Personalities of Pilgrims...

As we´ve been hiking along, we´ve met many new and interesting people. And while we hate to stereotype, we´ve realized that there are several types of pilgrims, and it is becoming more and more easy to categorize them. Let us enlighten you...

1) Agro-pilgrim...the agro pilgrim is typically seen with a cigarette hanging from the lip while sporting an ever-popular euromullet. This pilgrim is way to joyous on the trail, or they are deep in thought, contemplating all of life´s mysteries.

2) Chic pilgrim...this pilgrim is wearing designer sunglasses, never actually sweats, and manages to look elegant after walking 18 miles. Catie feels she falls into this category.

3) Pseudo-pilgrim...our first experience with these came a few days ago. The pseudopilgrim has gear 3 times nicer than ours, trekking poles and packs. They unload off of their air-conditioned bus, whip out their poles, walk 50 feet to the nearest church, share candies to offset the low blood glucose this activity caused, then turn around and get back on their bus. We´re pretty sure they actually took pictures of us.

4) The real pilgrim...these are rare, but a sight to behold. These are the old men and women who walk with a smile on their face and a warm greeting. They are serene and radiate contentment. One in particular frequently breaks into song with no impetus. We love him.

5) The veteran pilgrim...these are commonly seen in herds and can be known by their sinuous, tanned legs. They are performing their 5th or 6th pilgrimmage and seem to know the ins and outs of it all.

6) The extreme pilgrim...they seem to be bred in Holland, we think they may actually have some sort of extra chromosome that allows them to walk for 65 days straight. They can be seen sucking down Gu packets and waving as they breeze past us. Michael thinks he is one of these.

7) The paraphenalia pilgrim...these people have hats, bracelets, pins, walking poles, shirts...you name it, they wear it. And all of them have the Camino symbol on them.


Those are our deep thoughts for the day. Today was warm and 18 miles, but we did it and felt very strong. Thank you for the prayers, we needed them today! We are in Najera Spain and about to make a spaghetti dinner. Tomorrow is lighter, but supposed to be just as hot...about 90 degrees. Hope all is well! Thanks for the comments. Hi uncle Greg and Patty!!!

Catie and Michael

Reasons to Celebrate

Today we concluded our hiking in the city of Logrono, which we are guessing is about the size of Spokane. It was a fabulous day, we think our best yet. We slept very well last night, with one exception. A gun going off several times behind our albergue woke us at about 1030...we later found out it was actually fireworks because Barcelona had won the big soccer game of the day. These crazy spanairds... We woke early and stopped in the town of Vianna, where we had 2 cafes con leches each (indulgence...except they are only about 6 ounces each) and a sandwich with egg, ham and cheese. And a croissant. Perfect. We have made some good friends with this new group we have caught up to and enjoyed our morning break with them. This was where we were telling one of our friends about the Brazilian people we know and how we don´t understand a word of the spanish they speak. She then informed us that this is because they speak Portugese...we are so ignorant!

Today we made a very big decision. In order to meet up with Julia and be able to finish the Camino, we have to be in Leon by next wednesday...in order to do this WALKING, we would have had to do about 5-7 miles above and beyond what we are already doing. On top of this we are really sore and tired and this was stressing us beyond belief. We were not enjoying our days and we spent the evenings trying to pump ourselves up to walk the next day. So today, in order to enjoy our ¨vacation¨, we decided to hop a bus in Burgos and take that to Leon. This will cut out about 100 miles of the journey, however we realized that the only thing preventing us from doing that in the first place was our pride. Once we let go of this and realized our bodies could not maintain what our minds wanted, we are at peace with this decision. Additionally, the terrain we are skipping is the most boring, flat and featureless of the entire Camino. A lot of people skip this part apparently. We feel this will take away from the experience a little, however we will still feel that we have completed the Camino. Tonight we are staying in an excellent albergue in which all the young people stay on the third floor, which is basically the attic. It is very cozy and we know some of the other people staying there, so that is nice. We just got back from wandering the city and we instantly fell in love with it. Our spirits are much higher today now that our big decision is made.

Tomorrow is an 18 mile day for us, so your prayers would be much appreciated! We are trying to find some insoles for Michael, as we think this would help with some of his ankle pain. We miss and love you all! Thanks for the comments, it is so nice hearing from you!

Michael and Catie

Ever Humbling...

Today has been quite the day. We slept surprisingly well under the church...was only woken by the bell tolling a few times throughout the night. We took it slow getting ready and were served a nice breakfast by the kind french people running the albergue. The hiking today was much more flat, some parts of it just downright boring. Michael´s ankles are really giving him a lot of trouble, and I have enough blisters to last me a lifetime. Today was a humbling day...we find that we can´t keep up with some of the older people doing this pilgrimmage and many times, though our minds say ¨keep going!¨, our bodies won´t let us. We are slightly discouraged today, but have stopped after 12 miles...isn´t it weird that we consider 12 MILES of hiking a short day and are unhappy with the distance? We are staying at a very nice albergue in our own room, so we are sure to get a good sleep. I hope the afternoon and evening off will give our bodies a chance to rebuild a bit for the days ahead. Our thoughts today spent a lot of time at home with all of you, we are missing the comforts of home, friends and family. Tomorrow we will try to get a little further, but we will see what is in store. Hope all is well, miss you very much. Please keep us in your prayers...

Buen Camino

Spain smells good

Update on the smells in Spain...
1) there is some sort of flowery smell in the air all the time that is just fabulous, we can´t figure it out
2) walking into the panderias (bread stores) in the morning just as the baker pulls a fresh loaf out of the oven is heaven
3) a pile of 20 pairs of hiking boots having been worn all day long...yum...
4) cafe in all the little places we stop

Last night was great...we ended up getting our own room at the albergue, so we could spread out and didn´t have to deal with the snoring...we slept like babies. Today was our longest day of hiking (about 18 miles) and we are feeling it! But getting stronger every day. Tonight we had an interesting experience...no room at the inn! Both of the albergues in the town were full. Fortunately, the nice french lady running one of them offered us a tent, blow-up mattresses and a spot in front of the old church. If this isn´t an adventure, I don´t know what is. All the pilgrims in town have heard of us and as we were just sitting with some at dinner, they exclaimed ¨oh, you are the tent ones!¨, in spanish though, so we couldn´t understand them. Of course. Hope all is well. More tomorrow if there´s internet! Love you!

Buen Camino.

What a difference a day makes...

Last time we wrote, our spirits were rather low. Its amazing how much of an effect the people around you can have on your mood. Our hosts that evening were rather rude and the room was small and stuffy, so we were pretty distressed and quite frankly, questioning this whole thing. Yesterday, however, the tables turned. We got a quick start and it was a beautiful hike in the early morning rain and mist. And mud. Lots of mud. We arrived in Arres, which apparently is one of the suburbs of Pamplona and stopped at ¨Cafeteria Paradise¨for a cafe con leche and a sandwich with chorizo, egg and cheese. Everyone was there, muddy and the mood was light. The day was looking up. As we traversed through the city of Pamplona, we were a little nervous around all the people. It has a reputation of mucho pickpocketing. However, we joined up with a group of 4 from Holland (they are on their 55th day of hiking!) and enjoyed the city sights. Our favorite occurence was when we were searching for a place to eat and an old man stopped us...¨hey pelegrino! the camino is that way!¨He was so worried that we were on the wrong track. We explained we were hungry, so he walked with us to a nice cafe where we got a great meal. The people here are so kind. We stayed the night in a town called Cizur Menor at a fabulous albergue...totally opposite fro mthe night before. Our hosts greeted us with enthusiasm, let us choose our beds, offered us food and informed us that they would make us cafe at 6am...music to a pilgrim´s ears! We had all afternoon to rest our weary bodies...5 blisters and a bunch of sore legs between us. After much confusion over dinner (it was sunday and almost everywhere was closed, but no one seemed to know what was going on, including the locals), we ended up eating with two ladies from Korea and had a great time. The night was great and this morning we got a VERY early wake up (pilgrims are not the most quiet beings...) and hiked. They followed through with the promise of coffee and away we went! We were planning on covering some extra ground today, however Mother Nature had different plans. We were caught in a torrential downpour...lightning, thunder and all. Our drenched clothes and boots kept us from going any further and we are now at a private albergue on a hill wringing our bodies out. Tomorrow we plan on covering some MAJOR ground...this is a competition after all! Please keep us in your prayers...we (or Catie) finds that this trip is a roller coaster of emotion and is very challenging, both mentally and physically. It is tough to not question our decision to do this at times, while at other times we don´t think life could get any better. We miss you all and would love to be sharing this experience with you! Buen Camino!!!!

Michael and Catie

¨The cows seem happier here¨

Today brought quite the change of pace from yesterday´s mountain adventure. We were woken by half the lights coming on and a CD of monks singing being played throughout the hall...all this at 556am. Crazy pilgrims! However, the morning was cool and misty, so our walk was fantastic...cafe con leche and croissants for breakfast. The walk was much more level and we would come to a small village every hour and a half or so. So beautiful out here! At the first optional stopping point for an overnight stay, we sat with 4 Brazilians and enjoyed a cold beer (San Miguel) and sausage...just what we needed at the time, as we were hot, sweaty and the bottoms of our feet were on fire. Michael has cultivated a beautiful blister under his big toe, while I have one under each of my little toes. One of the Brazilian ladies gave me a silver necklace with the patron saint of Brazil on it. So touching...or was she just trying to lighten her load a little? just joking. The last 3 miles today were definitely the most mentally challenging as they were relatively boring, very hot, and the end was no where in sight. However, we made it the full 17 miles and just barely got into our albergue (hostel). It is smelly and will get warm tonight...quite the difference from last night´s beautiful albergue. Michael´s big observation today is that all the animals we see along the Camino seem so content, while the animals in America just seem dumb. It is so true. Yes, those are the deep thoughts coming from the two of us on this introspective journey. We are doing well, feeling much more sore today, ready to sleep. Our dinner is going to be bread with salami, cheese and maybe tomato...jealous? We miss you all and hope everything is well. Tomorrow we walk through Pamplona and continue on to the next village. Not sure we´re ready for the city scenery after this beautiful countryside. Buen Camino!

Catie and Michael

¨This isn´t so bad...

Yes, that was michael´s quote this morning as he was drinking a bowl of instant coffee. we are learning quite a few things here, and the main one is when you are offered something, you take it! Tonight we are staying in roncesvalles, which is a little monastery on the spanish side of the pyrennes. This morning, we began our day being woken up by one of our 5 roommates, and we still cannot figure out what language he is speaking. The day started with quite a climb. I think Katie Smith put it best...¨its like 6 miles of the powerline, then 4 of the 1906 trail¨, then a whole lot of downhill. So many excellent sites, so many wonderful people! One man from South Africa is walking the entire Camino in bare feet. He says we must liberate our feet, they are in prison! We agreed to disagree! The wild animals here consist of cows, sheep and horses (tiny ones), all with bells on their necks. The sounds are amazing, as are the smells. Tonight we had dinner consisting of some sort of soup...not sure what, trout (or treat, as our french friends called it) with fries and yogurt for dessert. We just got out of a spanish mass in which we all received the pilgrim´s blessing. Pretty sure the priests were staring Catie down cause she was wearing shorts! Tonight we are sleeping in a room with 120 other pilgrims. The snoring will break us before the hiking does! We are having a fabulous time and wish we could share it with all of you...maybe not the instant coffee part. Tomorrow we hike 17 miles, but it will be much less steep than today. We are aching, but it feels so good. Love you all, and ¨Bueno Camino!¨

Michael and Catie