cows Archives - Cruisin with the Colemans

I wanted to write a blog but decided to take a nap. Seriously, I can’t seem to get enough sleep lately. My body is trying to adjust but this Camino is tough on all my parts.

Today was lucky day 13 on the Camino and it’s my first day in awhile without a nap. However, it could be because of the circumstances. We’ve been quite spoiled on this Camino. Heck, I’ve been spoiled on all Camino’s thus far because I’ve never slept on a top bunk. Six Camino’s and no top bunks. I hate top bunks. I despise them. They require upper body strength I don’t have anymore. Let’s be serious, I probably never had it. And in the middle of the night I pray I don’t have to use the bathroom.

Let me back up a bit. I know we haven’t had a “true” Camino experience thus far because we’ve been in private rooms the entire time with only two communal meals. We’ve enjoyed many private rooms over our many Camino’s. I have no shame in that because as a couple I quite enjoy sleeping next to my husband. Yep, I said it. Even when we’re laying near each other in our separate twin beds, which is typical. I enjoy the little bedtime conversations we have before we drift off. I enjoy our luggage spread out all over the room. I don’t care who knows it, I love sleeping with my husband. 😆❤️ I know his habits and have learned to tolerate them. But this guy in the lower bunk across from me is super annoying right now.

I long for communal dinners. I love conversations over a meal with other pilgrims. I don’t need to share a room with them. At this very moment as I lay on my top bunk, I’m listening to several people rustle in their beds, a few still coming in and out of the bathroom, one person stinks of cigarettes, another person just stinks, the person below me has her light on, and another person is touching every loud piece of equipment they brought with them. I’ve usually napped by now and am asleep for the night by 10 p.m. Currently, it’s 11:05 p.m. and several people still have their lights on. I am, by the way, laying in bed in the dark with only the light of my phone to write this blog. I miss discussing this chaos with my hubby.

It’s honestly hurt our Camino to not have communal dinners because we haven’t bonded with anyone until last night. But, in our defense, there have been so many tourist cities it’s been super easy to just stay in a private room. Also, I look for communal dinners and the opportunities have been limited.

Having fun with our new Aussie friends at the Gaudi Castle in Comillas

But, alas, our pilgrim family is beginning to form. We have a pilgrim daughter from Alaska, Sophia. Brian taught her to thread her blisters tonight. She is so happy with how her feet feel! We have friends from the Netherlands, Australia, Italy, and France.

Last night we had an outstanding communal dinner at Albergue El Convento in Santillana Del Mar. We enjoyed wine in their gardens, a sharing time with other pilgrims, and a communal dinner. The rooms were 2 beds each so Brian and I had a private room. Fortunately Brian took the top bunk. He loves me. We had an outstanding communal breakfast. I slept like a baby. I don’t care about shared bathrooms. I just hate sharing a room and despise top bunks, if that’s not clear yet.

Tonight’s albergue is this shared room, photo above. It’s stuffy in here because the doors are closed, the fan is off, the A/C isn’t running, and there’s no air flow in the room. The curtains are nice but they don’t help the air flow.

The plus side for tonight has nothing to do with the lodging but rather the company. Because we enjoyed a communal dinner last night, we made friends with another couple and we went to dinner with them. It just takes one good communal dinner to make relationships. Besides growing closer together as a couple, we walk Camino’s for the relationships.

I want to tell you about the epic scenery we’ve been experiencing for the last few days but I’ve been talking long enough. Please follow our YouTube channel for breathtaking footage of our walk. Words and photos don’t do it justice but we try. This route is simply stunning.

Cows and the ocean. It doesn’t get much better

I have to get some sleep now. There’s already one terrible snorer and it’s not Brian. If I was alone in a room with Brian I would just call his name and tell him to roll over. It would work and I would get some sleep. But this guy is a stranger so I don’t think it’s a good move to smack him.

This is my last top bunk for any Camino. I can guarantee that for sure. Sorry, but in the future I’m going to do my best to quietly sleep next to my husband. ❤️ Thanks for reading today’s rant. It helped to vent.

Update: I didn’t sleep well and I am looking forward to today’s nap.

Somebody suggested I should let that thought sink in. I guess I hadn’t thought about until we were surrounded by mountains and the only way out is up and over. Wow, it’s sinking in.

I didn’t have a blog yesterday, I was having a rough day. It was raining, my shins were hurting, the terrain was challenging with rain, and we made the tough call to take the train to our evening destination. I struggle with feeling like I failed. I am going to leave my drive for perfection here in the Alps where perfect scenery is all around.

It ended up being a nice day despite us not walking. We had a fabulous room at the Hotel Terminus in Orsières. I spent much of the day with my feet up, ice on my shins, resting and reading. Taking a rest yesterday paid off substantially! Today my shins don’t hurt and I feel a lot better. I know it always pays off to take care of yourself but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to admit it and do it.

We did wander the small village of Orsières a bit, found a pharmacy, an outdoor/hiking gear store, and that was about it. If you need anything for the trek up to St. Bernard Pass, that is the last opportunity. We got a bit more Compeed, which is amazing stuff if you have a hot spot that has not turned to a blister yet. I swear by Compeed!

We enjoyed a nice dinner and when back to our rooms. A note about dinner though, we ordered a “half board” with our room reservation which is dinner and breakfast. However, unlike in Spain, wine is not included and – wow – was their wine expensive! Dinner included tap water, a small appetizer, main dish, and small dessert. Breakfast included breads, jellies, yogurt, ham, cheese, and coffee. Total cost for that half board without the wine was 156 franks! Yep, I was shocked too! It’s my fault, I should have asked how much the half board was and I would have known. Fortunately, our hotel room was only 40 franks for both of us at the pilgrim rate.

Today’s stats:

Martigny to Orsières – 1 km to the train station.
Hotel Terminus – 40 franks

Check out the YouTube video from these two days!

Let’s talk about today! I wish I capture this day to memory and never forget it’s beauty. We were rewarded abundantly for resting yesterday. Today was hard hiking but the beauty of the Alps is all around us. If you have seen pictures of the wildflower fields of the Alps, we spent the entire day walking through them. We wandered through a couple of villages, walked by the river all day, saw lots of cows with their traditional Swiss cowbells around their necks, a few piglets, endless wildflower fields, and mountains all around. I never want to forget this day.

The hiking was challenging, we walked uphill most of the day. It was 14 km and 800 meters (2,264 feet) of elevation gain. It took us about 6 hours plus a nice lunch break in Liddes for pizza that was bigger than my plate. I wasn’t going to eat it all but… well, I did. Tomorrow’s climb is 12.4 km but we will gain 1062 meters (3,484 feet) of elevation. But that’s tomorrow’s problem.

Today’s hike on the left, tomorrow’s on the right

Tonight we have an interesting accommodation. We are staying in Maison St. Pierre in the town of Bourg-Saint-Pierre. It is/was a religious building of some sort, there is history everywhere. The fireplace is dated 1822. It’s a traditional “pilgrimage” accommodation with 4 rooms. They all have twin beds, one room has 8 beds. We picked a room with only 3 beds and since we’re the only people in the entire place, I bet we’ll have not only the room to ourselves but the entire Maison. What’s unfortunate is that the room is more expensive than last night with our private room/private bath accommodation. It’s all part of the experience, hopefully dinner will be cheaper. Update: it wasn’t. 😏

We’ve quickly jumped back into our “pilgrimage” routine. We shower and hand wash our clothes immediately. We take time to check our feet, use the massage ball on them. This routine was challenging to work out during our first pilgrimage, but as this is our third, we just accept that is part of the adventure.

Next, we enjoy a bit of quiet time to blog/put a video together before we head out to find dinner. This blog and the video are important to us for capturing the experience. We hope it brings you joy, but most importantly, we want to be able to look back on what we’ve done. I mean, we’re hiking the Alps! Wowza, that’s pretty cool. I can’t wait to see what Tuscany brings us.

The goal is to walk to Rome on the Via Francigena. We pray our bodies stay healthy, our motivation stays strong, and our relationship flourishes even more along the way.

Today’s stats:

Walked Orsières to Bourg-Saint-Pierre – 14 km
Hotel – 50 franks (cash only)

Tag: cows

Camino del Norte | Güemes to Comillas | Days 10-13

VF Day 3 & 4: Hiking the Swiss Alps