Roncesvalles - Zubiri

12.04.19

I didn't sleep very well last night. Hardly at all in fact. The pilgrim who was sleeping in the bunk beneath me (his name is Michael and he's from Germany) snored like nothing I'd ever heard before. He wasn't the only one. The room was practically vibrating! 

When I "woke up"  (if you want to call it that) it was to music playing. For a split second I thought it was a random man, singing in the shower! I believe that I, (being completely exhausted) actually said that out loud. Way to go make everyone think you're a freak before breakfast! 

Surprisingly I wasn't in any pain (apart from my still very sore throat). How was that even possible?

The path to Zubiri was a beautiful one. That's about as much as I remember. I couldn't tell you what was so gorgeous about it. Only that I loved it a lot. Most of the day Carolin and I walked on our own. Greeting the other pilgrims as we (or they) passed with "Buen Camino". 

At one point however, closer to Zubiri, we accidentally ended up join a group of people. We learned an important lesson that day - walking in a group can be easier. 

Once we got to Zubiri and decided to stay (our friends keep walking) we found a small albergue just across the bridge. Here we met Amber and Karen (we would be spending quite a bit of time with them). I instantly liked them. We had met them earlier that day on top of a mountain ,enjoying a well deserved break. 

The four of us decided to go for a glass of wine (Carolin and I also needed food) and then spent the afternoon and early evening resting. Carolin was in the bunk above me. She did a lot of drawing that evening.

One of Carolin's many drawings from the Camino

My left knee and leg had began to ache and I struggled to move it. Getting in and out of my clothes to shower was extremely painful as I couldn't bend my knee without a shooting pain crippling me. It was so painful, every excruciating movement made me scream (internally of course). As I was lying in my bunk that night I prayed for mercy. The Camino - I'd fought so hard to get here and now...now I was going to lose it? 

No. That's not going to be my story.