Long days before a rest

We’ve covered some ground since our last blog post.  Yesterday was our longest day so far at 18 miles.  Most of the time we aim for 13-15 miles per day.  We are now in Logroño, and are staying two nights here to give us a day of rest.  

Although a day of rest is very welcome, we seem to be holding up pretty well at this point. Jodi has a couple toe blisters, but otherwise we are in good shape.

We continue to have a great time getting to know so many people.  We spent most of the morning walking with an older couple from New Zealand, most of the afternoon with a young couple from South Korea, and will eat out tonight with others.

The weather has been pretty hot, in the upper 80s.  But as we mentioned before, we keep telling ourselves it is much better than the hundred plus temperatures a couple of weeks ago.  

 Last blog we mentioned the heavy rain storm we hiked through. We have come to realize how major of a storm that was. It was the most rain they have had since at least 1972.  It killed at least three people and others still missing.  It was a crazy amount of rain!

 Logrono is known for their many great tapas restaurants and is in the Rioja wine region.  So needless to say, we are are happy with our rest day location!  This rest day city was thanks to the recommendation of veteran pilgrims Terry and Kay Shue, who have given us fantastic advice thus far.

Friday we have another long hike.  Ultreia y Susiea!    (Beyond and higher, to Santiago! (One translation of many)) 

Rain and Running of the Bulls

We continue to enjoy our time on the trail, generally going 13-15 miles per day.  Overall, we are feeling great.  We see lots of people with injuries, which is always a concern for us as well.  But so far, we are holding up pretty well.  It isn’t the mileage as much as the steep declines that are causing me (Eric) some foot pain.  I started some meds to try and help.

We have had some great days of hiking.  We also had a challenging one.  From Zubiri to Pamplona, which is about 13 miles, it rained all except for the first ten minutes.  It started out mild but became a full on torrential downpour that didn’t stop.  The path became a river, ankle deep at times.

Jodi did slip and fall once, but no injuries and we had a fun day anyway.  This is what we signed up for! 

When we finally got to the outskirts of Pamplona, we realized how crazy we looked to normal people (whom we haven’t seen in a while!). Tromping through a downpour as if just going on a stroll, we saw many looks of pity and “I’m so glad I’m not in your shoes.”  But mostly, we got lots of smiles and well wishes on our journey.  I broke out into laughter several times because of people‘s expressions, mixed with my elation from almost being to our day’s end.

After cleaning up and drying off, we walked through beautiful old town Pamplona on the streets where the bulls run annually in July  (STILL raining by the way), and enjoyed wonderful tapas for supper.  

Over the Pyrenees

The start of our hiking has been fantastic, though it started out in the rain.  On the first day it was off and on rain, fog, and brief moments of sunshine.  Yesterday, we woke up to clear skies, then weather was absolutely perfect as we crossed the Pyrenees with some misty forest sections and clearing valleys.  Compared to the last weeks which have been 30° hotter, we are very happy with the weather.

We made it over the Pyrenees, with wonderful views of mountains, grazing cattle, sheep, and horses. We’re not sure what the French do with the horses, but they didn’t look like riding horses . . .

The most impressive part so far has been the people in the hostels that we stay with. There is a camaraderie that we have not experienced before. Every night in the hostels before supper, we introduced ourselves, and talked about why we are going on this journey. During dinner together and afterwards, we talked personally with individuals about their reasons for walking the Camino and about their lives. We have met so many wonderful  people from so many different countries and situations.  

Now that we made it over the Pyrenees, tomorrow is mostly downhill. Granted, it is 14 miles, but again, mostly downhill. Up until now it has been just been up, up, up!

Today was Jodi’s birthday, so instead of staying at an alburgue (hostel), we stayed at a hotel and ate at the hotel restaurant. It was nothing fancy, but very nice to have space and a bathroom to ourselves for cleaning up as well as washing our clothes in the sink.

Even so, both before and after supper, we found friends that we met before and hung out with them.  Our new friends from Ireland and Australia are a ton of fun!

Off to beds now. Tomorrow is is another long day of hiking! 

Buen Camino!

It’s been a big year. I (Eric) have taken a hiatus from work since April, to spend time with the family before we sent our twins off to college.  It’s been a fantastic summer doing just that.

It culminated in us dropping our kids off at Goshen and EMU over the last two weekends.  Yes, there was a sense of loss with that.  But we also know that we have tried our best to raise great adults, now this is the next step. They are wonderful people, and now they can do wonderful things on their own.

Now for life after.

We have long planned to hike El Camino de Santiago in Spain.  It is a 500 mile pilgrimage walk that we hope to do over the next six weeks.

We spent one night in Madrid and enjoyed seeing the sites there, but were more excited to get on an early morning train to Pamplona, then shared a taxi (a small one!) with two other ladies to St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port, our starting point for the hike.

The spiraling drive took us from arid Spain over the Pyrenees mountains, into France, where it became lush forests.  Tomorrow we will reverse course and start the trek back over the mountains . . . the hard way!

We were happy to get to our starting town by lunchtime.  Although we will enjoy the Spanish food along the way, we are also happy to get as much French food as we can!  In addition to the usual great French food, we enjoyed a cream filled cake that is a regional speciality.  It may have been round rather than long, but that thing tasted like a great fancy creamstick!

As is typical for pilgrims, we are staying in an Albergue, which is similar to a hostel.  It is a very communal situation, which is part of the fun of the pilgrimage.  After we attend a blessing mass in the local 700 year old church, everyone in our albergue will get together to introduce ourselves, then eat supper together.  Our room has two sets of bunkbeds, so we will be sharing with one other couple (that hopefully doesn’t snore). The bathroom is also shared.  All that is fine, but it is a little concerning that we have to put disposable mattress covers on to help prevent spreading bedbugs!

Although that seems like tight quarters, we look forward to getting to know many other pilgrims as part of the fun and growth along the journey.

One of the first people we talked to while checking in is from Canada. She first walked the Camino 14 years ago to the day with her then, fiancé.  This year, he passed away from cancer. She is now making the trip again without him. 

There will be so many stories.

At the Pittsburgh airport with some help from Eric and Karina Yoder.

Overlooking St.-John-Pied-de-Port and the Pyrenees.

Our Albergue.

Somehow we have been gone a whole month already!  We did get out of the city this weekend to go to Laurelville camp.  It was a nice change of pace and we were happy to be able to see both of our parents, do some hiking, and learn from great speakers. 

Our time in D.C. has been very busy between working and schooling, but we have had ample time to get out and see the city.  We are about a half hour bike ride to the D.C. mall, so we have frequented museums and the monuments there.  It has been great to be able to study insects and Africa one day from our school books, then hit the Natural History museum the next day to see the corresponding exhibits.

 Other good experiences included participating in the climate march last Saturday, hitting an organ concert in the National Cathedral, touring various historic buildings and, of course, sampling from the vast array of ethnic restaurants in D.C.  We are amazed at how our kids have jumped on board with trying Middle Eastern Tabbouleh, West African goat, Cajun crawfish, and many others in between.

We have also thoroughly enjoyed the hours of conversations with guests and staff at the guest house.  The guests there are mix of people traveling through for business or pleasure, often connected to the Mennonite Church, as well as many international visitors (mostly from developing countries) for various reasons.  Part of our responsibility is facilitating breakfast and evening tea conversations, which often last an hour or more.  It has been fascinating to interact with different segments of people and the range of perspectives they bring.

Because of the size of our family, we aren't actually staying at the International Guest House.  Instead, we have a 1 bedroom basement apartment which is several miles from the guest house.  It is a pleasant 30 minute bike ride along a riverside path north to work or south to the mall.  We are near a park, which explodes with people walking their dogs in the evening.  Our kids try to get their fix of laughing at and petting various dogs, since they are constantly missing their own.

Thanks for being a part of our journey.  We are having a great time and hope all is well with you also!

Eric, Jodi, Julia, and Nathan 

Hello and thanks to all of you that are taking the time to read our first blog of our time in Washington, D.C.  For those of you who don't know, we are taking some time out and volunteering at the International Guest House in D.C.   http://igh-dc.com/    We have been here for 2 weeks now, and feel like we are settled in nicely.

There are long term staff here at the Guest House, so we are mainly aiding them in daily chores both inside and outside the house.  One of the great things about working here and at this stage in our family's life, is that the kids can help.  And they really have been a big help indeed. 

This place makes a staggering amount of breakfast muffins and tea time cookies for the guests.   Julia has been baking regularly along with weeding, planting herbs and tomato plants and cleaning.  Nathan has been mowing the lawn, cleaning porches, and helping Eric with bathrooms and changing bed linens.

But just as important, we are enjoying time with the other staff at the Guest House and interacting with guests.   We received such a warm welcome and have thoroughly enjoyed staff lunches and connecting with new friends!

We will let you know more about our situation down the road, but for now wanted to get a quick note out to say hi, thanks for your support, and let you know we are doing well!

Jodi, Eric, Nathan and Julia Miller