This morning, we woke up knowing that the first 2.5km would take us to Burguete, the trout-fishing base of Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. A town of 300, it is the most charming town. We learnt of a fantastic bakery. Though we weren’t sure w he re to turn at first, we soon smelled the fresh buttered croissants. Our noses literally guided us to the panederia.
Our walk was most definitely uphill, a continued test on our knees and our stamina. We passed familiar faces, the lovely woman Ulriche from Germany, the determined woman from Mexico carrying a heavy load, and two young women from South Korea. The sun shone today, but the breeze was still friendly.
What goes up must come down, of course. A steep descent with lose gravel and stones made for careful walking. Our poles were a must. On one bend, B passed a Frenchman, and soon heard the scraping of loose stones, a hard fall, and a deep groan. She turned around and saw that the Frenchman did a faceplant. She ran back uphill…he wasn’t really moving and then she saw him dripping with blood.
She took off her pack and he was grabbing his head, but the blood was coming from a scrape on his chin. She took her handy Kleenex…and he started to apologize. He had stepped on his pole. Kat came round the bend, took off her pack and ran uphill to Z, our walking pharmacy. Kat came running back with a bagful of first aid stuff borrowed from a new friend, Katherine from Boston, aka the walking hospital. With some more tissues and babywipes, Kat patched the Frenchman up with a big blue bandaid. Katherine also gave him a Jesus bandaid some friends had given her.
Guess the Camino provides.
Splattered blood on the ground, Frenchman back on his feet, we continued our way down the steep slope to Zubiri, a town of over 330. We had to forgo the albergue agian and founf the Hostel Gautxori, filled with boisterous Spainairds preparing for the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, where we are headed tomorrow.
Dinner was a full, complete meal…”paella,” veal cutlet, tuna in a tomato sauce, and of course, dessert. Maybe a good sign for a day without steep clims, descents, or bloodshed.