INSPIRATION ON THE CAMINO

I suppose that one can be inspired on the Camino by many things.  For many who come here, it is a religious journey and they are many times inspired by the teachings of Jesus or a bible verse.  Some are inspired to walk in the memory of a loved one or a friend who has passed.  A whole bunch of people who walk the Camino Santiago because they were inspired by the movie, The Way.  It is probably the one reason that the Camino is so popular today.

As for me, it was not just one thing that inspired me to walk, but many things over the years.  Yes, the movie was part of it, but I wanted to walk the Camino before the movie.  I can't remember where I first heard of the Camino, but over the years, books, blogs, documentaries  and people's personal experiences motivated me.

One such person was Bill Bennett, an Australian film maker who walked the Camino in 2013.  First his blog, which I followed as he walked, and later a book he wrote about his journey, The Way, My Way.  Since I have walked one Camino and now on another, people I meet continue to inspire me.

One such person is Henry.  I met Henry a couple of nights ago in Viana and I along, with others, shared dinner with him.   Henry comes from California and is 87 years old, or should I say young.  Thirteen years ago, Henry's wife died, and at the age of 74 he walked his first Camino.  He has walked the Camino from different starting points twice a year since then and said he will continue to do so as long as he is able.  Besides the French route starting in Saint Jean Pied de Port, there are many routes throughout Europe ending in Santiago and Henry has walked many of them.  He has walked from London, crossing the channel to Calais and walking the length of France to SJPDP then on to Santiago.  He has walked from Paris, Le Puy, France and from Southern Spain.  And remember he does this twice a year.  Some of these routes are over 1500 miles!  Obviously he is extremely fit.  He said he started this year in SJPDP, so I asked if he spent the first night in Orrison as we did.  Told me, no.  Why would someone stop after just five miles?  He always ops to do the full crossing of the Pyrenees in one day.  Now that's inspiration.

 

ENTERING LOGRONO 

 

 

 

 

NAVARRETE CHURCH

It's Cathie who now need inspiration.  The walk from Viana to Navarrete was pretty easy in terms of up and down, but a good portion of it was on pavement.  You must walk through the city of Logrono, which is a large city with a population of about 200,000.  After leaving the city proper, you walk several more miles on pavement through a large park.  We think all this pavement and the fact that Cathie's pack weighs too much to a toll on her.  By the time we reached Navarrete she had pain in her hip and could hardly walk.  The next morning was no different.  So we opted for taxi to Najera our next stop.  Of course we arrived before our room was ready, but the hotel owner was accommodating and got our room ready.  She suggested we see a doctor and called a taxi to take us.  Our driver, Nacho, stayed with us at the clinic and helped with translation.  We got an appointment for later in the afternoon, so back to the hotel until then.  At the appointed time Nacho picked us up again and returned us to the clinic and again stayed with us until we got to the correct doctor's office.

Using Google Translate we were able to communicate with the doctor who gave a diagnosis of tendinitis, a common ailment on the Camino.  So there is no walking for Cathie for a while.  I have changed our reservations so we can have a week off.  So tomorrow, Nacho will drive us to the next stop where we will spend one night.  The following day we will take the bus to Burgos and remain there through the weekend.  If Cathie gets better we will continue walking, shipping her overweight pack ahead each day.  If she is not better we will rent a car and go to Portugal and lay on a beach.  One must be flexible on the Camino.

 

CATHIE'S CURRENT MODE OF TRANSPORTATION