790 Kilometers to Santiago!
Our first stop of the morning was to get a photo next to the distance marker on the way out of town. It seems impossible now that we’re going to cover that distance, but each day we will chip away at that distance a little more.
Today’s walk took us through gorgeous woodland trails, getting us off the road and into nature. I had worried about the path, but it was wide enough for the stroller the entire time, so we enjoyed the walk through the trees.
People asked us how we managed yesterday’s terrain, and we were met with a large number of others who also utilized a taxi. The rest, who walked to Roncesvalles, all agreed that it would have been impossible with the stroller. Pilgrims who have walked before have been giving us their advice about the trail, and we were given forewarning to bypass the final climb and descent of today’s trail. Information about what areas can and can’t be done with a stroller isn’t readily available online, so we have been grateful for the advice. Today we walked the first 16 kilometers of the trail to Zubiri and then we took a taxi for the final 7 to avoid what was described as a steep and uneven descent down a mountain.
Sandra carried Eloise for most of today’s walk, and I pushed the stroller, with Addie alternating between riding and walking. She enjoyed all of the little obstacles on this path: the gates, the bridges, the stairs. She was a kind and compassionate little pilgrim, checking on the people around her. (“Is that lady okay? Mom, do you need help?”) She picked up a stick for her to walk with and she was so proud.
We crossed a couple of creeks with bridges too narrow for the stroller, and so we beasted the stroller through the water to the other side. We also hiked up steep inclines, with Sandra and I both pushing the stroller, counting our steps and stopping to rest every 30 steps. It was not an easy hike, but it was exhilarating.
When we reached the town of Lintzoian, we found a tiny playground for Addie and we stopped there to call a taxi to Zubiri. Both yesterday and today we have encountered afternoon siesta, and the town was empty, with nobody around to help us call a cab. We found a phone number for a taxi company, and I used my very-novice Spanish to call. Then we had a short twenty-minute wait.
Two pre-teen girls had come outside to play in the playground, and Addie went to join them. They helped her ride their scooter and introduced her to a neighborhood cat. Addie was all smiles.
When Addie gets tired, she asks to go home and tells us she doesn’t want to walk the Camino. When she has energy, she is excited and happy and talkative, and I know she is going to get so much out of the experience, but still, her little pleas for home are hard to hear. It is a long journey for a little bean, and she didn’t choose this, we did. Seeing her so happy at the playground, communicating across language differences with the two girls, helped reassure us that Addie was also going to benefit from this trip.
When she was done playing, we found some Canadian dimes in my wallet, and Addie gave a small Canadian coin to each of her new friends.
We taxied from there to Zubiri, and we were met with people assuring us that we had made the right call. “We were thinking of you,” they told us. “There would have been no way to walk that with the stroller.”
I think we thought we could walk all the way to Santiago, so adjusting our plan has been difficult, but it has also been a huge relief to know that we will walk what we can and not worry about the rest.
Tomorrow, we head to Pamplona, and it is already feeling like we have put a significant distance behind us.
It was so nice to get up and read your story. Makes my day. you 4 are AWESOME!
Thanks for sharing, I love to see you and your family restepping your steps from 2014. I loved being part of your Camino family for a while! Keep going with your open heart and mind and not to forget a barrel of patience.
What a fun and amazing journey you’re on! Thanks for sharing your adventure!
Wonderful adventure
Thanks so much for sharing your days with us. I am impressed by your sense of adventure and commitment to do the Camino with two small ones. I did it by myself, and that was enough! Buen Camino to you all.
Love reading your journey journals!
Love your attitude. You are doing great. Wished i was doing it too.