Camino Day 1: ¡Buen Camino!

On the Camino, you hear these words from alberge wardens, fellow walkers, and passers-by. It is these ritualistic elements taht make the walking experience different from any other. Everyone walks at their own pace and for their own reasons, but everyone is going to the same place. Everyone gets water at public fountains, sleeps in albergues, and, of course, follows the yellow arrows.

There are many much more scenic walks in Spain than this one. For part of my first day the road followed a highway and the rest of the time it wound through minor villages, fields and orchards along a dirt track. Some of the villages had old churches or statues, but were otherwise quite unexceptional.

I started walking while it was still dark, but found myself passing many people who started out even earlier. A cold foggy morning gave way to a gloomy and rainy day, but the orchards and vineyards provided apples and grapes to cheer me up. A "café con leche", or, rather, a glass of steamed milk with a double shot of expresso, also went a long way to keep me alert.

I ate a big lunch at one of the larger towns and immediately got so sick it was impossible to keep walking with my waist strap buckled. I sat for over an hour under a large chestnut tree and watched the rain intensify. Finally, I forced myself to get up and walk the last 11km to the next albergue.

When I arrived, an hour before sunset, I found only one other lodger and no caretaker. I picked one of the many empty dorm rooms to drop my pack and changed into some dry clothes. There was a computer with internet access in the lobby, but, after a few futile attempts at guessing the access password, I gave up and decided to go to sleep.