Hi everyone! I'm overwhelmed to think that it's already been 6 months since I have started my last Camino, back in nov 2016.
Most of you might understand that every time we come back, sometimes it takes us a considerable period of time for you to be able to sit down, and really talk about (or write about) your experience.
Since our arrival in Finisterre in december, I`ve been thinking on the many experiences once again lived on the camino( good and bad ones); a mix of “this was the last one, for sure” and “I know the time will show me - down the road - when I`ll need another “fix” of camino energy in my soul… Advance 06 months in time, and here I'm finally willing and (to a certain degree) comfortable to write, at least superficially about my last experience!
I`ll break this down into parts, starting with the start: The Camino Aragones and probably will post a different stage on different days so it will not be just one VERY LONG post!
00- Sao Paulo - Cancfranc Station: 8,749 kms
After 14 hours flying, we got a train in Barcelona towards Cancfranc Station.On our stop in Zaragoza, we were very warm hearted welcomed by one of the forum members, Ildefonso (
@Pingüigrino ) , who - in a deep and real camino spirit - aside of giving me so many good tips on the Aragones, went to the trouble of meeting us in the train station and taking us for a couple of cervezas and bocadillos ( @pilguiringo: I`m still in debt with you for that lovely welcoming! Thank you so much! You made our souls smile with pure Camino spirit that afternoon) .
Me and Claudia arrived in Cancfranc Station in a - VERY - cold evening, after a 24 hour journey to get there. It was her first Camino… My first one walking with “someone else”... We were both very happy to be there!!! I was just….speechless!
Cancranc Station is a lovely little pyrenees-style village, exhausted we found our way to the Albergue Rio Aragon, where we were very well received. All facilities were very good, modern and clean. Everything was deserted as we were in between seasons. There were some spanish mountaineers in our room, which we got to know being climbers and mountaineers ourselves. As a result they offered to give us a ride up to somport the next morning.
01 - Somport-Jaca: 32 km
Going down from Somport all the way to Jaca is just …. Lovely…. We had an AMAZING beautiful day! Sunshine, full moon in the sky (during the day!), it was cold but just perfect!
The challenge started that very first day as we were FULL WITH GEAR on us! That's because , there was a slight chance that we would meet some friends in France for an mixed climb in the pyrenees before starting our Camino. They would send some of our stuff for us to Santiago so we could collect once we were there. Cutting the story short - we could not make it to meet our friends (they would only be able to meet us 01 week later due to work) but, in a stubborn “I can do it” mode, we decided to carry everything with us from Somport (I had the bad idea that it would be a good training for our climbing activities, forgetting that we were there to relax, and have a good time during our well deserved holidays).
It was a long long long endless day - With extra 14 kgs between us, we arrived in Jaca completely exhausted, broken and with hashes on our hips and crying knees from the extra weight.
Some of the highlights of the stage: The beautiful trails from Somport all the way down to Villanua, Big smile on our faces and our hearts, high spirit, the weather, cleanliness, etc. Castillo de Jaca is also a magnificent village worth visiting!
Jaca is a “biggish” town where you can find everything you might need…Unless you need vegetarian food… But that is expected in Spain
We had a very hard time to find a vegetarian option over there. The only option suggested by the hospitalero in was closed and also we were just too exhausted and drained to keep searching, so we had to feel happy with cooked potatoes (I still eat meat in occasions such as the camino, but for Claudia it was a challenge eating tortillas and bocadillos only during most of our trip).
