Dear world,

Jacqui and I have made it to day 9 of the Camino, and 200km! We had hoped to have written more frequently, however the life and spirit of the Camino tends to draw you away from technology and push you towards people.

If any of you have a love of orienteering or hide and seek, you will love the Camino. Whilst you wander through epic country sides and medieval villages, it becomes a game of spot the arrow. If you see a spray painted yellow arrow, you know you´re OK. It´s so much part of the experience, that they´re commercializing it into t shirts and key rings. I thought about buying a t shirt, but was concerned that Jacqui would keep walking around me in a circle (plus I´d have to carry it).

It´s hard to know where to begin to update you all, when so quickly the routine of walking, talking, eating, sleeping has become routine. We have not yet become immune to the amazing Spanish countryside. It is fairly phenomenal. If my feet could type, they would tell you that it´s quite hard going… but they´re too fat and swollen after so many kms. My eyes want to be sleeping. So we shall describe it from the heart….

If you can imagine every shade of green possible. Don´t restrict yourself… think like a resene colour chart would. Then through the middle cut a terracotta pathway that winds into the hills. Add an ounce of loneliness (without sadness), bad tan lines, and the promise of food just over the hill. Or the next hill. or the hill after that. (and if it´s a 36km day…. the hill after that). Add in the repetitive tap stomp stomp of your walk… and you have a recipe for some amazing introspective moments. I thought and perhaps was hoping for some kind of lightening bolt of clarity. Except. You don´t. It´s more an opportunity to exist and just be. It´s almost meditative. I guess as they say, the lessons are in the journey itself.

The greens though… are amazing. From Estella (D) to Los Arcos (E), there were fields and fields of different shades of green, all crisscrossing. And when the breeze swam through, they rippled like the ocean.

On the topic of greens. Spain seems very agricultural, more than I expected… but they don´t seem to eat any vegetables. Bizarre.

The Camino has some great traditions. One of which was a wine fountain in Irache (F). Red wine is only 70cents a glass, so it´s not surprising they´d offer it for free! (and it´s good).

To date we have been mostly walking through villages. They are the better to stay in as they seem grateful for having the pilgrims, and provide great accommodation, rather than stuffing us into a hostel. We have stayed in hostels with over 100 bunks all stuffed into a room. If you can imagine sleeping in the middle of a herd of mooing cattle, then you get the romance of sleeping between two overweight sweaty Spanish Camino cyclists. Add to that the Italian and Brazilian well aged walkers beneath you, and you have a mooing symphony (with vibrato).

However, the impact of the growth in large-city development has been obvious in sections, as well as the impact of the recession. We walked through Cirueña today, a village development complete with golf course, swimming pool, and childrens playgrounds. It was like a ghost town… except… no one had ever moved in here in the first place.

Jacqui and I have had the most amazing amount of luck en route. Take the bunking situation. Whilst it´d be great to have your empathy, or horror, at us sleeping with 200 people in one night… we were in fact fortunate, gaining the 198 and 199th beds. The Camino is increasingly popular, and if you don´t have your strut on during the day… or fall into the trap of too many ¨cafe con leche´s¨ then you may well be stuffed for a bed. We have decided to put the luck down to the magic of the Camino. They say that whatever you put into the Camino, the Camino will give back to you. In between the long climbs, hot days, and snoring nights, we have continued to smile and revel in every moment. So much so that our adopted dutch and french grand-gang have named us the smiling girls.

The next few days are somewhat lighter, which will give us a chance to recover. We also are re-assessing the gear we are taking. It´s interesting that at the start we both thought we were minimalists. Suddenly now three pairs of socks seems incredibly excessive, and we find ourselves debating the weight of a clothing line! The happiest people on the Camino tend to carry around 7kg. We are extra happy. Probably because the extra weight of our bags has made us delusional :).

Will keep you posted on the next yellow arrows. ´Til then… buen Camino!

Clementine (and jacs)