Ya ya ya ya staying alive staying alive

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I would like to tell you the time I woke up on Friday but the fact of the matter is to wake up you would have had to sleep. We retired from the great dinner to our 6 person bunk room - three women and three men - Tanya was kind enough to take the top bunk. The young Australian kid Angus (about 25) and Damian ( ex military) - from Ireland had a snoring fight to the death - none of the other 4 of us slept - I tried my earplugs from every possible angle except shoving them down their throats - it would not have been very Christian .



We were advised we could not take showers in the morning and that we had to report for continental breakfast - a baguette, butter & jam - for 7 sharp. We were given bowls and lined up like Oliver Twist for what we hoped would be a hot cereal - the bowl was in fact for weak coffee or tea. We ate - packed up our backpacks and left for Roncesveaux. The climb today would be from 780m to 1400m over the mountain and then down to 950m - mostly on trails. We carried a ham & cheese baguette supplied by the auberge.



We set off @ 7:30 with not quite as much enthusiasm as yesterday, very tired but with new found friends. As we climbed we thinned out - it soon became clear who the walkers were - Damian could clearly be seen way out front and the peloton consisting of mostly younger adults and experienced walkers was slipping off his pace - Tanya and I were in with the rear guard trudgers.



The scenery was breathtaking again today although this was finely tempered with the reality that often six or ten feet to our right were drop offs of hundreds of feet - yes another one of my curses - I am morbidly afraid of heights. Cows and sheep thinned out to none (as did my confidence) - I saw looks of concern in their eyes as I passed them..



The climbing seemed unending - more stunning views.



I am able to walk faster than Tanya uphill - all those years of biking to work have paid off - we pull each other along though - I lead going up and downhill - Tanya pulls me along into our Camino daily stop as I run out of gas.



Tanya lugs the IPad - it is the only technology we have - our only camera. Tanya can not pull it out of her pack without taking off her back pack - we need to be together so that I can take it out of her pack when we want to take pictures. As this stage is all climbing and downhill I am always ahead - as such we have no pictures for this stage - it would have been too dangerous for Tanya to attempt to do this acrobatic feat on her own at these heights. Too be honest we both were too focused at the task at hand - staying alive to even think of pictures.



We finally reached the summit and thought we were home free - only the decent to go - 1400m to 950m. We were dead wrong - when I reached the summit I waited for Tanya - the wind was so strong my Tilley hat was blowing off my head - the winds reached to gusts of over 100 km as we descended. We were in a group of about 8 people scrunching down on a 2 ft walking ledge - we all felt we could be blown off the mountain at any time - I was the only one to be blown on to my side and into a thistle thicket - why had I not read about this wind in any of the books I read. It seemed like an eternity to get to the bottom.



Three people were seriously injured today - one pilgrim broke his nose and bruised his face falling on a rock - one was taken by ambulance to hospital and a third had to be trauma coptered out - we never heard how hurt they were. Tanya over extended / went over on her knee - it has been a concern since - she wraps a tensor bandage on it every day and often resorts to walking backwards downhill to take pressure of it.



We finally reached the bottom and arrived at Roncesveaux. We booked a bunk at the famous albergue that Martin Sheen stayed in while filming " the way "- run by the collegiate church in an old gothic building - it was originally a medieval pilgrim hospital that can accommodate over 300 pilgrims - I can see why - pilgrims were probably blown off that mountain in high numbers until the backpack was discovered to keep them anchored down.



We booked a pilgrims meal at the local hotel - ate - went to a pilgrim's mass in the beautiful royal collegiate church of St Mary then went back to bunks looking forward to a much needed sleep.



That's it for today kind reader.



Piss off of the day - strong winds



Tip of the day - don't look down



Blessing of the day - not being blown off the mountain / meeting another fear head on



Funny event of the day - as we reached the summit a French film crew was filming us as we trudged up the path. We all tried to look our most pilgrimy - I actually stopped gasping for air as I walked by hoping to look very nonchalant.

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Comments

[Shane]

Awesome
Love reading your blog Dad! :)

[Sal & Al]

What an incredible journey; trying, scary and yet inspirational Keith. Love the pics, and we are enjoying your amazing journey...Traveling with strangers takes a lot of strength and patience!! And for god sakes be careful!!! (I hope you are receiving our replies.) Sal & Al

[Home and Away]

I was thinking of doing the Camino with family...
but would it be better to go alone so that I would meet more strangers? I note that you and Tanya depend upon each other for encouragement and logistics (getting the Ipad out of the backpack), so perhaps having one family member would be good. If showers are not allowed in the morning, do you take them in the evening, or do you just give up taking showers? How much does it cost for a bunk and meals at the albergue? I hadn't read about the winds either, so already your blogs are more informative that others I have read.