the camino, day four
pamplona – puenta la reina: 21st june, 2010
daily: 23.6 kilometers (14.67 miles) – 47,461 steps
total: 94.5 kilometers (58.71 miles) – 235,559 steps
today was an interesting day. the walk out of pamplona was much smoother than the walk in..probably because its early in the morning and no one is awake yet. paco and mon met up with carminia and i and we strolled out around sevenish or so. what makes today interesting is that in general its supposed to be a short day, also because of the rain/mist from the previous day i am going to make up a lot of time with photographs and filming for kahleem. technically we weren’t supposed to have stopped in pamplona, according to the book we were using as a guide, we were supposed to go all the way to cizur menor…which essentially means today’s trip includes those four extra kilometers.
the camino, day three
larrasoaña – pamplona: 20th june, 2010
daily: 18.4 kilometers (11.4 miles) – 36,881 steps
total: 70.9 kilometers (44.1 miles) – 188,098 steps
i woke up absolutely refreshed! sort of.
my knees hurt, but not so much. i’m not much of a skeptic so i am completely praising the red oil at this point. although i can’t ignore the hot water, the real bed and the amazing cuisine from the night before. all ingredients into this pot of healing! we are up and packed by 7:30am. we had all reasoned there was no need for us to be leaving so early every day so we delayed our departure a bit…after all its a super short trip today.
the camino, day two
roncesvalles – larrasoaña: 19th june, 2010
daily: 27.7 kilometers (17.2 miles) – 88,059 steps
total: 52.5 kilometers (32.6 miles) – 151,217 steps
so yes…its true it seems. what goes up must come down at some point. my entire body is wracked with pain. not the, “holy shit i just got beat up pain”, but this deep internal throbbing. far more than a nuisance but far less than quitting material. if that makes any sense. yesterday’s trip over the mountain took a lot out of me. i want to say that looking backward i realize it was easy or some enlightening moment…but out of sheer honesty all i can think about is the fact that today’s walk is two or so miles longer than yesterday AND there are two massive downhills that may wreak havoc on already softened knees.
the camino, day one
st. jean pied de port (france) – roncesvalles (spain): 18th june, 2010
24.8 kilometers (15.4 miles) – 63,158 steps
today we set out on the camino just after 6am. its absolutely mind boggling when you look around and see that there are people from all over the world. people with completely different looks, ideas, religious perspectives, cultures and reasons all converge at a single starting point for a similar cause. consider the fact that any minor change in their plan or my plan, a single half day early or later and these people i see all around me…well i would never have seen them or met them or spoke to them or heard their voices in their native tongues.
my pilgrimage, paris
0 steps, 16th – 17th June, 2010
so carminia arrived today around noon. first thing we did after she settled in was get some food. i’m becoming more and more uncomfortable in this city. its ridiculous how much smoke there is…everywhere. at least that parisian rudeness everyone goes on about doesn’t seem to be too apparent. everyone seems to keep to themselves mostly, similar to new york. carminia and i roam about for most of the day, we check out the typically touristy things. the lourve, pont neuf from the bourne identity, notre dame. we stroll for a couple miles down rue elysees toward the arc de triomphe. today is a pretty quick day…tomorrow we start the actual pilgrimage so rest is necessary.
my pilgrimage, paris
0 steps, 15th June, 2010
today i arrive in paris. i won’t lie my immediate feeling wasn’t the one broadcasted to us in television programs where you enter this supposedly magical city and are suddenly overwhelmed with feelings of joy and euphoria. i actually wasn’t very impressed. i mean don’t get me wrong, its an absolutely beautiful city visually. the near symmetrical ways the buildings line the streets and avenues, and the way they seem to “sun beam” from central points in circular fashions. the colors, also, seem to layer as though each building was built with the ones before and after it in mind. unfortunately, these things fade quickly…the visually stimulating i mean, and as a new yorker what is then left…well…
my pilgrimage, london town
days three – seven, 0 steps, 11th – 15th June, 2010
the days pass quickly believe it or not. each day involves a new portion of london that gemma reveals to me. she knows me and knows that food is the glue that keeps my skin surrounding me. she took me to “mother mash”, the only request i really made of her, so i could get some “banger’s and mash”, proper london style:
- farmer’s gravy
- cumberland sausage
- traditional mash
equates to a fantastic meal that conquers hunger, curiosity and a wine induced hangover. we also ate at nando’s one of the afternoons. its like a ghetto pio pio, but pretty good. portugese i think. i met her sister and hung out with them at a pub when the US was playing england. extremely interesting feeling being the alien in the room. with all the rumors of rowdy soccer hooligans, you can imagine the tingles i would get each time i found myself cheering…and then realizing i was the only one doing so.
my pilgrimage, london town
day two, 0 steps, 10th June, 2010
day two is much different than day one. i am out and about roaming the city taking in the sites and people watching with gemma. i put out a beacon to the others i know in london but no one else is available for the moment. its to be expected i suppose, i did arrive on a week day. it actually works out really well though because gemma has some errands to run later in the day and i am going to use that time to see priya. gem takes me to a place called em cafe, i might be spelling it wrong, i don’t really know. this is a good place. a place of good food and happiness.
my pilgrimage, london town
day one, 0 steps, 9th June, 2010
so i am starting off in london. i have friends here that have been trying to get me to visit for years. i figured since i was heading to that region i’d kill two birds with one stone and start in london. plan worked out great since the cheapest one-way overseas was to london. i exited the plane and streamed through customs. seems the one-way ticket didn’t raise as many red flags as i thought it would. gemma met me at the airport. i saw her smile from across the entire exit hall (of course it could have been from what she was reading, i forgot to ask). within moments she presented me with one of the biggest hugs i’ve ever received and a strange plastic card case with an ikea logo on it. it was an oyster card and would allow me unlimited travel around london. ahhhh gemma.