Days 4, 5, 6 & 7

Day 4 (29 May 08)

Roncesvalles - Larasoanna

It has rained each day since starting in St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France. With lots of mud, our days are slow and of course...mostly uphill, today our elevation is 2,296 feet. The mud was very wet, so it didn´t stack under our boots with each step.

We left Roncesvalles, Spain (first village in the Pyrenees crossing into Spain) about 8:30 am. We had breakfast in Burguet 3.2 km from Roncesvalles, cola cao (hot chocolate) & croissant. It rained hard all day, luckily we have good boots, rain gear and rain cover for our back pack. We are loving the rain even though it slows us down. We are always laughing!

About 2 pm we were in the village of Viskarret and ate a big lunch to have energy to keep walking. The rain gave us a break and we ate outside, laughing with all our new friends...from Germany, Switzerland, 2 boys Matt & Ian from Georgia, Brazil, Italy, Paris, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Mexico, Korea, Chicago & Austria. Many, many people from Germany. All of us laughing as one by one we walked in to the village, clapping that we are seeing them once again. Yvonne & I yell (Wooooo Hooooo!) as they walk towards us and then lots of hugs and kisses.

After and hour we walked to LARASOANNA our destination for the night. The main Albergue was full so there was another building for overflow. We were upstairs with most of our friends. After settling in we did our household chores: wash clothes, hang them, showers and then eat. The showering was interesting...It was like a small metal construction office with 4 shower stalls, one very long pole for shower curtains and a thin metal wall between each section. When I walked in I thought I was in the men´s section when a young guy was standing there buck naked. I saw, and said, oops, I must be in the wrong area...I hear, ¨No, you´re not¨. I laughed, okay. This tiny stall was so small I couldn´t move, let alone take off my clothes. Yvonne was standing just outside holding my thin plastic shower curtain closed because the open door was blowing the air in. We were both laughing and laughing...can you imagine that? Two showers away was our friend, Jean-Louise from Brazil...making gorilla sounds, while I am making my own gorilla sounds with the cold water...together we made beautiful gorilla sounds....ooooo, ooooo, ahhhh, ahhhhh, oooooo, oooooo...everyone was laughing. Then I had to get dressed, yes, again this was very funny.

Okay, now it is Yvonne´s turn...she decided to take a shower with her clothes on and wash them...very interesting sounds also, oh I am washing my vonder bra...rub a dub, I say to her. More laughing. At least she was creative.

Later, we had dinner with all our friends and there is where we became the Woooooo Hoooooo Women!!!!!

Day 5 ( 30 May 08) Larasoanna - Pamplona

Again the day was filled with hard rain and very cold night. We stayed in an Albergue that once was a church. It had all the ammenities of home, good private showers, washers, dryers: these could have been improved upon as each load had its troubles. Washers stopping in mid cycle, needing to be rinsed out by hand and then wringing out. The dryers cost about 6 euros because the time kept shutting off every few minutes.

We had a very good nights sleep.

People are now waiting for the computer so I must be quick, there is only one computer.

Day 6 (31 May 08) Pamplona to Obanos

It rained hard all day, more mud but it did not hamper out spirits in any way. Yvonne & I had plenty to laugh about along the way.

We stopped at Eunate...A Romanesque Church built in the 12th Centuary. The Legend says Pilgrims are buried there. It is a circular church. Before going into the church you must remove your boots and then start walking around 3 times inside the church while looking at the floor. Then you turn the opposite way and walk another 3 turns while looking at the walls. Go the opposite direction again 3 times while looking at the ceiling. All of this is supposed to give you great energy to continue walking the Camino.

Raining hard, we continued to Obanos. We tried to walk further to Puenta La Reina but had to stop because we were too tired and way too giddy! There were five of us, three women and two men singing in the rain! Of course, Laughing.

I believe everything happens for a reason. Because we chose to go 5 km out of our way, we stayed in a different place. But the magic was that the next morning we arrived in Puenta la Reina to have breakfast, staying about two hours.

While sitting there, I could see people gathering outside in the rain, singing? I had to go see what was happening. There were men and women singing in spanish, but I couldn´t understand but I joined in anyhow. Swaying this way and that, and humming to their wonderful instruments.

We said good-bye to some friends then Yvonne & I continued on. Their were about 10- 12 groups of people singing, about 20-30 people in each group and they were taking turns walking around Puenta La Reina. I was overwhelmed. It turned out this was a ceremony for the Pilgrim´s which happened once a year but in different villages around the Navarra region.

People held my hands, smiled and lots of hugs and kisses...and Buen Camino´s (Well Wishes). Soon, many pilgrims joined in all the celebration.

After leaving Puenta La Reina it was raining so hard the river was overflowing in many places. My Heart felt as full as the River.

We had much rain yesterday and much more mud. I had an interesting moment or 5 minutes...I took a step then another and found I could not remove either foot...They were suctioned down tight. When I tried moving either foot, I lost my balance and fell on my right side splashing into the thick, rich mud! Okay, guess what I was doing...LAUGHING, LAUGHING! I must have laughed for miles. It really was funny and you didn´t have to be there. Somewhere I found some muddy water and washed off as best I could. We now reached Estella.

Day 7 (1 June 08) Estella

We reached Estella about 6:30, very late and didn´t have much time to do our chores. Luckily there was a good washer and dryer so we had clean clothes for today. It was too late to finish drying out clothes so they were left to the gods to dry for the morning.

We had three young spanish men invite Yvonne & I for spaghetti...we joined them and cleaned all the dishes in return. Another wonderful night.

Day 8 (2 June 08) We are now in Los Arcos. Our laundry is finished as we arrived in good time today, by 2:30 in the afternoon. We´ve had time to eat, write and visit with many friends. We had another wonderful day trekking through Spain´s country side.

Tomorrow we are going to Logrono. Good Night to All...I Love Everyone of you...Special hugs and Kisses to my Sweet. Sweet Man, Marc ILY.














Day 5 (31 May 08)
Pamplona to Obanose - What a wonderful Albergue we stayed at last night in Pamplona, all the ammenities of home...good private