As we walked our 2019 Camino from Pamplona to Burgos, we posted blogs each day. Each day's blog was at the top of the string of posts, so readers could see what had happened that day.

Now that we have completed the walk, I have reversed the order of the posts so the readers can follow from the beginning to the end, rather than from the end to the beginning. I also added a note to each post saying when it was originally posted.

Our decision to walk this year was slow in coming. After taking 2018 off from walking in order for Peg to be co-chair of the American Pilgrims on the Camino's Annual Gathering, we thought perhaps it was time for a different type of adventure. In July, we realized that was wrong. Why stop walking the Camino when it still is calling us to come! We just could not stay away.

We mentioned to Pam and James that we thought we would go in October. Pam said Ola! Buen Camino! James said "cafe con leche"! Pam said "cerveza y vino tinto"! James said "We're in!" Decision made. The four of us will walk.

Russ and I have walked only a tiny bit of the Camino Frances in Spain since 2013. Instead we have been walking the sections in France and Portugal. We are eager to be in Spain again. Our goal this year will be to walk from Pamplona to Burgos in about 14 days. Pamplona is at the start of the first elevation below, at 460 meters.  Burgos is at the end of the second one, at 864m.

Training

It is hard to train in Florida in the summer because of the heat. Luckily, we had planned to spend several weeks in Star Lake, NY in August. We could walk three to five hilly miles a day there. Sweet! September, since coming back to Florida, has been harder but we have done pretty well. We are walking at least 20 training miles a week, including a 5-mile and a 7-mile, with our backpacks, during these last few weeks. I, Peg, have also been working to overcome "flatlander legs" by climbing the 132 steps at the Devil's Millhopper State Park each week, increasing my number of times down and up each time. I also try to get to yoga at least once a week to stretch out those leg muscles.  

Gear

We didn't really need to, but we bought new backpacks . . . in pursuit of the hikers holy grail -- the perfect pack.  Other new gear also twisted our arms. We will soon determine our packing list and share it and the weights.

Plan

The planning is a serious part of the adventure for me. We have selected a small "pilgrim" hotel for our stay in Pamplona . . . Hotel Eslava. We also selected albergues for our first two nights on the trail. We reserved at the Camino del Pardon and Casa Maralotz, each of which has a small number of dorm-style accommodations and a couple of private rooms, as well (we hear) as great food and hospitality.

The Camino is on. It will be a slow and easy pace. Already, I wish it could be longer.

Russ and Stela opted for a final 5-mile walk. Russ carried his backpack with 17 pounds of weight. For training, we load our packs with bottles of water to reach our desired weight.

I opted for a final day at the Devil’s Millhopper. Picture 1 is my pile of  "counting rocks." My selfie was taken while I rested partway up on about climb #6. Picture 3 is my rocks all lined up after Climb #10.

As usual, it was crowded on Saturday at the Millhopper. Lots of weekend exercisers were there. The Ranger was giving a guided walk. Four or five families were in awe of the place and taking tons of photos. Two exercising moms were there with three girls. One was running the steps, trying to "beat mom's best record".

The other two were playing at the top and eyeing my rocks. Hmmm, thought I. I decided to try a strategic move. I asked them to move a rock for me each time I came back up . . . and not to let anybody else move them, which might make me lose count.  Ha! I won. They did not randomly move my rocks around.

Also, with some considerable effort involving getting pre-approval from our credit card company for an Internet purchase on a foreign website, we bought our bus tickets to get from Madrid airport to Pamplona. We start on a jet plane, move down the travel chain to a bus, and finally arrive in Pamplona to walk to our hotel. From the modern world to the pilgrim world!

Yesterday, Thursday, was a beautiful travel day. We left at 6:00 and had daylight by 7:00. The sun was shining all the way to Lexington. We arrived right on time at 6:00.

Stela, whose full name is Princesa Compostela, behaved so well on the ride that we hated to leave her behind. On the other hand, she was so happy to be sitting on the sofa with Steve and Meg when we left, that we were a bit nostalgic for the evenings in Gainesville when she helps Russ play the piano :)

On this equally gorgeous Friday morning, we drove a short 3 hours to Pam and James' in Fredericksburg. The drive brought us over a mountain and along a winding blue highway. Nice!

Now! The four of us are going to pack, unpack, and repack for the last time. The most fun of all!

Here is Meg and Steve's house where Stela is happily ensconced.

Here we are in Fredericksburg. We arrived at Pam and James' yesterday in early afternoon to complete our final planning and packing. This morning we are almost ready. Backpacks are full. One shared bag to check through with all the liquids and our walking sticks. Off to the airport soon!

We drove to Richmond, flew from there to Atlanta, and will leave for Madrid shortly. Yes! We are ready!

We arrived in Madrid yesterday morning, the 29th, and took a bus from the Madrid airport to Pamplona. It took us about an hour or so searching to find our hotel, the Eslava. Finally found it and rested for a while, then wandered into the city for the evening.

We spent a full day exploring Pamplona today. We planned it as a rest day. However, we ended up walking almost 8 miles around town!

On our first day of walking we covered 10.6 miles, including climbing the Hill of Forgiveness. Lo and behold, our cares and worries we’re all blown away at the top. Our tired legs however, did not notice the forgiveness. They really ached on the way down the other side. Yikes are we ever tired. Our rooms at the Albergue Camino del Perdon in Uterga are on the third floor. Ugh, no lift. Now my clothes are washed and hanging to dry. I am showered and flat on my bed.

The morning has been lovely—-and much more flat than yesterday. Instead of going directly to the next town, we took a detour, extending our walk to visit the famous octagonal-shaped church at Eunate. It was possibly built by the Knights Templar in the image of the Church of the Holy Sepluchre. Soon after we arrived, two bus loads of German Christians pulled in to have Mass in the courtyard. We were ready to walk on.

From Eunate, we walked to Puente la Reina, where we rested at the Hotel Bidean for coffee and a snack. The rest of the day's walk was not so flat as the morning's had been. We wore ourselves out again.

On Day 3 we walked about 9 miles from Cirauqui on Roman roads, past a Roman bridge, past vineyards, along a river, and on to Estella.

We arrived more tired than we thought we should have been for a 9-mile day. But, that is what happens when you pile the long walks on top of each other day after day. we decided to make Day 4 an easy day with less walking.

Estella's Hostal Agora was perfect. We slept really well, without the iconic striking of the church bell every 15 minutes and tolling of the hours in Cirauqui. That had its own charm, but the Hostal Agora was quieter and it was good to know we would have an easy day coming up next.