Day 5 - Cizur Menor to Lorca (32.5 km)

Today was perfect. It was the sort of day I had imagined for The Camino.

I set out early - around 7.30am - with a happy spirit and loads of energy (which was as well as I had a big day ahead and after the first few hours it was hot and stayed that way). Back to earlier in the day. Like most hikers, after a quick wash and dressing, the day starts with the ritual repacking of the pack, which virtually everyone seems to do and takes me about half an hour. I'm carrying this thing on my back so I need to get things just where I want them (e.g.heavy toiletries bag back down towards the bottom and rain gear near the top, though I've barely spotted a cloud since I began).

Rosarii and I set out to walk the first half hour or so together before I would pick up my pace to reach Lorca today. Said goodbye to Patrick (not a morning person) who was still contemplating the day. I doubt I will see either again on The Camino as they are walking for one and two weeks respectively. But as both have plans for trips to Sydney to visit family, hopefully our paths will cross again.

Today could not have been more unlike yesterday. The way was mostly stone paths, through varied landscapes, much of it unsheltered, and half a dozen small unspoiled villages (most from 14th century), postcards at every turn. It was hard going at times - three very steep rises - though the descents more leisurely than on earlier days so no knee damage so far! My walking poles have been fantastic. I'm thinking of naming each of them, they have been such good friends to me. I'm also thinking of naming my backpack! We've got a love / hate thing going at the moment. It's dear to me as it has everything I need - and perhaps a few things I don't, though I won't know what until the end. But I can only imagine how fresh I'd feel at day's end if I hadn't carried that 10 kilos. So I figure it's all in my attitude. Once I name it, it will be a friend and we'll be relying on each other to get to our destination. I feel like Tom Hanks and Wilson the basketball. If that means nothing to you, just google it and you'll see what I mean. Anyway, if and when I name my poles and pack, of course I'll let you know.

After leaving Rosarii, I walked the next two hours on my own, passing and being passed by other pilgrims and locals - Hola, Buenos Dias, Bueno Camino. I caught up to a young French Canadian Eric, whom I'd first met making the steep descent through the forest on the Spanish side of The Pyrenees. He and I and Marcel from The Netherlands walked together until around lunchtime. This was Marcel's second time on The Camino and, as with the first, he hopes to walk all the way to Santiago de Compostela. I'd judge he's about 40 years old. His first Camino was 20 years ago. He said he'd always wanted to do it again, and here he is. We left Marcel at the town of Puenta La Reina about 20 kms from our start and I then left Eric a few villages on. So the last two hours I was on my own again and didn't see another pilgrim the whole time, though there were no doubt some out of sight behind me or over the next rise. I felt brave and strong today even when I took a wrong turn, adding an extra km to my walk. The path is well sign-posted with the Camino symbol of a yellow shell on blue background, but you need to watch out for them, especially when there are no other pilgrims in sight. I realised I hadn't seen a sign for a while so turned back. Around 4pm I arrived in Lorca to find a lovely Albergue with a friendly young host. I'm sitting in the cafe enjoying a cafe con leche (like a latte). He is fascinated by my iPad. I will have dinner here tonight - special pilgrims menu usually around 10 euro - with a salad to start and then a Spanish omelette or pasta. The food has mostly been great - and I'm always hungry!

So much for these posts getting shorter, but before I sign off firstly a medical update. Tired feet, naturally, but no blisters so far and vigilant with the preventative measures. My collar bone is bruised on both sides, so need to watch that and maybe adjust my pack. Heat rash on my legs, which first appeared when I was training over summer for the Coastrek, has re-appeared with a vengeance today. Not surprising as it was a long walk and hot! On that score, I have an interesting tan developing. As I'm walking in the same direction every day, my left side is constantly in the sun. Sunscreen doesn't stay on for long in the heat, so I've taken to using 30+ lip balm on my face and hands, which seems to work.

Last thing - thank you so much for your comments. If you'd like to comment under your own name rather than Anonymous, under Choose an Identity, just select the Name/URL option. Just type in your name as you want it to appear. Ignore the URL as it's optional.

Also I've had a few lovely messages which don't appear on the blog as coments, but arrived as emails to me with a link to the blog. So if you don't see your comments, next time just use Post a Comment and add your name using the Name/URL option. Not sure where the link instruction appears but just ignore that as I think it's intended if you want to send a link to another blog. Hope that's helpful rather than confusing!

Until next time, thanks for sharing the Camino with me. Muchas gracias. J x