091509 Day Two

Reporting form Santa Domingo de Calzado, Rioja, Spain

Status: Alive but spent.

Supplies:
28 pieces of Dentyne Ice
still no oxicotin
35 pretzel sticks
0 granola bars
1 very bruised apple
half bottle of vino

Short Summary:
-From Top of cold Mountain North of Torres del Rio to Viana (last town along trail in Navarre, Basque Country).
-Viana to Logrono.
-Logrono to Ventosa. (Albergue in Ventosa and Najera full.)
-Slept on floor Azofra.
-Walked for 13 hours straight with only 45 minutes total rest with 3 stops.
-Covered about 47 kilometers.
-Feet blistered and in pain.
-Mentally and physically drained. Meet two Germans.
-Tomorrow it will rain. (Its all good. :) )

Post:

Where did we leave off? Ah, top of frozen Mountain at 4:30 AM right, I then proceeded to work my way along the trail in pitch darkness using my head lamp and flash light when necessary. I got lost at least twice due to the darkeness which stressed me out a bit. I walked basically in total darkness and solitude for the next 3 to 4 hours (Spain does not adhere to day light savings time) with only the stars to keep me company. The stars while not too chatty were majestic, serene, and inspiring. I dig stars. I was thankful to have them to view along with the lights of Viana off in the distance. At this point I am out of water and my cell phone battery is very low (so i turned it off after fumbling with due to the cold). My mind is also wandering and turning negative and some fatigue is starting to kick in.

Viana is a small city with the population of 3,500 and from the looks of it they know how to party. Upon entering the town I found a water fountain, filled up my water bottle, and took a quickie French shower. Now presentable I made may way through the town along the trail bearing witness to all the refuse from a big celebration the night before. As I walked I would occasionally come across men dressed in white wearing red bandanas as the started to make their way home. (Bandana, another thing I forgot. Rats.) It appears that last night´s celebration included bulls fights. Cool. Pressing toward Ventosa I next came to Logrono in Rioja Spain. In Logrono I stopped for 25 minutes ate a tortilla (which in Spain is a cross between an omlette and a quiche and is already made) and 2 beers. What can I say the cell phone was really really low. After finishing I walked by the Igesia Santiago Church (St. James) and proceeded to leave the town. Logrono is a very large college town of 115,000. It took me a long time to navigate through the city without loosing my way. By the time I reached the city park area at the edge of town I was spent. I laid down in the grass for 15 minutes and would have slept, however sleep would not come. I proceeded to stretch and then go on. At this point I have not had a meaningful interaction with another human in 48 hours. Time to ¨Cowboy Up¨. 11 kilometers later I was at Navarette a town of 2200. During this part of the trek I noticed I was being followed by a mysterious female dressed in black. It turns out this was Mila which is German for Mary. She is works with children from broken homes and is at University to be a primary teacher. She was very kind and helped me with my pack which needed adjusting. (I know, I know, leave it to a woman to get things done.) I left Mila behind as she had to wait for her companions and I got wheels (even in my sorry shape I was still walking very fast). I blew past many other pilgrims without a word feeling a little better after some conversation and having learned my second German word, the word for ¨bow and arrow¨. I will not attempt to spell it here. In Navarette I bought 6 drinkable yogurts and 3 pinapple juices. I consumed them all sans one juice. I continued on not feeling so good, slowing down mentally and physically. Outside of Navarette I stopped one last time under a freeway underpass near a pair of jeans. Some poor guy or girl must have lost them. So my fear of loosing pants is not unfounded. (I will have to dicuss the significance of the jeans with my friend Mariya.) Deciding against taking them with me I pushed on for what I guess was another 3 kilometers. I then could see Ventosa perched on a very steep hill. (Great, Love it.) I finally reached the Albergue which was full (Jakpot). This is when I meet Joseph. I have to stop here and get some rest. I will try to add more later. Thank you for reading.

All in all I consider survival a good thing and hope to stay in one piece. Peace out.

Health:
feet hurt beacuse feet look like hamburger.
no bee stings
no swine flu
only one near death experiences, working on number 2. ;)
sleep not so much.
3 days without coffee from Bueno Expresso