This is not a holiday/vacation

Posted by LP - while we have enjoyed many marvelous moments, to walk El Camino is not a holiday or vacation, I am not sure how to describe it…..it is not a quest exactly, but it is long and arduous - we have been walking for 18 days without a break (although there were a couple of very short days included there), although really I just want to tell you about our last 3 days of very challenging hiking - (1) the weather has really heated up, the mornings are still cool (in the low 40s F), but by afternoon it is 80+ F - it is exhausting, yesterday relentlessly offered no shade or breeze, today was slightly better - (2) we walked 23, 18 and 18 miles these past 3 days, not only is that a lot of walking (very tired feet) but it means being outdoors in the elements (lots of sunshine) for a long time - when most Spanish people are sensibly taking their siesta, we are still slogging away - (3) the terrain is very demanding, lots of ups and downs - we have also experienced lots of hard packed surfaces (concrete, tarmac, hard earth) which do not provide any soft landing for our feet - (4) we are in very rural areas, passing hundreds of wheat fields which provides less (what VQT calls) “roadside attractions,” the towns are smaller and further apart, so not so easy to find refreshments and so on - those are our “complaints,” none-the-less, we are pleased to be here - we have seen people have to give up because of injury, etc., we are tired, but we are still walking!

Mural on the doors of a barn

Large metal cut out of a pilgrim 

VQT standing by a mural (on a barn wall) of a map of El Camino with a large yellow arrow pointing the way (green fields and blue skies can be seen in the distance)