Day 4 on the Camino de Santiago. The day I finally made an early start.

I left before the sun and by the light of my small bicycle torch I searched desperately for yellow arrows. Somehow managed to find my way out of town.

I was very much alone until I saw a man ahead pacing in circles. As I came closer towards him I could tell he was a distressed.

“It’s very dark…” He pointed out nervously

“Well, it’s still quite early.”

“Are you scared?”.

Was I scared? Not at all. I hadn’t even thought about being scared. Should I be scared? Why was this man scared? Did I have to much faith in The Camino de Santiago?

I had left early intentionally trying to get ahead of the pilgrim crown surely not far behind in Pamplona so why should I waste time being worried about walking in the dark?

After these thoughts flicked through my mind I brushed them aside and said a kind “Buen Camino”.

He lingered being near a bench, perhaps waiting for a larger group to continue with.

It was very dark but even in the darkness I could tell the trail was extremely exposed and I was glad I hadn’t attempted to continue the afternoon before under that stifling sun.

The trail became steeper and I hiked up the hill as the sky became brighter realising that my early morning departure was about to be rewarded with a sunrise at the top of the mountain.

Spectacular shades of purple streaked the sky and I sat for a moment and appreciated the magnificent beauty of the start of my fourth  day on the Camino de Santiago.

It felt wonderful to have made so much progress on the trail before the world had even woken up.

With a better view of my surroundings I could tell that I had left the green and lush foothills of the Pyrenees and entered into the more arid regions of Navarra and into La Rioja. Both regions famous for their wines.

I was at Alto de Perdóna and as I continued along the Camino de Santiago I found myself admiring a wind farm with the 40 modern turbines that provide electricity for the city of Pamplona (and also create a nice breeze for hot pilgrims).

The trail then led through  the village of Zariquiegui which is home to a Romanesque church called la Iglesia de San Andrés. The church was built in the 12th century unlike most of the other buildings within the village which are of a much later date ranging between the 15th and 16th centuries due to the village being ravaged by the Black Death (bubonic plague) which spread throughout Europe during the 14th century.

The village is also home to a fountain known as the Fuente Reniega which means the Fountain of Renouncement or Denial in English.

There is a legend surrounding this fountain as it is said that a Pilgrim travelling the Camino de Santiago, thirsty and exhausted from his walk was confronted by a fellow traveller, this traveller turns out to be the Devil in disguise. The Devil offers to show the Pilgrim a hidden source of water but only on the condition that he renounces God, the Virgin Mary and St James. The Pilgrim held steadfast to his faith and even though it could have meant dying of thirst he refused to do what this man asked. At that moment St James, also disguised as a Pilgrim, appears and leads the thirsty and exhausted man to the hidden fountain, and using a scallop shell, provides the traveller with water to quench his thirst (Galicia Guide).

I filled up my water bottle and continued along the Camino de Santiago and soon found myself at Alto de Perdón. This place looked very familiar and I realised it was featured in the Camino de Santiago movie, ‘The Way’, as a joke about one of the lead characters weight. The sculpture depicts a number of Pilgrims either on foot or on horseback as they make their way along the Camino to Santiago.

At the top of the hill was also a small food truck that had a range of vegan treats! I had a coffee and a treat and started the decent down the other side, now in the company of the lovely Polish Anna who I had started to encounter more and more along the train.

The path down from the Alto de Perdón was a stony track through vineyards and almond trees and my knees were starting to suffer from the declines along the trail. Watching me struggle, my kind new friend Anna handed me one of her two hiking poles to help me get down comfortably and I couldn’t have been more grateful. Her walking pole and great company made the slope much more enjoyable.

After we had survived the hill down I returned the hiking pole to Anna (vowing to buy one for myself at the ext opportunity) and watched her hike on quickly ahead into the distance. This was not the first time she had overtaken me and I knew she had a much quicker camino pace than I.

I passed through a few smaller towns before arriving at the larger town of Puente de la Reina. Which was beautiful and charming in a big-camino-city kind of way.

Just as I had passed quickly through Pamplona I didn’t spend much time in Puente de la Reina. I had quickly discovered that the smaller towns appealed to me much more and walking in the afternoons allowed me to have the Camino de Santiago to myself which was a complete luxury (even though the heat could get pretty powerful).
Puente de la Reina made a perfect lunch stop and allowed me the chance to invest in my very own hiking pole (a snazzy orange one).

I crossed the gorgeous bridge out of town and continued along the Camino de Santiago.

The sun showed no mercy that afternoon and as I winded through the gorgeous surrounding vineyards I took time to pause in any fragment of shade that existed along the trail.

I passed through a few small towns and decided to stop in one and hydrate with an ‘Aquarius’. My new favourite mild soft drink that had to contain magical pilgrim-hydtating powers.

The small store only had one small plastic table so I asked the group of three men and one woman sitting there if I could join them.

“Of course, go for it”, three South African accents responded.

The third other man sat very quietly as I started chatting to the three South African pilgrims.

One of them took a few moments to take me to the pharmacy next to the shop when I admitted to having some trouble with my knees after a few steep days. My new hiking pole was helping but the South African man helped me select some cream to help with the pain. We then joined the others at the small plastic table again.

“This German man has been doing the Camino de Santiago for nine years.”

“WHAT!?”

I practically spat out my Aquarius. This man was either a very slow walker or had an extremely interesting story. I suspected the latter.

He smiled mysteriously. He had obviously spend many years talking about the Camino de Santiago (it is the main topic of conversation on the trail unsurprisingly) and didn’t particularly want to join the large group of questioners that had surely come before me and he didn’t particularly give the impression that he wanted to share. So I bit my tongue and drank the last sip of my aquarius.

“Buen Camino”.

“Buen Camino Kat”.

I went back out to face the sun but it wasn’t long before I was joined by the German full-time pilgrim. This was my chance!

“So I have to ask, what made you decided to stay on the Camino so long?”

“I started the Camino to help work out my own problems and then decided to stay and help other German pilgrims with their problems. Most people who are doing The Camino de Santiago have recently gone through a big change in life: the loss of a loved one or the diagnoses of a disease. I talk to them and help them when I can.”

I wasn’t a German pilgrim but I definitely wanted to receive some words of wisdom from this man.

“Why are you doing the Camino de Santiago?” He asked

“I don’t really have a reason, even if you don’t realise it you probably have something you want to think about…”

“Well I did lose my Dad fairly recently and I don’t think I’ve really accepted it yet”.

“Everybody dies.”

And with that he told me he was taking a different path and walked off the path and into the distance.

…Did that just happen? Was this some kind of moment of truth? Did I just have a revelation?

Revelation or not I continued on the Camino de Santiago completely alone and now with ahead full of thoughts.

I ended up walking a long day that day. I walked until I could physically walk no more. And that happened to be in a very small town called Lorca.

I basically collapsed into one of the two albergues. I was tired and melancholy and in need of a bed to call my own for a good 8 hours. A kind man named Jose greeted me warmly. You could tell he had been having a busy day.

“I’m sorry but the town is completely full.”

“Please! I have walked 35km and cannot walk anymore! Can I sleep on the floor?”

Jose looked at me curiously

“Well, you could always sleep in my garage if you are that desperate.”

“Thank you!!”

I was excited to be offered a nights sleep in a garage? It was only 4 days into my Camino de Santiago and any form of a comfort zone had quickly been eliminated.

He’s started to lead me towards his garage and then turned around suddenly. “Wait… There is one bed free…”

We turned back to the albergue where there was indeed one bed free in a room of three older French ladies. He had been testing my desperation.

Overjoyed I thanked him profoundly and handed over my money and pilgrim passport.

I settled into my room and used my bad French to get to know my roommates. After washing up and getting some dinner I spent the evening relaxing outside. It was a very small town and even though it was at full pilgrim capacity it was still a very small crowd. I spoke to a few people and eventually retired to my room (much earlier than my older roomies) for a very well-deserved sleep.

I had passed the 100km mark today, leaving a mere 680km of adventures ahead…

Albergue José Ramón, Lorca, Navarra

Address: C / Mayor, 40.

Location: Lorca – Navarra

Contact phone number: (+34) 948 541 190

Mail: txerra26@mixmail.com

GPS: 42 ° 40’19.8 “N 1 ° 56’45.6” W / 42.672175, -1.946005

Hostel Property: Private

Person in charge of hosting the hostel: José Ramón Echeverría

Prices: € 7 bunk bed. € 10 double room.

Total seats: 12 in bunk beds + 2 in room. Admits reservation of place He would not need the pilgrim’s credential. It is tourist hostel.

Opening hours: open at 09:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.

Opening: From Easter to October (until after the Pilar bridge).

Possibility of leaving or not when closed: Yes.