Gernika to Lezama September 3, 2010 (22 kms)

What a day this was. It started with a pretty good climb up a steep hill - which is beginning to be the normal warm up to the day for this route. We had been guided out of the town by several people who stopped their car or left what they were doing to come and point out the way to us. These people are incredibly friendly and helpful and we hear this is typical of the Basque area.
We seemed to climb and climb and climb again this day. Early in the morning we soon found ourselves above the mist that was rising from the forests in the early morning sun rise. The colors were golden through the forest, You could look down and see the clouds below and the mountains in the distance and it was a feeling of being in another world. In the distance, we could hear the chain saws occassionally as the wood cutters felled trees in the lower areas. And in the upper pastures, again we came across cows and goats and sheep with their bells ringing in the distance. The silence at these times is profound and it is actually a truly meditative and spiritual experience to walk like this, espeically in the early morning.
The weather continues to be warm and sunny, pretty hot actually, so we are drinking lots of water and stopping to rest frequently. By afternoon it is about 28C. The ground is dry and so easy to walk across the difficult area. I cannot imagine this walk in the heavy rain.
We are quite a group of pilgrims now and as usually happens, we are making friends from so many different countries. The main language seems to be French, as that is the common denominator. So when I find an english speaking person, it is quite a heady experience. It makes me realize how limited I am in speaking one language with a smattering of French here and there.
We arrived in Lezamo in good time, by 1 pm actually, and then proceeded with our next phase for the day which I will write about in another post as it was such an adventure.
We have been walking for close to one week now and the kms are piling up. I have been thinking about the walk as I go and it seems much more challenging to be pensive as I am concentrating so hard on the difficulty of the pathways for most of the time. I do feel more relaxed as a result of the simple life though and am quite into the rythm of the pilgrim life, much earlier than on the 2008 camino.
Maggee

Markina to Gernika (30kms) Sept 2, 2010

Well, we found all of the long routes today and without even trying. We walked the first 12kms up the asphalt road to save Kirsten some hill climbing. We were warned that the hills from Markina were very steep and not necessary if you walked up the highway for about 5 kms. This turned out to be 12 kms for us which was fine as the smaller road was lovely up through the pine forests and not much traffic. Today we walked so many hills, I lost count. It is quite spectacular to walk in the forests, often climbing up pathways that are beds of pine needles and so the scent is intoxicating. We were directed along a variety of pathways, sometimes they are tractor routes, other times narrow trails through the woods. For awhile this morning we walked along a small stream for quite a long ways. It felt like a meditation experience to be in the woods with the animals´ bells sounding in the distance and the stream nearby.
We were exhausted by the time we arrived in Gernika, having followed the yellow arrows which took us up and up and around the mountain before coming down into the town. We waited with other pilgrims for the albeque to open at 4 pm and were shocked and annoyed to find that is a place that charged pilgrims a bargain price of E20 for a bed. The bonus is that the bed has sheets, but we are still in a small room with 6 others and the shower/toilet ratio is 2 to every 18 pilgrims. It feels like a real rip off! There is a place somewhere in the town in a big building where there are mats on the floor and the lodging is free. Quite frankly we were all so tired by the time we got into this place, I just could not imagine walking another 3 kms to check out the free space - so here we are in clean white sheets and an expensive night.
We are meeting very interesting people and having great conversations. Some of these pilgrims are very serious hikers, one having walked from her home in Switzerland, another from Paris and the Swiss woman walking alone, is planning to walk back again to a total of about 4 months of travel. So many people become addicted to this kind of walking and just keep on coming back for the experience of the walk and the community of international friends that is generated.
Tomorrow we will have shorte day of about 22 kms. We have covered over 125kms as of today and are getting in the swing of it now. The hills are something!! and we are actually walking over the Pyrenees, up and down all day long. But the scenery and the environments are fantastic. You can only see these things by walking and you can only meet people like this on such a pilgrimage.
I am finding this to be a much more relaxing experience than the pilgrimage that I did 2 years ago, mostly because I am confident of how to do it every day and also that I am so free of the stress that I was dealing with at that time. It is a special experience to just walk and absorb the environment, watch for the views and notice the small things along the way that are there to observe.
We are planning to take a bus right through Bilboa the day after tomorrow, not wanting to mix the experience of being a pilgrim with being a tourist and the walk through the city is tough with the industrial areas to pass.
More tomorrow
Maggee