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Today we are resting in Bugos after 12 consecutive days of walking on the Camino Trail. We have 13 stamps in our Camino Passport! This has been our journey and experience so far!

1. St Jean Pied de Port our starting point in the French Pyrenees -May 19.–0 km
2. Roncesvalles Spain -May 20–26 km
3. Zubiri –May 21–22 km
4. Pamplona –May 22 –21 km
5. Puenta La Reina–May 23–22 km
6. Estella –May 24–20 km
7. Los Arcos –May 25–23 km
8. Logrono–May 26– 29 km
9. Najera–May 27–30.1 km
10. Santo Domingo de la Calzada–May 28–21 km
11. Belorado–May 29–23 km
12. Atapuerca–May 30–30.4 km
13. Burgos–May 31–19 km
14. Rest day in Burgos–Jun 1
15. Today we finished Day 14 another 21 km walk Lovely meseta area

The first stage of our Camino adventure amounts to a third of our walking and has been focused on the physical challenges and the rigour of our daily routine which I call “Camino Bootcamp”. A typical days routine is:

1. Wake up between 5:30 to 5:45
2. Marta showers, I pack up
3. I shower, Marta packs up
4. We complete a 30 minute yoga practice
5. We eat breakfast
6. We start the walk between 7:30 to 8:00 each day
7. We walk between 5 to 8 hours each day
8. We have lunch 30 minutes and maybe coffee during the walk
9. We find our hotel, unpack,wash up
10. We complete a 30 minute yoga practice
11. We post to Facebook and write about the day
12. We enjoy cervezas and snacks
13. We eat dinner
14. We are in bed between 9-10

We have experienced weather challenges including thunderstorms, hail, rain, fog, flash floods and cold weather. We have walked the varied terrain with many long ascents and descents, mountain passes, mud, rocky trails, slippery downhill trails with torrents of water flowing by (made us question if we were on the right trail),long stretches of paved roads and many beautiful farmland and country trails. On the positive side, the scenery is beautiful, the cool weather is perfect for walking and our rain gear is first rate and has kept us and our backpacks dry.

Walking continuously for 12 days now we don’t have the sore joints and muscle pain we were experiencing at the beginning of the Camino. Our feet are hardening and if the distance is between 20 -23 km you can finish the day with some energy reserves for enjoying the evening activities. We have had 3 days of 30 km distances and you are too physically fatigued at the end of the day to really enjoy the day’s events. A lesson learned for us would be to keep the distances between 20-23 km each day.

We are growing stronger and getting used to the rigour of our daily routine. Don’t underestimate the physical challenges of walking the Camino. We love the experience and are having fun with the great people we are meeting along the way but it is a new challenge each day and we respect the pilgrim toughness required to complete each day with a positive and “just do it” attitude.

Are you walking the trail? What are your experiences. Please feel free to share and remember to leave a link back to your own blog too if you have one.

Buen Camino

Marion