Camino Del Norte - Day Five: Markina Xemein to Gernika - 26k

TODAYS PICS

NO VIDEO - I accidentally Shut off when clipping to harness.

So today is another long day, with some challenging hills including one at the end - making it more so.

The dinner and pilgrims in Albergue were lovely and fun, with folks from France, Spain, Germany, Florida and Chicago. I filled my gut, though should have had more spaghetti - it was so good with cayenne on it! Followed by yummy fish. The internet was not existent, it would have been quicker to mail a letter! And breakfast this morning was just toast, juice and coffee.

Last night, I must have had the best ear plugs, cause I heard nothing. But an interesting thing did happen. I woke up about four, and could not go back to sleep. In my normal life, I turn the tv on in sleep mode, and this shuts off my brain. But here in shared quarters - this was not a possibility, so had this interesting experience of trying to relax and focus my mind. The only thing I can say is  - I LOST MY MIND. Curious how hard it was to come back to center and how rambling it is. I really think part of this is being "connected" all the time to phone, tv, work, etc. And not really knowing or practicing disconnecting and being present. I like the definition of medititation as dying on the pillow every day. That it is an almost death-like struggle to focus in the moment.

It was a really lovely walk - strenuous throughout the day with multiple climbs. Several cafes along the way, one where I had a light lunch - evidently too light; and plenty of water. But 26km is still 26km; and when you add all the hills, its an energy beater; so I learned today that I BONKED - I ran out of gas on the last hill.

And when you bonk, recovery aint so easy. So though I was close to end, I was dragging; and my room on the third floor, felt like Everest. So still working on getting in the pilgrim groove. With a couple light days and a break on Friday, I think my body will get some recovery time and I might need to do some schedule planning.

A fun highlight today was the pilgrim rest stop - a huge covered area outside an alburgue provided shade and great camaraderie. A fun bit was when a young Spanish guy began singing love for sale; guess there are all kinds of ways to finance ones travels.