Crossing Hills in the Heat
Last night after posting, I opened the closet and was excited to see a fan. I plugged it in, turned it on, and I discovered the fan was a heater. The last thing I needed was to raise the temperature in my hotel room. Fortunately, a passing rainstorm lowered the temperature a bit and I slept well.
The distance today was only a little more than 11 miles. The challenge came from the terrain and trails. Lots of time was spent going up and down hills. Walking surfaces ranged from paved road, to exposed roots, rock outcroppings, and even a portion where it looked like clay roof tiles were crushed to form a surface. I don't know how people manage some of these steep gradients without trekking poles. Then again, many people have been raised running up and down these same trails.
As usual, it was a mad rush for everyone to get started as early as possible this morning to beat the heat. Temperatures rose rapidly from the mid 60s to the mid 90s again. Every mile walking in cooler temperatures was a victory. The crowd quickly thinned out as faster walkers moved ahead, while others lagged behind. There is no judgment involved. Each person does the Camino trail at their own pace, in their own way.
Today there was some trail time through the woods, which put me in the shade. Still, every step had to be measured in certain places and progress was very slow. I tried to avoid looking too far ahead for what to expect. It doesn't really matter whether I know there's a big hill ahead or not—I'm going to have to climb it just the same. Often, going down steep inclines was more challenging and more precarious.
It's always an interesting experience to see a village up ahead and try to figure out how long it's going to take you to get there. I've never been right about this. The path turns and rises and falls again, always adding to the time it takes. There is a huge difference in effort required to go up and down the trail, as compared to walking on a flat surface in Florida. My legs are becoming reacquainted with what it takes to do this kind of hiking.
There were a few times I was tempted to cheat a little. When I checked my GPS I saw that the trail goes up and down a hill, while the road loops around casually, making it a much easier walk. Like I said, I was tempted, but I came here to do the trail and I stuck with it.
With everyone moving at their own speed based on their condition and skill set, there wasn't a lot of shared walking time. During the last two miles I ran into a young woman originally from Argentina, who had decided to move to France to live and work. Fortunately her English skills were better than my French or Spanish. Her name is Rocio, and since we finished before check-in time for our separate accommodations, we shared an end-of-day beer. The place was packed with people who had finished earlier and also had nowhere else to go. Two days into this walk and folks are already beginning to recognize each other.
Today I sustained my first injury. It was minor and had nothing to do with walking. I checked into my accommodation for the night, which happens to be an Airbnb. As I was going down the stairs, the frame of my glasses hit a cross-hatched band across a low ceiling that I didn’t see. It's tough to cover up something like that when you're bald.
I'm also having issues with baggage transport. The porters are great. I just can't seem to get my stuff down to the proper weight. I thought I packed very lightly. This is not the first time I've traveled. Now it feels much like the scene in the World War II movies where the airplane is losing altitude and they have to throw everything out to lighten the load. I'm getting rid of anything that's not essential. What I can't get rid of, I'm trying to transfer to my day pack. But there's a limit to how much it can hold, and to how much weight I can carry while walking the trail.
I joke that the heavier the pack gets, the better workout I'm getting. But, when it's 96 degrees out, and you're going up a 30-degree incline over exposed roots, it's hard to see the humor. It'll all be fine. Tomorrow’s walk is about 18 miles, but it levels off pretty quickly for the most part.
When I originally walked the Camino across Spain, I would occasionally see a pair of shoes left along the side of the road. I wonder if those folks faced the same challenges I am having with luggage transport. Tomorrow is do or die. They will weigh my bag one more time and if I'm still overweight I'll have to pay twice the price to throw a few things into a second small bag. I can't think of anything else I can leave behind. Dealing with some challenges is all part of the adventure. The company has been great. This is all on me. The lesson I've learned here is to take my packed bag somewhere and weigh it with a more accurate scale than the one I have in my bathroom at home.
Check-in time is a little later tomorrow evening—not until 5 p.m. There's no rush for me to cover the distance, so I expect to take breaks more frequently than I did today. Of course, this section covers areas where a community’s population may be in the single digits. So whatever I have in my bag will pretty much be what I have for the day.
I've already picked out a shop across the street where I'll get something good for breakfast. The bread and pastries so far have been phenomenal. Burning all the calories while I walk gives me license to indulge in things that I normally wouldn't eat.
