Camino Flashback: day 23 in Astorga

a year ago today, we reached Astorga -- a major crossroads on the Camino where paths from the south and east converge. it was an average-length day of about 24 kilometers and just about 35,000 steps. we'd been looking forward to our stay in Astorga pretty much since we started the trip; really, since I'd booked the five-star hotel in March or April. after 23 days on our feet, we had grand plans to make the most of the spa amenities at the Hotel Via de la Plata. except ... the Spa didn't offer services on Mondays. by adding an extra day to relax and recover in Leon (just two days prior to reaching Astorga), we'd pushed back our itinerary and arrival in Astorga and, unwittingly, denied ourselves the extra-special relaxation reward.

while certainly disappointed, Astorga and the hotel did have plenty to offer -- Roman ruins and a cathedral, kids learning to ride bikes, a city hall with mechanical figures chiming the hour (that reminded me a bit of the astronomical clocks of Prague and Olomouc), Gaudi's Palacio Episcopal, a tub and shower (though weak water pressure meant it took a while to fill the tub), bathrobes and slippers, and a veeeeeery comfortable bed.

we left Astorga well rested and well fueled for the coming days. this late in the Camino, though, beyond the worst of the physical pain (despite my probably sprained ankle that persisted through the remaining 11 days) and acclimatization, we began to wish for certain creature comforts of home that the gear we were porting just couldn't reproduce. (which is a fancy way of saying: the computer and different books.)

Camino flashback: day 13 in Hornillos

a year ago today we walked from Burgos to Hornillos -- from one of the largest cities we'd encountered to that point on the Camino to the town with the fewest amenities in which we stayed to that point. it was one of our first experiences with the pressure to secure a bed in one of the municipal albergues and a day full of soon-to-be common challenges: leg pains, climbing up an down mesetas, hours of free time at the end of a day's hike, sharing reading material.

the distance was average -- about 21 kilometers -- and our step-count for the day was 30,963. this section of the Camino (between Burgos and Leon) is purportedly the "mentally challenging" section of the pilgrimage. the terrain is relatively flat, with the occasional arduous climb up to and down from the top of a meseta. coming down into Hornillos we descended the aptly-named "Mule-Killer Path;" Andy's already strained shins did not take kindly to the demands of the grade (and the muddy track the day after Hornillos didn't help), but were afforded a good long rest on this particular afternoon. coming down that path also provided us with one of the most evocative and enduring images from the Camino.

our bunks in the municipal albergue were, thankfully, next to one another in a room of 8 sets of bunks (all of which save two were occupied by men). the amenities were spare, but at least we had beds on which to sleep; once the bunks in the main building were filled, peregrinos were offered mattresses on the floor of the adjoining sports complex. though we were traveling in the somewhat less busy shoulder season, competition for beds in albergues occasionally preoccupied me to an unhealthy degree. I fared much better with the knowledge that the physical hardships of the day would not preclude me from a shower or a bed. even if occasionally that bed was uncomfortable and the water pressure weak or water frigid.

Hornillos was the first time we didn't have warm water in which to shower, and the first time we only had one place to get a meal from. if we'd known (and hadn't relied so much on Brierley), we could have taken the risk and continued on to the next town, which had more options for lodging and dining. many of the people we'd been keeping pace with to that point did continue on (after stopping for a beer at the one cafe in Hornillos). in the end, we just went to bed before the sun set. despite the early repose, however, we were still some of the last to pack up and leave the albergue the next morning -- well before the sun had risen. those peregrinos were some of the quietest packers we encountered on the entire Camino.

a familial hike

last year, the unseasonably warm and early spring afforded us with ample opportunity to break in our hiking boots and put our bodies to the test. while I wouldn't necessarily go so far as to say we were totally prepared for the physical demands the Camino placed on us, we certainly made an effort to get close. this year, the lingering cold has deterred us from lengthy walks so far. a couple of miles in conjunction with a trip to the grocery store, long enough to get through one podcast, or two shorter ones at most.

this past Sunday, we took advantage of the breezy, cool sunshine, and headed out for an easy 3.7 mile hike on the Badger State Trail south of Belleville. my mom requested/suggested it as a holiday activity to whet our appetites for (or work off our consumption of) brunch in Paoli. while pleasant in the sun, the cooler temperature meant we encountered relatively few people during the course of our walk -- a couple of bikers, a guy in a black, long-sleeved Tough Mudder shirt, a woman walking a friendly Golden Retriever.

this was also our first opportunity to try out the GoPro in its harness, to test battery life and to find out what a composite slideshow at 10-second intervals might look like. we didn't exhaust the battery in the course of this hike, but it seems likely we'll want a battery backpack if we aim for a continuous slideshow on our Ireland trek. the harness was snug, but not uncomfortable. ten-second intervals are probably shorter than we'll need. and we ended up with a lot of self-portraits while checking on the status of the battery. because of the sheer size, we won't post all (or probably even most) of the slideshows, but I imagine a few will prove interesting enough to warrant uploading here.

stay tuned!

once you get started ...

on May 4 last year, we set off on our first hiking adventure -- following the Camino de Santiago across Spain, from the French border to Santiago de Compostela in gorgeous Galicia. if you'd told me (the more skeptical of the two of us that a 500 mile hike didn't indicate some serious mental instability) a year ago that we'd be gearing up for another long-distance hiking trip, I would have at best disbelieved you. considering the hardships we'd already endured at this point last year, six days into the Camino (namely, sun poisoning and blisters; the sprained ankle was still twenty-some days away), it was inconceivable to me that I might ever consider subjecting my feet, my body, and my mental health to something a fraction as challenging ever again.

and yet here we are. not only booked for a 11-day hike around the Dingle peninsula, but also waxing nostalgic for the Camino. would I want to be day six into the Camino for a second time today? not at this point ... but now the concept of completing the pilgrimage again, and perhaps even adding a couple of days to get to Finisterre, is not laughable. maybe one day, after we've had a chance to undertake some of the world's other great long-distance hikes.

we'll be using this space to provide information about our training, our gear, our lodging, our experiences -- the good and the bad -- on our upcoming trip and all those we haven't yet planned. our aim is to share things that might prove useful for those interested in the hikes we complete. we'll add information about our training as we get to it, and be sure to follow along in July as we make our way through our second big hike, a mere 111-odd miles around one of Ireland's western peninsulas.

if you want to read about our experiences in Spain (with an historical perspective on the places we visited), check out my posts on all the places we visited: http://ericagoestraveling.blogspot.com/p/camino-de-santiago.html. I'll keep up in that vein for our Ireland experiences as well ... at least on topics that I've not already covered!