Ground control to Major Tom, Ground control to Major Tom, Take your protein pills and put you helmet on

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June 22nd - Santa Catalina to Foncebadon



We all sleep in til 6:30 - have a quick cafe con leche grande and hit the road. My goal today is Rabanal my wish is Foncebadon. It is a steady climb all day today from 1,000m to 1450m if I can tough it out to Foncebadon - a total of about 17km of steep ascent.



I start off slowly and keep that pace - I stop at the first small village and get another cafe con leche, nectarine, banana and some raisins and walnuts. I reach Rabinal by 10:30 - I am making good time and decide to push on to a Foncebadon.



I am heading up the pass of Irago a very steep climb of 300m over 5.8km. Half way up I am panting, sweating and second guessing my decision. By stretching my feet on this stage I will leave only 2km to Cruz de Ferro tomorrow and give myself a chance to cross the two peaks and complete most of the steep decent without getting stuck on top if the weather is bad - I am not kitted out to stay up top.



The Camino throws all it has at me - annoying flies in the pines and bees by the thousands in all the bushes that guard the 3 ft wide pass - I am allergic to bee stings and did not bring an epipen - I did bring some Benadryl - I could throw the pills at them if they decide to swarm ( is it Spanish or African killer bees ). There are also very narrow rocky sections and washed out muddy / wet sections where mountain springs intersect the path - I would not want to be on this pass in stormy / rainy weather. As with other steep climbs the ascent seems never ending but as I have learned all of a sudden it does and I reach the top and my goal Foncebadon.



It takes me 30 minutes to find an open Albergue -La Posada del Druida - I hope there are no weird spirits at this Albergue - it is ok and I take a bunk, have a shower and do a wash and as always tend to my feet then catch up on my blog. I see no one I know so I head to the local bar - it is 1:45 - Cervesa time.



I invite myself to sit with a German man - Manfred - I get a cervesa grande and we tell stories - he is 65 - recently retired - and as his wife of 45 years has two new knees is walking alone. He has two kids, three grand kids and they all live in the same building - each family with their own separate unit. We both are hopeful that the weather is good for the 2km walk to Cruzo de Ferro and onward - apparently there may still be still snow at the apex. Doreen and Meaghan - mom and daughter from Irelandi bunking in my room are going to hike the 4km now in case of weather problems in the morning - ahh young feet...



Manfred has experienced the same foot grief (as do the majority of pilgrims) and has also been forced to skip a few stages. We book the same table at the bar for our pilgrim's dinner. I head back to my Albergue to continue to work on my blog - Sally I now appreciate all the effort you put into your blogs. I still can't figure out why some of my pictures are sideways / upside down - this blogging is a struggle for me but I also realize that if I don't I will forget too much.



The flies are relentless up at these altitudes we are in cow/sheep country again - the wind and cool breezes don't even stop them. The bunk rooms seem to.be their safe haven - how will we sleep tonight?



The pilgrim's meal is excellent and heartily consumed - a lentil soup followed by a beef stew, peas and a rice/ milk dessert and as always accompanied by the local wine and bread. I will have gout by the end of this walk..



Piss off of the day - I always wake up in the middle of the night to snoring (never my own) to discover one of my earplugs is missing - I can only find it in the morning usually on the floor in the middle of the bunk room - how does it get there?



Tip of the day - less is more



Blessing of the day - my feet and I have made a truce... For now



Fun event of the day - when I stopped for cafe con leche in the first small village I needed to use the washroom - the shop owner graciously offered me her washroom (have I mentioned how nice Spanish people are) as my visit extended to 15 minutes - she waited til I came out to make my cafe con leche no questions asked - I left her a 2€ tip which she wouldn't accept - I left it on the outside table for her - I couldn't figure out how to gesture to this sweet woman that there was no toilette paper left.

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Ground Control
Keith your "selfies" are priceless! And your ending your blogs with a blessed even of the day including the toilet paper was hilarious. Obviously the one thing everyone needs on the El Camino is a huge sense of humor to keep one forging ahead. You may need to get your own "doudou" before you come home. Sal 'n Al xo