Visitors in the night...
Awoke at 12pm to fireworks outside my tent door (bit much for our first proper camp on the route)! Monday night and the folk of Vera like to party - guess Tom was right in his prediction that nobody in fact in all of Spain has a real job! 6am alarm goes off, I can hear nylon being packed at speed which is re-assuring as Tom's tent has survived another night, as has himself. Curious sheep, probably scared from the village fiesta had taken shelter next to Tom's wee house - only to be shooed away by Shepard Tom during the night. I heard nothing! We stepped outside our tents to find islands perched above a great blanket of cloud. The inversion had sprung up post-fireworks and was spectacular, we ate, rolled up mats and headed off into the mist (SWest of course - imagine a scene from any classic Vietnam movie where the 2 abandoned soldiers are trying to find their lost plane or something, yeh...) Nav proved hard compounded by fog, and the guide sometimes disagreed with the Prames' map direction? I wore sandals today as Tom had given me confidence with his use of these intricate foot items in previous outings through woodland, first time extreme sandals! About 20k in after some refreshing water-point action (scared 2 Germans by being semi-naked washing clothes and drying tents from this mornings precipitation) I smelled something obnoxious coming from Tom's behind rear area. The stove hadn't been disconnected from the canister and was leaving a flammable trail behind tom as he innocently strolled on, infecting the woodland with butane! We quickly vowed that it was worth the effort to carry this precious item in bits from now on! 28k in and tired we slogged it to the final water point - were a pack of wild horses and some American tourists (surprisingly the only ones I met on this trip!) were dining on fine wines and grass. As we descended at great speed into Elizondo, I was bloody knackered, hungry and well, finished. A knock (well several - it was siesta time 2 - 5pm) on the Hiker's Hostal door and no answer. We plodded into town and into the arms of the local serviceria and I had the best coke ever served to human lips (Tom had iced coffee which he spilt all over the table - I donated a sock to mop it up and the shame!) After food and drink therapy we sauntered into the main road and to the nicer looking Hostal Liz (E58 for a shared room). Showers and baths and towels...BLISS! Its only been 2 days and I feel done in, my feet are aching and shoulders blistered. Back in the serviceria I consumed lomo (pork) + eggs + frites, load up on carbs for day 3 of GR-11 grande tour. Tomorrow we make for Urkiaga, where there is nothing so we better take provisions (we start thinking about basic and luxury items - I have to do something about my pack weight). Upon our return local kids are jumping from the bridge into the wide river-bed beneath the town. Looked like fun but a bed and four walls seemed like the best place to end this day. Our kit Jaked out on the floor we settled in and I washed everything I owned.
No comments:
Post a Comment