June 11 - First Day on the Camino!

6/11/2010
Buen Camino! We woke up this morning rested (kind of) and ready for our first day on the Camino! After a great breakfast at Hotel Alfonso IX, we stretched out with Debbie and started our walk. After some intense stairs, we came across a small shop where most pilgrims purchased walking sticks. The walk started with a bang when a strange man started shooting violently popping fireworks at 9 a.m. right off of the Camino. We found out that he was announcing the start of a town festival, but only after scaring the whole group.

The weather started off cloudy but dry but soon deteriorated into sporadic rain all day. The trail was muddy from the very beginning but we encountered several other nice pilgrims along the way including a Norwegian man that had already travelled 1000 kilometers and had been walking for four weeks already. Despite the rain and the poor trail conditions, we got off to a quick start and everyone was really enjoying the scenic walk. We split up into smaller walking groups and set our own walking paces. Each group stopped at different stations along the way to add Camino stamps to their pilgrimage passports, and some groups collected at least 7 stamps! We passed many beautiful old buildings which had been standing for many centuries, including small homes along the side of the Camino. The views of the towns and countryside below were amazing at many points along our walk, even though it was slightly obstructed by the clouds and mist. As the rain got worse, our way became harder and we often had to walk through deep mud and water. As we crossed a small stream on an unstable bridge (composed of a single plank) a few different pilgrims tried to stabilize themselves by grabbing onto a barbed wire fence and unfortunately received a few scrapes but were okay.

Our distance of around 15 miles took the different groups anywhere from four to six hours. After finally reaching the steep decline which marked the end of today's journey, we crossed a large bridge in heavy rain across the Río Miño into Portomarín. We managed to reach a pizzeria for lunch and celebrated as the group came back together after finishing the walk. After a quick shower, we visited a monastery which was the largest Cloister in Spain and were able to tour the grounds and witness a bit of their evening Mass. With sore bodies, we returned to the hotel for dinner and a picture slideshow. During devotion, Marie challenged us to look for the “God moments” of our first walking day of the pilgrimage and we shared our thoughts. Our personal “God moment” was witnessing a biker retracing his path on the Camino up an extremely steep hill to bring his friend a spare tire to replace a flat tire.

Although today was by far the most challenging day yet, we were amazed by the constantly upbeat and positive attitudes of every single member of the group. Tomorrow may be a difficult day with our aching muscles and blistered feet, but today was truly an achievement for every pilgrim on the Camino, both in our group and others. After a long day, we are all looking forward to what is sure to be the best night of sleep yet on our trip!

Wish us luck! Annie and Natalie

(Post from June 10 below)