El Camino, halfway through.

I just figured out how to get on here, after forgetting my password...here is a copy of the emails I have sent detailing the amazing journey Chip and I have had so far. More later.

Chip and I are currently located in Puente de la Reina. This was our third full day of hiking, and each day continue to get better.
After two full days of travel (plane, bus, train, and very little sleep) we landed in St. Jean Pied de Port, part of the French Pays Vasque, or Basque Country, rarín' to go. We stayed there one night, and walked around the tiny French hamlet in the free afternoon we had. Chip had a nearly uncontrollable urge to buy souvenirs, but I reminded him that we had little room and a lot of cities to go. SO the next day we woke up bright and early, 630, packed up, and set off in the darkness...

and let me tell you...it was amazing. The scenery was all red, white, and green, just like the Basque flag. Right away we began scaling a mountain that, well, didn´t end for 15 miles. Ouch. It wouldnt have been so bad, except for the fact that a) it was raining the whole time and cold, too and b) we ´made the mistake of thinking that cooking a lunch on the top of hte mountain would be great. We sat, staring at the water that was NOT boiling, until a kindly old French man came up, declared us ´desperate´´ and gave us some bread. But then we began descending and were slightly cheered by a Narnia-esque wood forest, steamy and warmer.

Roncesvalles, across the border in spain, was nothing but a church, albeit a beautiful old stone one...we slept in a room with 100 beds, but it was clean and cheap.... we set off the next day and passed through several tiny Basque villages, lunched on chorizo, cheese, bread, granola...whatever we could find, really. We stopped in Zubiri, a mile short of that nights stop and made friends with a lady who drove us to the only open bar in town and then proceeded to take us two miles to pamplona so we could get an edge on the next stage and spend more time enjoying the city.

I don´t want to take anymore of your time...next was pamplona, and highlights were the overwhelming feeling of nostalgia, the Fiesta in the suburban town of my friend, Eduardo ( a mini sanfermines, sans bulls), a day trip to san sebastian...then we did about 12 miles today.

More updates probably in a week or so...we are having so much fun, amazed by the variation of scenery and also all the things we have already seen and learned. WE are about to be in the heart of the La Rioja wine region, continuing along in Pais Vasco. Please pray for us. We miss you....as much as we can ;)
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Hola, again, everyone...
Marti and Chip here, with a short update. We took a small break
since the last time we spoke in order to tend to some tendonitis. We
spent a few days in Estella, nicknamed La Bella, and had various fun,
which included meeting a witch doctor, cooking beans and meat under
an ancient bridge like homeless people, and carrying handicapped
spanish ladies-that-might-be-serial-killers up their apartment stairs
and doing their chores for them.
So then we had to get back to the trail.
The landscape has been so so beautiful...one second we are walking
through lush vineyards, picking grapes off vines, the next,
desertlike (would be boring if it wasnt so breathtaking) terrain.
Sadly we have lost several of our hiking companions due to different
speeds, agendas, etc...the older british couple, Ian and Rose, that
we used to throw back cervezas with...Lucy and Rob, the korean girl
and welsh guy, with whom we romped around the cities...but the beauty
of this trip is that the surprises never end.
Chips birthday was the 26th, and we took a day off in Burgos, a large
city of about 100,000. The cathedral there was huge and amazing. I
have to pause here to say we had the best dinner EVER at a two'fork
restaurant...lamb, eggplant, and emmental lasagna, ham croquettes,
and sirloin with ham iberico (the expensive, acorn fed pigs meat from
spain ). MMM so good. I advise doing the camino when you are very
wealthy, but I guess that is contrary to the point. We are slowly
getting into the rhythm of things, learning how to balance meditative
walkingtime with chatty, singing, picture taking walking time. It is
amazing, being stripped of all the distractions you guys are in the
midst of.
Now we are in the province of Castilla y Leon, where the towns are
markedly more ghostly, the landscapes more similar, and the churches
stil breathtaking and old. Today was on the verge of rain, which
made the walk that much more beautiful, passing through the ruins of
an old convent. Ok. Enough.
We miss you all. Long vacations rule.
love,
marti y chip

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