Camino Primitivo- Day 1 Reflections
It’s early morning of Day 2 and I’m in bed trying hard not to wake up the other 7 people in the room so I thought this a good time to do some reflection while Day 1 is fresh in my mind
It looks like the Primitivo is going to be everything everyone says it will be. Adjectives that come to mind are “beautiful” and “strenuous”. As I listen to others talk, “beautiful” may later be replaced with “stunning” and “strenuous” replaced with “overwhelming”. We shall see.
Looking at the elevation profiles and comparing them with the elevation profiles of the French Camino, my conclusion is that overall the Primitivo is more strenuous on a day to day basis, but there is no day on the Primitivo that is as difficult as Day 1 (crossing the Pyrenees) on the French. We shall see.
Yesterday was strenuous but no where near overwhelming! There were some long uphills! And they were several long downhills - steep downhills. Personally I’d rather labor uphill all day than walk down for an hour. 15 - 18 % grades are taxing to the system. They produce blisters and nail damage. So far so good. As for the rest of the trail? We shall see.
How’s Emily doing? As you know, she’s not very big. But she has no problem keeping ahead of grandfather on Day 1. We have decided that both of our goals is to carry backpacks the entire way, but we are evaluating that on a day to day basis. So far so good. But… We shall see.
In the line up at the Catedral yesterday morning a middle age Spanish woman came up to Emily, touched her Camino credenciales, and without a word just stood and looked at her with the saddest eyes. It looked like she was thinking, “you poor child. You have no idea what lies ahead of you”. (By the way, that’s true of life is it not? We journey on, with no idea what the future holds, but … we shall see”)
So, yesterday was rain (40% of our way) and sunshine the rest.
Yesterday was walking and talking together - solo una niña y su abuelo - and enjoying great new friends each time we stopped. Shout out to Yoke and Adinda from Holland as well as others who joined us at the table last night.
Yesterday was the discovery of a spectacular albergue at the 20 km mark. The Villa Palatin is a great spot to end Day 1! The service provided by Pablo (crazy Pablo) was above and beyond expectations. The facility provided by the owners is modern and beautiful. The meal (voted the worlds best capacho in the first ever world capacho contest - yes, that’s a thing) was truly world class, and much more than two people could eat.
And one more thing - a confession of sorts- before we close these reflections. This is my fourth Camino, and one might assume that I would be past making rookie mistakes. One would be wrong. Yesterday when I arrived at the Villa Palatin, I discovered not one but two “URGENT” emails from La Hospedería, where we stayed last night. It seems that this pro has left a bag full of clothes behind. I have several excuses on hand for occasions such as this, but I’m sure Lorraine is going to say “that’s what happens when you go to Europe without your wife.”
That’s it for now. I will try to write something each day. But … we shall see!
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