Gibbo`s leaving do.
Selina slaved over the oven and produced a beautiful risotto.
Gibbo donated a bottel of Tequilla to the cause...
...and saussison.
There is a tense game involving burning a tissue holding a
penny over a cocktail of liqour...
...a game of arrogance that ends badly for Selina and Ollie....
...and too much table dancing.
It does'nt matter what game this is, a two is NEVER a good card to have.
Christopher is put through his paces, and we later find out that this was one of his favourite
nights travelling since he left the UK.
The beautiful Pamplona.
Running of the Bulls, Pamplona, 2012.
Our last morning after the carnage and before Gibbo left.
Band photo, second album.
Organic, affordable fruit and veg.
A luxury unfortuantly not afforded to Britian.
Pamplona was the first city that we had walked through. None of us were prepared for the long,
dull and tedious walk that awaited us on the other side of the city. The guide books don't tell you about the motorways, A roads and urban sprawl that has taken over parts of the Camino. Luckily though, after about an hour we hit countryside again.
We decided to camp on the edge of a farmers field. The field has not been ploughed for
what looks like at least a year and we feel it is a safe site as it is next to the Camino.
That night we all leave a few posessions outside of our tents.
Everything is stolen.
These include 12 eggs, crisps, my favourite buscuits and Christopher`s pocket rocket.
Not good when there are no shops for miles in every direction.
owned within the first week,
so I am on sewing duty.
Massive cairn...we could still be on track.
Spain.
Biggest export- mud and rocks.
There are grave sites on route all along the Camino.
Some are for people who died en route, others for the memory of those who walked the Camino.
A small Spanish grave yard.
On top of a huge hill there is this.
Mud and rocks for as far as the eye can see.
Once again the Camino is poorly signed.
Sadly there is no scale, but this bad boy was about 6 cm long.
After we left this town we found an idylic campsite near the river far away from the Camino. Early in the day anouther Pilgrim had warned us not to camp as a big storm was coming in. We ignored him.
At camp we had a well earned dinner (me and Anthony slaved over our wood burning stove for 3 hours, only for Anthony to drop the pasta on the floor).
After dinner the storm began. Heavy rain and fast winds headed the largest storm any of us had ever camped in. For three hours the tents were lit almost continuously with lightning and thunder bellowed. Being near a river, and knowing of the recent flash floods in Spain I had begun making emergency plans to climb the trees. Luckliy it did not come to that and even Ollie`s tent survived.
Ollie, Selina and Christopher decided to take a rest day. Me and Anthony decided to crack on and meet everyone at the next town in two days time.
Our first stop was one of my favourite, the fountain of free wine.
Spain`s attempt at tackling under aged drinking on the Camino.
After the free wine me and Anthony missed these three massive arrows and walked in the
wrong direction for 2 km.
This was at the end of a very testing and difficult day. After walking the wrong way for 2 km it began to rain.
It rained all day, cold sheets of rain, coupled with raging winds. It took a lot to make it though the day
especially with the extra 2 kg of weight that the rain added to our bags. At one point I insisted that I wanted to leave the Camino and go to the South of Spain.
Camp Gibbo, in memory of Gibbo.
We found this site after the first south of Spain moment. The following day Ollie, Selina and Christopher joined us.
Surprisingly, it rained all day again.
Yet despite the rain we managed to make a fire and keep it going all day.
Take that Spain.
Anthony working for "man" points.
Ollie trying to dry his shoe like marshmellows over the fire,
despite much warning from everyone.
Ollie`s shoes burnt like marshmellows.
Camplife. Trying to dry EVERYTHING after an epic three days of solid rain.
Sunset at the camp.
My Gibbo sign for Ollie, Selina and Christopher at the entrance of our hidden Camp Gibbo.
Selina walking with goats.
Camino robots, working to kill all pilgrams.
The road to San Juan and a special pub.....
After visiting the pub for three hours we walked for two hours in the dark to find a campsite. We had no idea where we ended up until the next morning when this sunrise lit up a beautiful valley just below us.
Two hour lunch break to wash all our clothes.
"Buen Camino"
So, so much of our time was spent running from the rain and chasing the elusive blue skys of Northen Spain.
After much discussion we managed to persuade the Albergue to open a room just for us.
It is good to know blonde hair and a smile still goes far when travelling.
Awesome Camino graffiti.
Anthony trying to raise funds.
Our last camp with Christopher; two weeks in and I finally got to do fire duty.
Dinner turned out way more apetising than it looks.
Feast day. Selina and I spent the best part of two hours in the supermarket with promise of fajitas and apple crumble for dinner. The fajitas materialised but too much alcohol was consumed for Ollie to consume his fabled earth-cooked apple crumble.
This is what Ollie and Anthony did while we got the shopping.
Woodland Olympics.
That should do it.
We were moved on by the park ranger at around 4pm to an offical campsite. After this much vino was consumed and the night ended in a dance off and star gazing.
Good times.
Good times.
Legend has it that this guy just walks up and down the Camino month after month.
We later found out that he lives nearby and the council pays him to walk in his costume for publicity.
Everything is turned into a golf course.
Team Camino.
More rocks, mud and vine yards.
The weather changed so much in this one day that there was both sun and a storm ahead of us. Luckily the sun won by time we got to this.
Emma, Santa Marta, Colombia, 20 January 2013
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