. We got to eat¨"small plates" in the bars. I don´t remember what the word for it is in Basque but it´s tapas in Spanish. There is a heavy basque influence here. I like it! People have a very helpful and friendly attitude. We stopped a few times to look at a map and 2 different men tried to help. Unfortunatley they don´t speak english much here. We got along though.

We saw the different sites in town and then found a good lunch. Lots of seafood here and cooked very well. We enjoyed all that we ate. Earnest Hemmingway liked to hang out in a bar in Pamplona and legend has it he spent many hours there. So like Hemmingway we too did that on the lazy Sunday watching over the main Plaza as the families strolled along. Sundays are very quite in Spain. Most places did not open but there were enough places open for food and drink. It was an early night cause everything closed.

Today was so tough for us. We walked on rocks all day. We only walked for 6 hours but our feet were done. We stopped short of our goal and are staying in the place in Uterga. Albergue, hotel and restaurant. We got a room. What the hell. Rob doesn´t sleep in the dorm rooms well and we aren´t watching our finances so that we can get to Santiago so we are being pilgrim/tourists.

Thanks for your comments. We appreciate all your support!

Day 3. Spent last night in a Pension and had a kitchen so we ate in. The place was a 3 bedroom apartment with a kitchen and living room. We had it to ourselves. Grocery was on the corner. The less walking the better ;)

Rob was feeling very bad last night. He really just wanted to go home and we discussed options but he had a change of heart this morning. I´m glad he decided to hang out with me a while longer. We got to Pampaloma around 5:00 today. Got a couple of beds in a small Alburque, on the top bunks. We were one of the last to get there.

The people that you meet on the trail are so amazing. There is the 60 something lady from France who has been walking through France. She is on her 38th day. Everyday she sits and takes a break in the sunshine and reads a while while she rests.

When we started from Bayone, France on Thursday we took a bus with a young man from Brighten, England who had just completed the Camino. He was going back St. Jean to get his car then drive it to Calais to ferry home. He was overwhelmingly excited for us and wanted to give us all the hints to get through the Camino. There was also the 2 Korean bikers on that bus. One spoke very good English the other did not. The hills were very steep at the beginning so we saw alot of those guys the first day. I guess they are days ahead of us now.

We are both very sore and plan to take tommorrow off here. We stay in the Alberque tonight but tomorrow there will be a hotel in our future. This is a good tourist area, lots to see. It will be a good time to rest for a while.

We are in Zubiri, Spain, for the night. Today has been challenging to say the least. Yesterday we walked 10 hours and finished up in the dark with flashlights. The trip up the mountain was beautiful. We had lunch in a nice spot about a third of the way up. That was the beginning of the pain. We climbed for another 4 hours before starting down. Down was not so good. Not on purpose,we took the wooded trail that the guy in the pilgrim office told us not to take... So we spent an extra 2 hours going down very steep trails. Wrecked our knees. Wrecked Rob´s feet.

The Alberque (pilgrims lodging) was nice. Sure we slept in bunk beds but the facilities were clean. What can you expect for 12 Euros? This morning both of us were in bad shape. Sore knees for me, sore everything for Rob.

We hit the trail by 8 and stopped in the next town for breakfast. There was a hard frost last night and frost was causing the leaves to drop so fast that the falling leaves from the top of the tree dropped on lower leaves causing big piles of green leaves under all the trees on the trail.

I cannot begin to tell you how hard this has been for two middle aged fat people from the flat plains of Texas. The scenery is beautiful but it´s much prettier from a car window. I´ll post a few pictures soon.

I´m not so sure about Rob continuing. He may be on a bus tomorrow for Madrid. This is not what he expected at all.

It has taken a week to get here but today we start. France was so wonderful. Full of freindly, helpful people. The sites were amazing. But now we must begin the Camino. It is late,10:15AM, we had to stay in Bayone last night and caught the first bus this morning. We have 8 hours to trek up the mountain and down again. Beer and lunch in 2.5 hours. Wish us luck!!!!

A whole month? I cannot believe that I've not blogged in the last 30 days!

Here's the rundown. Went to south Florida in between two hurricanes. Learned that although I like the Gulf coast of Florida, known as the Natural coast, I do not like the uptown feel of southeast Florida. Too many people, too many high rises and not enough beach for walking on. So the week we spent on the beach was not so wonderful. The sea air was pleasant. Thats all I have to say about the vacation. Except for...well never mind.

School was in session upon my return. Have I mentioned that I work at a university? I work in the library in the IT group. I work with a great group of folks who make it possible for me to leave at such a critical time of the year. But as we all know, vacations must be paid for and I spent 2 weeks making up for the week I took off.

So there. I have worked and walked. The weather cooled, thanks to Ike, one of the hurricanes that formed while I was in Florida. You may have heard that Ike took Galveston and knocked out Houston. I'm sorry for all that he did but I did appreciate the cooler weather.

It was actually cold on Tuesday last week. Cool for us in September. I heard it was 47 degrees Fahrenheit. We walked in shorts and t-shirts wondering why we were so cold. LOL! I was wondering why when I showered my skin stayed cold for so long! Rob and I walked through Thursday and it warmed up a bit more every morning until it was mid 60's.

We walked 10 miles on Saturday. It was easy going on my level country roads. We are in the time of year when the hunters are hunting dove. My husband enjoys them both for the sport and the meat. I guess many people do because there were a few different groups from the sound of things. We do a nice appetizer that seems to be a Texas thing. Slice a Jalapeño pepper on one side the full length. Then open it and lay it on top of the Dove breast. Wrap it in bacon and grill it slow, letting the jalapeño and bacon soften and crisp, respectively. If you do it right the dove is tender enough, the jalapeño soft and the bacon crisp. It is really good. If you rush it you get a piece of rubbery dove and jalapeño wrapped in charred bacon.

Sunday we went to Dallas and got the backpacks from REI. We have known for a while what we were going to get. We both went with the Osprey because the weight can't be beat. I think we have everything we wanted either here or on it's way. We tried to cut costs as we could but there are some things you've got to pay full price for. Can you say underwear? I learned early on that socks are very important. I thought I had a good pair called smart wool. Not for me. I guess that is why there are so many socks out there. It can be very hard to figure out what works and I feel that sometimes its money that is wasted but who has time to go on such a trip and miss it due to misplaced trust in a pair of socks because of the brand name?

We will be leaving in a little over 3 weeks. I am concerned about so many things. It is such a long way to travel so we can spend a few days on a trail to an end that is not significant to me. It is the journey that I desire. I hope to find my camino. I hope Rob finds his. And I hope we make it together.

A few years ago me and our family dog, a beautiful English Setter named Cassie, used to walk a trail that was nearby, in Denton. It was a former railroad line that came from Dallas. There is a national program called Rails To Trails that helps communities with financial grants to remove the tracks and clean up the trail for walkers. It is nice walk that meanders on the edge of town through to the old mill that is now a manufacturer that makes biscuit mix and individual corn bread mixes. It has a couple of ruff spots near some neighborhoods where the people look at you hard enough to make you uncomfortable. Poor old Cassie died in February, her hips finally went. I do miss her companionship on my walks.

I walked a new trail I've not walked before today. It was south of where I live about 20 miles. It's funny that you have to travel 40 miles to walk 8 miles. It was worth it though. Unlike my country roads this had water, trees and some hills. I got there close to 8 am and nobody was in the parking area. I had the whole trail to myself and some small wildlife that I scared up here and there. The poor brown rabbit that I saw first as I rounded the corner did not know what to do so he froze and so did I. We stood like that for a couple of minutes, he waiting for me and me for him. And neither of us moved until I decided that I wanted to get up the trail and with my move he hopped off, white tail shinning in the gloom of the low growth.

There were a few pastures and a small pond with a park bench overlooking it. We had rain a few days last week, the first good soaking we've had all summer, so the ground was muddy in spots. When I reached the parking lot at the center section I sat and had breakfast and while there I scared up a couple of mice. I felt bad for that so I left my apple core as an apology. I was putting my pack back on when a truck with a horse trailer came driving in and I thought to myself that my solitude would be interrupted very soon but that did not come to pass. They must have gone the other way.

Wildlife count; 4 bunnies, 4 squirrels, 3 Cardinals, and a road runner. If tracks count I saw a lot of deer. And the spot where it looked like fairy dust raining on the trail was magical.

I appreciate Rosie(and Ian) encouraging me. It is true about the recovery rate. I am surprised I notice that by making small changes in my gait that I can keep my knee from getting sore and I think my boots are stretching and wearing in a bit too. I'm hoping to do something in the morning becuase I think 2 days together will be a good thing. I did not manage last week to get in the extra day. I'll be seeing you.

Walked for 2 hours this morning with Rob. Ha- I avoided the blister fairy and my knee got wrapped before it had time to complain. I bought stuff yesterday to make it all come true at the drug store. They had a great selection of insoles. I must have stood there for 15 minutes trying to decide what to buy. I got a pair of gel soles for the ball of your feet but alas it did not seem to make much difference in the end. I suppose that I will have to buy some fancy (read "expensive") insoles.

I got home last night late but I was just in time to see Rob dancing around in his boots with the new fancy (read "expensive") insoles. He said he was breaking them in. I think the wine he had consumed was telling him that. It was quite funny to see Rob prissy around on his toes saying things like "ohh these feel great" and "my feet feel so supported". The whole time I was laughing. What a goofy guy.

We did the same road I took last week and as expected it looked the same. We took off shortly after 6. As we were leaving Rob made mention about the great top water bite that would happen this morning if we were on the lake instead. I have to admit that I miss going fishing during the summer. I'm not a die hard like he is and fishing more then 4 or 5 times a summer is pushing it but I like to fish in the cool of the morning. Being awake and watching the sun come up is a nice benefit and I am beginning to get used to it now since I began the training for the Big Walk. But the boat is being renovated and we have walking to do anyway.

Walking. I've been thinking about this as a big picture. I have a knee pain and a foot pain and a blister on my little toe that is taking way too long to heal. We will be doing this for another 2 months before leaving for Spain. It's not exciting. Walking is slow. Necessary as it is to train for the eventual task, it just is kind of boring. I enjoy the rhythm of walking and Rob walking with me is better than walking alone because he is a chatter box and always comes up with something to talk about. But it is a challenge to try to do it daily for an hour and on weekends too. 2 hours tomorrow I guess...

I made up my mind by Friday that new shoes and hikers were needed NOW! I went at lunch and bought new walking shoes for the gym. After work I went right over to Cabella's, the hunting /fishing outdoor super store, thinking that I would have a great selection of hikers to choose from. I didn't. There were 3 light mid-hikers. I choose the Cabella's brand because they have great equipment and that was the boot that fit the best. So now I was equiped for the weekend.

I live in Krum, a small town near the college town of Denton. Back about 100 yars ago it was a farming community on the railroad where winter wheat was collected and sent on it's way. We have a 4 way stop in the epi-center of town, a block from the old grain silo next to the track (which has been converted to a very interesting residence), where the old false front brick buildings congregate. Here you can go to City Hall, eat, fuel your car, buy groceries, access your bank account, get a tan, let your kids take a gymnastic/cheerleader class and you can browse the "antique" store. In the last few years there have been a few housing developements and businesses build up east of town and as a result the housing developers helped the city build a new baseball/softball park on the west side of town. Still the population is only about 2500 people.

The park is very nice. It has 3 fields with a concession stand and bathrooms in the center. There is a sidewalk that rings the outside as an exercise track. It's made of concrete and is very nice for small children on bikes and Moms with baby strollers but not so nice for middle aged people trying to train for a very long walk in northern Spain. I found out a couple of weeks ago that shin splints are not fun so I now walk in the grass next to the concrete.

Saturday morning rolled around with a cool front so it was only 80 F at 8:00 am. I took the opportunity to take the first of what I hope to be many long weekend walks. I headed over to the baseball park and from there walked north. The roads north are perfect for trekking. Every so often a car will pass but mostly you are on your own. Picture open fields contained by barbed wire strung on mesquite fence posts, sparsely populated with a few cows and sprinkle a couple of houses in between the fields. The area is flat for the most part with very little shade except for the volunteers that sprung up on the edge of the fences. It's odd that the birds sitting on the fence are responsible for planting trees.

So I walked up the quiet country road for about an hour and took a different way home. A big mistake! I chose to take a primary road back and really regretted that decision. Cars came by in groups every couple of minutes and the side of the road had no shoulder, only an edge to cling to. I spent another hour wishing I had turned around and returned to the quiet road that I had started on. I even got asked if I needed a ride. The man came by and asked if I was walking for exercise or if I needed a lift. I told him exercise and thanked him for his kindness.

I made it home all in one piece and learned that walking should be limited to back roads. I also learned that hot spots on your foot become blisters. :(

What a great weekend! We went to look for the ever elusive GoLite pack that Rob wanted to look at. So far we have only been able to see the Osprey and the Gregory. These 2 are very similar in size, weight and materials. We live north of Dallas and it seems that such a large city that includes the surrounding area and Fort Worth would have what you need for just about everything. We drove down to the center of Dallas to a new age, hippy, yuppie shop that deals in hemp clothes and hiking equipment. It's kind of a strange mix but then you realize it's an Austin kind of place, so it works. We got there after many switchbacks and 1 pit stop, to find that the one GoLite pack they had was gone. That was good for a chuckle on my behalf. Rob was disappointed to say the least so he decided to go look at hiking boots. That too didn't turn out well because they didn't carry his size. (Nobody carries his size, cause his foot is too small.) And so the great hunt for GoLite in DFW may have concluded.

I've been asked by Christine's Aunt Carolyn why I want to walk. My idea about the walk is a mix of thoughts. I had an experience while in Rosslyn Chapel in Edinburgh, Scotland. It felt like a knock inside my head. Two times. It was frightening and I've never felt anything like it. I was told by our guide that it happens to others as well. Not in exactly the same way though. Since then I have spent a fair number of hours on the Internet trying to figure it out. I have a few ideas related to lay lines and magnetism that I've not really thought through or researched. But that is one compelling reason for the walk.

My second thought about the Camino is the simplicity of the whole life while on the Camino. It reminds you of the most basic needs you really require. Food, water, shelter and faith. My life is not that simple and the Camino is alluring. I mean to say that the very basics of life become overshadowed with the superficial. Raising your family, going to work, slogging through all the necessities of modern life is a drag on the soul, don't you think? We all get caught up in the moment and soon forget simple pleasures. I see the Camino as the opportunity to feel good about a day's accomplishments and to share that feeling with the one that I love. Yes, it is an optimistic view, if you want to fantasize, why not?

There you have it. I've confessed to Aunt Carolyn and everyone else. I'm a nut that wants a simple life. And if someone knocks this time, I hope to be ready.

One week since I decided to do the Camino. It has been on my mind since the beginning of the new year and after the trip we took to Scotland in March it has just gotten stronger. Rob and I have talked about it as well and at first he was not so keen to walk it at all. I think the idea has grown on him or I have worn him down. Either way we are going.

I have read many things in the last week about the Camino. There is a wealth of information on the internet plus it is mid-Summer just past the Feast of St. James which only adds to the regular stuff. I can't help but think about the pilgrims in the past that took the Camino with so little information. Theirs was truly an act of faith. Today we have cell phones, GPS navigation, planes, trains and automobiles. Not to mention ATMs. :)

So I begin in the morning training for the Big Walk. I am concerned about walking with my husband because his pace is faster then mine. I guess I'll have to add a bit more weight to his backpack or I'll spend the entire time staring at his back from further and further away. He thinks he can slow it down for me. After 20 years I'll be surprised.

12 weeks and counting.

Today I met Cedric in the parking lot of the grocery store as I unloaded my shopping cart. He was pan handling. He introduced himself as not looking so good, which was not normal for him. He was trying to find work at a local day labor employment office but they had not had anything today or yesterday. Cedric had a kind face with a patch on his right eye. He wanted to help me with my groceries for some change but he arrived too late. I had all but emptied my cart. He said that he needed 23 dollars to get a room for the night and that he had spent last night downtown. And he apologized for asking for money and the way he looked, again.

I said that I would give him 5 dollars to help him and he said "Really? But I wasn't finished explaining yet." I said that was OK 'cause I understood and things are tough for all of us.

So I opened my wallet and saw I only had a $10 and I said "This is your lucky day. I don't have a five but I'll give you this ten instead." He was elated and told me thank you. I shook his hand and he said "I'm Cedric and you may never know me again but I'll remember you."

And I said "I'm Nicole. Good Luck Cedric. "