Blog No. 198 - Camino Soul Songs Part 8: 9 March 2025

On the 21st of April 2013, I walked Villatuerta Puente to Azofra, a distance of about 21 kilometres.  By now, my body seemed to have accepted that walking was an integral part of my new way of life.  The muscles still complained, but they were getting stronger.  The blisters on my feet continued to thrive and this continued until some days after I had completed my Camino walk.  I was wearing standard size boots but unknown to me, although my feet were mostly standard size, they were not completely standard size.  Walking long distances made my feet acutely aware of the small ways in which my feet varied from standard size.  These variations resulted in continuous blistering that never went away.

If you walk the Camino, ask a podiatrist before you go to advise whether your feet need specially designed boots to enable you to avoid blisters.

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This was me in Najera on my way to Azofra on 21 April 2013.  Although it was not raining, I wore my rain jacket to ward off the cold.

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While walking, you always need to watch for Camino route signs.  This one was outside Najera.  The stylised shell indicates you are still walking on the designated Camino route.

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Every day that you walk the Camino, there is a river of peregrinos in front and behind you.  I took this photo on 21 April 2013.

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Here are some more peregrinos walking on Sunday 21 April 2013.

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Part of the wonderful Spanish countryside through which I walked on Sunday 21 April. 

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As well as those who, like me, walked the Camino on two feet, there are those who do not walk but ride the Camino on bicycles.  Because those walking were called peregrinos, those riding bicycles were called beeceegrinos!  This photo shows some beeceegrinos on 21 April.

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Diary Entry Made on Sunday 21 April 2013 at 4.00 pm

I completed seven full days of walking at about 1:55 pm today.  I arrived at a new municipal albergue at Azofra.  According to Brierley, I walked 21.1 kilometres today.  A sign just outside the town of Najera said that it was 584 kilometres to Santiago.  This means I topped the 200 kilometre mark at some time today.  [Note: Actually, this was incorrect.  I did not complete more than 200 kilometres of walking until Monday 22 April 2013.]

I walked with the English lady Suzanne from Navarette to Ventosa and we were joined in Ventosa by a Canadian called Stuart Taylor.  Suzanne walked as far as Najera and Stuart and I pushed on to Azofra.  Stuart retired after a working life in the Alberta Forestry Service.  He is a very nice man.

It was beautiful walking weather today.  Because it is Sunday, the Navarette albergue said there should be no departures before 7:00 am.  Yahoo!  I had a sleep in!

The temperature was initially very cold but there was glorious, bright sunshine.  The feet and legs still ache but less than they have done.  Maybe the body will now start recovering from the shock of what I am putting it through.

Distance Walked Today: 21.1 kilometres.

Total Distance Walked So Far: 183.4 kilometres.

Total Distance Covered So Far: 195.8 kilometres including the 12.4 kilometres by taxi.

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Soul Song Number 9 - The River: Part I

(21 April 2013)

Every day The River resumes its flow.

The Pilgrim River starts at various times,

But always before dawn.

In Navarette, the stream commenced at 7:00 am.

It was Sunday,

The day of rest.

Pilgrims were required to sleep in for at least a little while on the day of rest.

Once the magic time had arrived,

Almost imperceptibly the River of Pilgrims resumed its flow,

Following The Path that has only one purpose,

Revealing to a multitude of people the Way of The One.

The Pilgrims might think they seek The Saint.

They might think The Saint will help them find God.

Of course, The Way does both of these things.

But it also does something else that is far more important.

The Path helps people to find their own true selves.

That is why The River always flows.

Because pilgrims are always seeking their true selves.

The River of Pilgrims is always the same.

It is always different.

Its constituents are the people, the seekers.

The seekers are always the same,

But they are always different.

The problems the pilgrims are trying to solve are always the same,

But they are always different.

The River of the Camino embraces all of their sorrows and problems,

Washing them all away.

The River of the Camino takes all of their problems

And reveals the solutions,

Solutions that always come from the pilgrims themselves,

Even when the pilgrims think otherwise.

Flow Pilgrim River

Flow your way across Spain.

Lessen the pain.

Keep revealing the answers.

Please continue to flow into the hearts of the pilgrims.

For the Pilgrim River is truly The Way.

 

(This poem is dedicated to Suzanne, who pointed out that the flow of pilgrims is indeed a river of people that happens every day.)

Blog No. 197 - Camino Soul Songs Part 7: 8 March 2025

On 20 April 2013, I walked most but not all of the way from Torres Del Rio to Villatuerta Puente, a distance of about 33 kilometres.  The blisters on my feet were still thriving and my thighs were on fire with pain – so much pain that I got a taxi from Logrono to Villatuerta Puente.  I continued to meet delightful fellow pilgrims.  I continued to meet delightful Spanish people.

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This was me being treated as a member of the family while I was having dinner in Villatuerta Puente 

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The Camino looked like this just after dawn on Saturday 20 April 2013.  Most of my fellow peregrinos were still in bed.

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I took this photo of the Camino about 45 minutes after I left Torres Del Rio.  This was near the start of a very, very long uphill climb.

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This photo was taken on the outskirts of Logrono on 20 April. 

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Me with fellow peregrino Susanne in Logrono on 20 April. 

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The wonderful family who made sure I ate well in the evening of that Saturday 20 April.

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Diary Entry Made on Saturday 20 April 2013 at 5.26 pm

I arrived at Navarette at about 2:45 after getting to Logrono at about 12:45 pm.  Once again, I set out in the dark at about 6:30 am and once again I initially had trouble in finding the way marks.  I also had trouble finding the way marks when I left Villatuerta Puente yesterday morning.  It was very cold again today and I wore gloves for most of the walking time.

At about 7:30 am a very pleasant man called Boyco caught up with me and walked with me to Viana.  Boyco is from Bulgaria and now works as a media lawyer in London.  I suspect he deliberately slowed down to my pace to give me some company.  We arrived in Viana at about 9:15 am and stopped for breakfast.  2.75 hours at about 4 kilometres per hour means we walked about 11 kilometres before having breakfast.  Check the distance in Brierley.  [Note: the distance as calculated by Brierley from Torres Del Rio to Viana is actually 11.8 kilometres.]

At Viana I met an English lady called Suzanne.  Suzanne was from Devon.  She had caught a bus from Los Arcos to Viana.  I walked with Suzanne from Viana to Logrono.  At one point I asked Suzanne if her name was Christine.  I knew it was either Suzanne or Christine but I couldn't remember which.  Suzanne said that her name was Suzanne but that a male she regularly meets through going to work always calls her Christine even though she always corrects him.

Hmm.  What was I intuiting here?

After a long break in Logrono to rest, I caught a taxi to Navarette about 12.5 kilometres from Logrono.  A delightful French couple were working as volunteers on reception.  They gave me a bed to myself that did not have an upper bunk to it.  How very thoughtful of them.  I rested from 3:30 to 5:00 then stripped the bindings off the feet and showered.  The feet were no worse than they were apart from a new blister on the upper outside of the left foot.  It doesn't interfere with walking and is fine.  The right foot still has two blisters and an abrasion sore on top of the little toe.  Strapping the feet and everything else I am doing seems to be holding the feet together and I should be able to walk through these difficulties.

The thighs have now stopped screaming at me.  That is the real benefit from walking only about 21 kilometres today.

Tomorrow is Sunday.  The albergue rules say that there are to be no departures before 7:00 am.  Yahoo!  I have about 29 kilometres to cover tomorrow.

Distance Walked Today: 20.6 kilometres.

Distance Actually Covered Today by Taxi: 12.4 kilometres.

Total Distance Walked So Far: 162.3 kilometres.

Total Distance Covered So Far: 174.7 kilometres including the 12.4 kilometres by taxi.

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Soul Song Number 7 - Rolling Wheels

(20 April 2013)

In pain you limped out of the albergue in the morning dark.

Straight away you were lost again.

You retraced your steps and once again you found The True Path.

Up the hill you went,

Your stride lengthening as your feet and legs complied with your demands.

Ignore the pain and do your duty.

That was what you required of them.

That is what they did.

Your feet and legs moved in steady motion,

One foot following another.

The path stretched before you.

Onwards, always onward.

Upward, always upward.

At first the slope was not steep,

Simply continuous.

Then it became both steep and continuous.

Walking was hard work.

Unnoticed at first, you had company,

A gift to help the kilometres pass and block out the pain.

Soon you were in Viana,

Having coffee and eagerly making food disappear.

As you left Viana, your guide changed.

Now it is the turn of Suzanne to look after you.

After the usual swirl of hours, another miracle occurred.

You were in Logrono.

That is where the real miracle occurred.

Rolling wheels whirred you to Navarette.

No taxi ride ever felt so good.

Wonderful wheels, rolling you to your next bed.

Your completely blessed next bed.

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Soul Song Number 8 - The Look

(20 April 2013)

We were in a restaurant in Navarette.

It nestled in a back room behind the front bar.

Tapas dishes decorated the bar counter.

They were eye catching and self evidently delicious.

Loving hands had made them in a home kitchen.

The owners of the bar/ restaurant had that rare camaraderie,

The friendship that only genuine long term lovers can have.

They were polite and courteous,

Always attentive.

A younger woman hovered at our table,

Attending to some detail of our order.

While she hovered,

Her mother spoke to her.

The young woman said nothing.

She simply looked at the mother and smiled a look of pure love.

It made the evening glow with joy for everyone in the restaurant.

Love can do that.

Blog No. 196 - Camino Soul Songs Part 6: 7 March 2025

On the 19th of April 2013, I walked from Villatuerte Puente to Torres Del Rio, a distance of about 30.5 kilometres if you do not get lost and have to retrace your steps.  The mountains had disappeared by now, but the continuous walking was starting to take its toll on me.  The blisters on my feet were so very sore and my body felt as if it was in a state of terminal exhaustion – but I kept going.  Pilgrimage is a way of learning exactly who you are and that is always painful.  I rebandaged my feet and replastered them in the ointments.  The pain from my feet remained intense – and the start of the day’s walking was especially painful.  Once again, when I arrived at the albergue at the end of the day’s walking, I could barely stand.

By the end of the walk on that fifth day, my body was in shock – even though I had been a bush walker for at least 15 years by then.  Walking for a limited number of days is completely different from making your body walk continuously all day, every day.

My wife Margaret thought I was crazy to do this to myself.  Those reading this blog might think the same.

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On Friday the 19th of April 2013, I once again started walking before dawn and I took this photo just as dawn was starting.

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This is me while en route to Torres Del Rio on the 19th of April 2013.  My feet were much sorer than the day before and the aches throughout my body had got much worse.  Although the Camino took us through countryside that was far less steep than on previous days, my body was aching continuously by this stage.

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This is some of the very pretty Spanish countryside that I walked through on 19th of April.  

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John and Peter, Australian peregrinos with whom I walked that Friday.

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As an Australian, anything that is more than 100 years old is ancient.  Walking the Camino was a culture shock.  Knowing in your mind that other countries have existed for centuries is different from walking through countryside that is studded with buildings that are ALL hundreds of years old – or older.  This brought home to me just how young Australia is as a country.

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I had plenty of company as I toiled my way through the cold and rain towards Torres Del Rio on 19 April 2013.  Even in mid April, there were multitudes of peregrinos walking the Camino, but there were still plenty of beds in the albergues.

Diary Entry Made on Friday 19 April 2013 at 6:12 pm

I am now at Torres Del Rio, after yet another long day.  Today was very cold and more or less a continuous grind - interspersed with beautiful countryside.  At least the continuous stony ground seems to have gone away for now.

I started walking at 6:30 am in the dark and got here at 3:45 pm.  Two short stops for coffee and one longer one for orange juice and omelette roll (boccadillo).  I walked for much of the day with two separate groups of Australians.  John and Peter were Catholics from Melbourne.  A separate group of four pilgrims were from Melbourne and have walked together for years.  I am not sure about that particular group.

I walked first with the group of four and then walked ahead to walk with John and Peter.  The group of four were behind us - perhaps 100 metres.  The three of us at one point came to a T junction where there was no Camino direction sign.  We realised at this juncture that we must have missed a turn and we retraced our steps about one kilometre until we found where the Camino had diverged from the track that we had continued on.  Later that day I left John and Peter in Arcos where they checked into an albergue.  I wanted to travel on but I stopped for a lunch break.  The group of four Aussies sat down and joined me shortly after I had sat down.  One of them asked me how long it had taken before we had realised that we were on the wrong track.  Clearly they saw that we were going the wrong way but (apparently) didn't try to alert us that we were going the wrong way.  Perhaps they did try though and were unsuccessful in gaining our attention.  Who knows.  I would prefer to think that they did make an effort but failed.

I had three blisters on my right foot when I started walking this morning.  I applied roll on lubricant, second skin and taped the feet up thoroughly.  I was able to walk okay although both feet are extremely sore.

Tomorrow I aim for Navarette, beyond Logrono.

Distance Walked Today: 30.5 kilometres.

Total Distance Walked So Far: 141.7 kilometres.

Soul Song Number 6 - Blistering Cold

(19 April 2013)

Well, you prayed for relief from the heat.

Today you got it.

Although you started the day in your shirt and no jumper,

That didn't last long.

The drizzling rain might have quickly run out of energy,

But the cold was much more persistent.

The bitter cold came as a totally uninvited and unwanted guest.

At least three times you pulled your gloves on,

As shivering finger refused their lawful allegiance.

Yes it was cold,

Still it was a welcome relief from the heat.

By contrast, there was nothing welcome about the blisters.

Your feet didn't need the blisters.

Wasn't it enough that your legs ached?

And ached?

And ached?

Wasn't it enough that your back ached in sympathy with your legs?

You knew it didn't really matter though.

Weren't you growing closer to The Saint?

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