April 24th and 25th, St Jean and beyond

I flew from London Stanstead airport to Biarritz in the South of France, Great flight with Easyjet with no bumps and bangs but getting through the system to get on the flight was a nightmare that took nearly 1 hour and 45 minutes, A stressful start to the journey, I noticed a few people on the plane with backpacks and some even had walking poles with them which surprised me as i did not think they were allowed on board, You could tell the pilgrims but 1,backpack,2,convertible trousers and 3 hiking boots, We were met at Biarritz airport by express bourcot taxi and after an hour we were in St Jean Pied de Port where i had a reservation at L'Esprit De Chemin or the spirit of the way, Very very friendly owner, I was in a room with 2 others, Brian from Canada and Sarah from New Zealand, We popped across the road to the pilgrims office and collected our Pilgrims passports that will get a stamp wherever we stop or stay along the route, We got our first stamp in the passport there and the 2nd and 3rd in our accommodation, The reason for 2 stamps there was that it was a special occasion, The owner was to hand over to a new owner that night so plenty of tears from them as we toasted their futures, Before we ate we all had turns in standing up and telling everybody where we had come from, Our names and why we were doing the Camino, There were a few grasps when i explained that i had 4 brothers with Cancer and that 2 had passed away and a lot of interest of the fund raising, We had people from all over the world walking and lots of wine flowed that night,
I found it hard to sleep that night, I felt somewhat out of my comfort zone and probably had 3 hours total, The weather was pretty dire and rain lashed against the window most of the night, The pilgrims office showed a possibility of snow at the high elevations that night which was a worry, The next morning we were told that it was clear, I had hoped to have a late start as i had booked a night at an Aurberge in the mountains called Orission, I walked around the town that evening taking some pictures and hoped to take more the next morning, Brian had met another Canadian and had arranged to start the walk at 8am, The weather in the morning was pretty lousy so i set off with them, 8km or around 6 miles does not sound far but it was steep or that should have been STEEEEEP, I ended up walking alone as Brain was suffering with the incline as he has had new hips, It took me a lung bursting 2 hours and 45 minutes, The views were tremendous and there was a couple of surprises in store as around 30 Griffin Vultures swopped past countless times catching thermals off the side of the mountains, It was a shame that my camera did not have good tracking abilities but i did get some Vulture in habitat shots, The accommodation was a welcome sight and a grabbed a coffee creme and local tart which was Delicious, The accommodation was great and the views spectacular, If you are walking the camino this place is a must, The weather cleared and we managed to sit outside with some cold beers and enjoy the views, You meet a lot of people from all over the world and everybody has a tale to tell, Once again lots of great food and wine flowed,
Beautiful St Jean

 

 

 

 First Beer in France

 Camino marker in the cobbled street

 Follow the red route to Orisson

 

 Brian and Francis

Brian and Myself

 Dave 

To the beginning of the journey

Sorry for the late blogs but there is a total lack of WI-FI where i have been for the last couple of days, Lets start at the beginning, I was in the UK for 2 days, The first day after landing was a rest day and try to stay awake to get over the jet lag which is always difficult and a horrible feeling, I somehow managed it and the next day i drove down to see my 91 year old Dad who unfortunately did not know who i was as he has dementure, I stayed a while before driving to see my eldest brother who recently has had a large brain tumour removed, I was happy to see that he is making a good recovery and i could see the old self in him, Still a long way to go but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, Everything was a blur and i rushed around trying to get the last odds and ends sorted as i was flying off the next day

My brother Michael with his Daughter Nicola

The Journey begins

I left a nice warm and sunny Raleigh NC yesterday and had a very nice night flight to London UK, The weather in the UK is not as good but as i am here only 2 days its not a problem, Its just grey but at least its dry, Never one to miss a photo opportunity i had the camera out during the flight and watched the sun set and sun rise,

As we were coming into land the air condensed over the wings and i managed to get the shot just as we touched down,

I am wearing my new boots and insoles so that they should be well broken in by the time i start walking on Friday,
I have been checking the weather where i start the walk and fingers crossed its looking OK but things change quickly in the mountains, I will be keeping all fingers and toes crossed

Dave

2 steps foward 1 step back

Its getting very close, Just a few days before i fly, I have just about crossed every t and dotted every i, Today i had confirmation that i have a place in a taxi to be collected from Biarritz airport and taken to St Jean Pied De Port, Luckily there are a few people and the cost came down from 72 Euros if i was alone to just 16 Euros,
Last week i collected my new custom made orthotics, At first they felt strange as i could feel it under my arch, As is said before i have extremely high arches and have never had anything that came close to filling them, My feet are now 100% supported and they feel great when walking, You have to break them in and only do 1 hour the first day, 2 the second etc, Yesterday i walked over 12 miles on the Mountains to Sea trail that is near to my home, The trail i chose is quite hilly, Lots of short steep hills and a good smattering of longer less steep hills, It certainly works the butt cheeks and last night i could really feel the burn there, My feet felt fine until i took off my left boot and noticed that a small blister had formed under the hard skin on the side of my big toe, I have never ever had a blister there and was surprised that i had not felt it form, Today i did a 10+ mile walk on the roads around my home, Again my feet were fine but the blister now needs to be drained and cleaned, There is no soreness or pain which is a bit bizarre, I will pop back to H and H where the inserts were made and see if there is some adjustment that can stop the blister reforming, In the past when walking over 10 miles on tarmac i have to start walking on the grassy verge after 7 or 8 miles as the pads of my feet feel the pounding, Today that did not happen thanks to the inserts with a thicker padding, By having the insert made to the exact shape of your foot you foot does not have the opportunity to flex and hence there is less friction and less or no blisters.
Last October i started using an app called Runkeeper on my smartphone to let me log how far i have walked and what pace etc, Yesterday i logged over 500 miles since i first started using it,
Just about everything is booked, The only thing still unfinished is getting my wife from Santiago airport to Sarria where i will be 70 miles from the finish line,

Dave

Final changes

I mentioned before that my Eddie Bauer Jacket leaked badly and that i had cleaned and reproofed both the Jacket and REI rain trousers using Nikwax products, Well today the heavens have opened and its absolutely p#$@ing down, I put the jacket and over trousers on along with some new Serius 'all weather' gloves that i also purchased at REI and went for a walk around my neighborhood, Around 2.5 miles, Last time i could feel water coming through the jacket after 10 minutes in lighter rain, I am happy to announce that when i got home 45 minutes later i was dry, Just a small amount of condensation inside but nothing like the drenching i had the last time, My legs were also dry, the last time after 10 miles of rain the shins were quite damp, I have to say i really like the REI waterproof trousers, They fit nice and fool good, Infact i now have a good look at REI clothing before looking at other makes, The gloves failed the test and both index fingers were soaked at the end, I guess what they mean by all weather, These may go back, I am a firm beliver in testing products to see if they are fit for purpose, Especially when you are in regions where you may get snow,rain and some extreme weather, Not the place to find that something does not work,
Last week i made an appointment at a foot doctor, I have walked up to 21 miles in a day but one of my big toes was giving me some grief around the first joint, It took all of 2 seconds before the doc told me that i had some arthritis in that joint, I had been reading up and thought that it was either that or turf toe, This is not a huge problem but could become painful on the Camino and just make the trip a little harder, I ended up at a place that adjusts shoes/boots and after a long consultation i ended up paying $300 for orthotic inserts purpose made from a mold of my feet, I have extremely high arches and also very long arches, It all made sense and i have always had problems with off the shelf orthotics even good ones like superfeet, I should be collecting them either Wednesday or Thursday this week, Giving me just over a week to break them in and have any adjustments done, I found out alot about my feet and legs in the hour i was with the specialist, I was extremely impressed, My wife has a pain under her 5th metatarsal or small toe and the foot specialist is going to remove a small piece of her insert where the pain is and insert a lighter material to ease the pain, This was all new to us, I have to say i would recommend going to see this type of person before going to a foot doctor, If anybody is interested we went to H and H in Raleigh, Highly recommended, My wife has all kinds of problems with her feet, The specialist looked at her new Merrels and instantly saw that the shoe was too narrow and the superfeet had been cut wrong, We returned to REI to try and get a wider shoe but for some reason they only carry wides in men's, We got a refund and headed down the street to the New Balance store where they measured her feet and she left with a nice pair of shoes that have a very comfortable insert, Feet are difficult things and every-bodies are different, You do not realize this until such times where you are doing long walks or running
Only 2 weeks today before i board the plane, Some anxiety creeping in and will be glad when i am in St Jean waiting to start, The weather there this week look good and surprisingly warm which means that the snow should be gone by the time i arrive-Fingers crossed

Testing and Re Evaluating

My Eddie Bauer Rainier Jacket has been treated with the Nik Wax combo that i mentioned in my last blog along with my REI waterproof over trousers and so far so good, I have only tried them in light showers and with 80 degree weather here in NC this week i wont be testing them again for some time,
Just when you think that you are sorted you hit a wall, In my case it was my feet and my new Salomon Sky 2 boots, I have had the boots since last December, I purchased them early as they were a great price and they have all but stayed in their box until now, I used them a few times walking up to 20 miles but they gave my feet grief, I also noticed that they seemed to be showing signs of wear and even had 2 small splits in them, I contacted Amazon and explained the situation and even though they were out of the return date they said they would accept the return, Well done Amazon, they even returned my e mails within 30 minutes,
I went to the foot doctor today as i wanted to have a quick chat about my feet before in embark on the Camino, It seems i have a touch of arthritis in my big toe, I had suspected it and now its confirmed i can keep an eye on it and know what to do if it flares up, The other boots really pressed on my big toe joint causing a lot of pain, I now have new Salomon X Mid GTX boots, The same as the ones i have used all of last year and my feet are now in a happier place, Its a bit late to start with new boots but the boots are comfortable out of the box, Last week i only walked a couple of days and let my toe rest, I know i can now carry on with the training and with only 3 weeks before i leave i am pretty good to go now, The only problem with where i live is the lack of big hills and will have to take it easy the first few days on the Camino which is extremely hilly and steep, Its not a race but i do have a time and place that i have to be to meet my wife along the route

Dave

Testing Testing

The Camino is getting close, Just over 3 weeks before i board a plane to the UK, I want to be sure that the gear i have works as described and will fit my needs, Its been a long cold winter here in NC but i have somehow managed to miss most of the rain on my training walks, I did get caught in a small shower weeks ago, I put my Eddie Bauer Rainier jacket on and completed the walk, I did notice that i was a bit damp when i got home but did not think too much about it, Last week it showed rain for Monday so i put on my Eddie Bauer Rainier and my REI waterproof trousers and set off on a 10 mile trek around the country roads where i live, It was raining when i left and i felt a cold sensation around my neck and shoulders within 10 minutes of leaving, The rain was a very heavy drizzle, Within 30 minutes i could my arms getting wet and by the end of the walk i took the jacket off and was very wet if not saturated in places and would say 60-75% of the jacket was wet through, I did contact Eddie Bauer but did not get much in the way of an answer so i went to REI and was shown some NikWax products, Firstly the Tech wash which cleans your jacket and then the TX spray on water repellent, I bought the 5oz but would recommend a bigger bottle as it barely covered the jacket, The jacket was cleaned in the clothes washer with the tech wash and left to dry before using the TX, Nikwax does do a product that you can also put in the washer to proof it and i think this may be a better solution so you know its been totally covered and that you have not missed an area, The jacket certainly comes up clean and last weekend i walked in very light rain and the water beaded nicely and just fell of the jacket, I will need to test the jacket in harder rain before i go, I have to say i love the jacket so was very disappointed to see it fail in the rain, Hopefully the reproofing will sort the problem,It just goes to show that you need to test any item that you buy for a long journey, If i had not and got caught in a storm in the mountains it could have been a serious situation, I wore my old Salomon GTX hiking boots on the long wet walk, By the time i hit 8 miles i could feel my feet getting damp but as it was still raining i decided to carry on and suffer the blisters which i could feel forming, I ended up with blisters on both feet on the pad area, One was very small, tiny even and the other larger but not too bad, I pinned the larger of the 2 and drained it and put a band aid on it, In the morning i redrained it but i could see there was a slight infection so i bought some iodine from the pharmacy and applied it, Man that stuff stings but it not only cleans the blister but dries it out, The next day the areas looked fine and although you could feel them it was not uncomfortable to walk on and 2 days later you would have never known that they were there, I will mention that when i walk or hike i carry my backpack with around 20lb it it, I used an REI rain cover and the backpack was perfectly dry at the end of the walk except the exposed straps of course,
Yesterday i did a small walk around our neighborhood of around 2.5 miles before heading out on a trail and decided to just walk until i felt i had had enough, I ended the walk with just over 18 miles under my belt and nearly 21 miles or over 33 KM for the day, I normally wear my old Salomon GTX boots on longish walks but decided to try the Salomon Sky GTX boots that i will take on the Camino, I have been steadily breaking them in although in truth they really are pretty good out of the box, I had some Dr Scholls inserts in, At the end of the walk my heels were pretty sore in one small area, I had stopped a few times and rested with both boots and socks off and towards the end i had put a blister band aid on both feet in that area and this worked as i ended blister free, Although it was a tiring day it was very enjoyable and the weather was lovely, I proved that i had the endurance to walk that far and in reality i could have put a few more miles in but it was getting late, And that my boots should work well for the journey, I doubt there will be many if any 20+ mile days on the Camino but i know if i want to push myself i can,