Hitting the road
Helsinki - Irún
The first day and the second day of travelling. I started from Helsinki yesterday, took the train to the airport and waited for the night flight. I have a runny nose so the travelling was unpleasant. In Barcelona I waited for half a day then took the short flight to Irún. I decided to get my own room because of the sickness. Let's see if a good night's sleep will help. It's only nine but I think I'll turn in.
The official start of the Camino
There was one more job for the evening: I had to get the credential for collecting the stamps that prove I walked the Camino. The owner of the hostel told me to go next to the church and ring the doorbell. The door, the building and the doorbell were unmarked. Even though it was after 8 in the evening, an old man opened the door, filled the information on the credential and handed me a map.
Towards San Sebastian
Feeling a bit better today. I thought I would walk some ten kilometers. A little walk. We'll see how it goes.
I've walked for almost two hours and seen almost every animal: Bulls, cows, donkeys, horses, smaller horses, sheep, a dog joined me on my walk for a while. A lot of uphill.
The road is surprisingly demanding. At the moment it is sand full of rocks. I have to pay attention to each step. Earlier it was the sort of gravel that no one had thought to pack properly. I am walking a side of a mountain above the town of Irún towards San Sebastian. There was supposed to be a restaurant here, but I didn't see one. Here's a small fountain. Who knows if it is potable.
Whew! The mountaineering is harder than walking on the flat. I thought the ten kilometers would go a bit faster. But never mind. I could almost peek around the corner of the mountain towards San Sebastian. I hope it is San Sebastian. The weather has been good: Half cloudy, mostly cloudy, some drops of rain, not too hot, except in the uphills. There's pretty much no one here. Some people walking their dogs, some joggers pass me from time to time. The trail makes me think of the olden days when they rode horse carriages through here. You can imagine the bandits lurking up there on the hills. There's enough room to pass two carts here. At the moment it is solid rock under foot.
It feels like it's descending. There was another fountain here. I looked a bit closer this time, and it was clearly just coming out of the rock wall. I took a little taste, but didn't drink it. It tasted good. On the left side of the track there is a proper drop here, you could fall and roll a long time before you get down. Or well, there is a barbed wire for the animals five meters below the road, so you would get stuck there. On the other side there's rocks and a forest.
What a crazy downhill. It's pavement, but at an angle that you need to take tiny steps. The thighs get a hard exercise. Going towards the town...
Cafe con leche!
It's three o'clock. The first coffee of the day. The trip was a larger commitment than I expected. So far I have met maybe six pilgrims in total. Pirate flags are flying in this village.
Walking through a harbor. Had to ask advice on getting the boat across the river. Sounds like it's going to rain hard. Thundering. I would not have found my way here without help. Looks like a dead end.
There was a thunder storm and it hailed, just after crossing the river. I took cover for twenty minutes with Iger, a local bartender who looked like a sailor. He said it was not your normal storm. But now it's alright again, just hoping the storm won't come back.
I lost the route for the second time today. Found it behind a small church. The yellow arrows were nowhere to be seen, but there was a picture of a sea shell on the wall. After that the arrows were visible too.
Everyone's walking with their dog off the leash. I don't think I have seen a dog in a leash beyond the city limits.
A landslide on the road. The electric cables are all over the floor.
I decided to keep going further than the original plan. I had planned to stay for the night in the village after the river, but I just kept walking. I don't feel sick anymore, so there's no reason to stop really. It is a lot more demanding trek than what I prepared for. The sleet and half melted ice in Finland was a different challenge, but it didn't have ups and downs.
