Background and Introduction - 2

The weather between mid-April and mid-May was as had been expected: still quite cold at night and getting hotter towards midday so that temperatures ranged between 40° F (O° C) and nearly 80° F (30° C) at noon. There was still ice on the puddles in the morning once or twice and snow still lying in high places. But the weather was good on my walk. I had no rain for 28 days, only occasionally threatening clouds. But on day 29 the heavens opened and a good old cloudburst caught me, well wrapped up in my rain gear about 200 yards from a small bar, where I took refuge together with other pilgrims. We all used the time there for a small meal. After that it stayed cooler and light rain followed all the way to Santiago for the next three days.

Snow in the Pyrenees

The overnight resting places, called refugios, originating hundreds of years ago as simple shelters do vary a lot. I did not use a single B+B (hostal) or even a hotel, as some others did. Some overnight stops were in monasteries, such as in Roncasvalles, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, or Samos or even in Nunneries as in Leon. There was no charge for a stay in the monasteries, but a voluntary contribution was expected similar to the payment in the other refugios, between 3-5 € (£2-3.30). These were very clean and tidy and all pilgrims were expected to attend evening prayer (in Spanish) but accompanied by some beautiful singing, especially in Leon. The mayor of the small town of Larrasoana was in charge of the second day's refugio, which was next to his office. He was a jolly fellow, dealing with each pilgrim individually, taking us into his office to stamp our pilgrim's record, telling us (in Spanish?) all about the history of his town and the refugio and selling us the Santiago shell and other items. He also gave each one of us a large bright yellow ribbon to keep or fasten along the way. I kept mine. One refugio, in Belorado, was an emergency one, as the normal one was being renovated, and it consisted of a barn or garage with 2 and 3 tier bunks for about 30 male and female pilgrims, but only had 1 toilet, 1 washbasin, and 1 shower. It was a bit of a squeeze, but on this sunny and warm afternoon we all coped. Another outstanding example of how the ancient pilgrims had to manage was in Sambol just after Burgos on day 12. By that time I had got to know a number of fellow pilgrims and two of them, Maria from Karlsruhe and Marianne from Regensburg (both in Germany) insisted on trying this one out (not on my plan). I decided to join them, but we were unsure if it would be open. As I was ahead of them I walked the 500 yds off the normal way to enquire. Sure enough, a chap called Udo welcomed me as the first pilgrim that day. He had only opened the day before. The girls followed a little later plus 4 Spanish and 2 Dutch ladies. There was only room for 12, we were 9. Well, Sambol was known to have: no electricity, no toilets, no shower, and no washbasins. Just a very cold spring 60 yards away with a large basin and a large field behind some bushes. The waters there have medicinal properties for your feet etc. So here I was stuck with 8 ladies and no this and no that. It was a hot, sunny afternoon and a full moon night. Udo cooked us a noodle soup on his bottle gas, which was our meal. There was not a living soul for miles. We all enjoyed the stay there. But I had lost my glasses on my way there that day. I never saw them again. About losing things: living for 35 days out of a rucksack in very cramped conditions and on a 2ft.6'' by 6 ft. bunk bed, continually unpacking and packing every day und usually packing in a hurry in the morning I lost several things, such as a pair of socks, earplugs, sheets of instructions for the route and other small items. But I never lost my patience. Most other refugios were in acceptable conditions and they improved as I entered Galicia, the province of Santiago. We all agreed that the best one was at Ribadiso by the river Iso on day 30. Refugios are judged by a) the showers, b) the beds and rooms, c) and by the person(s) in charge. Showers can be cold only, lukewarm, hot if you are lucky, or always hot. The latter was seldom. In one place, Palas de Rei, there were no doors or curtains on the showers (army style?) So I was asked to guard the door (with my life?) whilst my three girls went inside. Just another job for Bruno.

Most nights my newly acquired sleeping bag kept me warm enough, but once or twice I had to keep my fleece jacket on as well. There was absolutely no heating in the dormitories. But a much bigger problem was the snoring. We were in rooms between 4 and 30 or 40 pilgrims, mixed sexes, and it was the girls, sorry, some men who snored and how. Do I snore? Nobody complained. The trick was to earmark the snorers and avoid them at all cost. Not easy. I once refused to be put into a room with a known "snorer", a Belgian. Apart from Sambol, which was clean and well run there was another unusual refugio at Manjarin near Alcebo, where a Frenchman, Tomas, has rigged up a rickety contraption in this otherwise abandoned village (day 23) at about the highest point of the El Camino at 5000 ft. (1500 m) with the most primitive facilities (yes, it had a toilet of sorts), but a friendly and warm atmosphere, also a fire burning. I stopped briefly for a coffee and a stamp in my pass, forgot to take a photo. Tomas, having had his electricity cut off to stop him serving pilgrims went on hunger strike for some time outside the electricity offices in Leon until they relented. Some guy. There is a separate list of all the equipment I had to carry and apart from my bright red rucksack, easily identified from great distances, I found the slim torch Markus bought me invaluable when getting up at 6 am, not wishing to disturb others. Also the slim alarm clock was most important, as was the fleece jacket borrowed from Markus. I had only used my newly purchased walking stick very little and at some stage half way through Marianne was struggling with her feet full of blisters. She asked to borrow it whilst I moved ahead. Sadly, I never saw her again, no addresses exchanged. My friends, Lothar and Werner from Germany, whom I had met on day 2, decided to send their sticks plus some other surplus items up to 6 kg back home and persuaded me to pack a parcel, too. By that time, on day 7 in Logrono, we all knew what things to dispose of and I also send a 2 kg parcel home. Sadly, I had included my spare glasses that I needed badly later.

The daily food. Well, in my case, I preferred to start my walk with no breakfast. Just a small amount of fruit juice and a banana. Others insisted on having breakfast, either their own food bought the evening before, or at a nearby bar / café (if one could be found), or sometimes in the refugios for payment. This always gave me a head start. At the first bar / café I would then stop for a pot of tea. I bought a litre of Melocoton = thick peach juice each day, filled my square pint bottle with it and this lasted me all day. There was plenty of fresh, cool, good-tasting spring water available at frequent wells along the way.

A working lunch

Bars / cafes were not always available, when one wished for one, often they were not open till later in the day, or sometimes there were non at all, especially on the meseta - high plateau. That is why I always had a carrier bag with enough food for the day. My afternoon or evening shopping list - most shops close between 2 and 5 pm - read like this: Bread, in sticks, like the French, it kept well in plastic bags; Peach juice; 3-4 bananas; 1 or 2 kiwis; 1 orange; 2 yoghurts; 1-2 tomatoes; spreading cheese in place of butter; bar of chocolate. In the evenings we looked for a restaurant, if there was one, for a good meal with ample local wine.