It was a long walk today. About 11 miles from start to finish. A little longer than we like to walk and some up and down, but it wasn’t too bad.
It was one of the prettiest days we’ve had walking. The scenery, the weather, the ever-changing path.
The Litoral is the Camino we’ve been trying to stay on because it is usually close to the shore. But it isn’t well marked. The Coastal (strangely) is a little further inland, hillier, more established, with much better way marks. Today the Coastal and Litoral coincided all day. Hence it was an easy day to navigate: yellow arrows pointed the way at every turn. Less stress.
Also, we are trying something new. As we’ve mentioned in blogs of previous years, Charlie generously carries more than twice as much as I do. About 25 pounds for him and 10 for me. Starting last Camino he said it was getting hard (or at least not fun) to carry that weight and maneuver rocky, rooty, steep trails. Yesterday he said (to paraphrase many discussions) “I hoped I’d make it to 80 before we did pack transfer, but I’m more nervous about falling now and I think I’d enjoy the walks more without this heavy pack. Let’s try it.” So, we set it up last night and did it today for the first time.
The Spanish postal service (Correos) has a great service where they’ll take your pack from one town to the next. Cost is 7 euros per bag. You leave it at the hotel you are leaving and then find it waiting for you at the hotel you arrive at. It worked perfectly today.
We only carried what we needed for the day: rain gear, cool weather gear, some snacks, water bottles, first aid, my hiking poles. Charlie carried all that in his pack. We filled my pack with all our other stuff and that’s what got transferred via Correos. So, I didn’t carry anything but my waist pack. It was really nice to not have the weight on our backs.
It did take us a frustrating hour yesterday afternoon figuring out the Correos website to set up the transfer and having to make a phone call because of a glitch. But, we finally got it going. It’ll be easy from now on.
Oh so glad you opted for the transfer. What a relief not to carry the weight. Here in Japan there is a similar service for the more popular trails of the Kumano Kodo. But also, luggage transfer is a huge thing. People transfer luggage from one city to the next so they don’t have to wrangle it up and down zillions of stairs and thru the mazes of these huge train stations. Hotels will arrange it for you. Because the forms are in Japanese.
Ella, I noted with interest when you mentioned in your blog about transferring your luggage. It does feel like such a relief not lugging everything around.
I am loving your images. It is a gorgeous path, and love the idea of walking along the coast on boardwalks. And congratulations for letting go of your packs. You deserve to enjoy this walk.
Ella, I noted with interest when you mentioned in your blog about transferring your luggage. It does feel like such a relief not lugging everything around.
Hi Barbara, so good to hear from you. Does this mean you are back from New Zealand? We sure enjoyed reading your blog and seeing the photos. Thanks for your encouraging words about going without the packs. Yes, it’s been very freeing.
I’m with you about being apprehensive about falling! Never really thought much about it until we started carrying packs, then I swore never again to laugh when my doctor asks me if I’ve fallen recently.
A Fe w years ago I fell on my morning walk. I tripped over a hard to see sprinkler head. Bam, face plant on concrete I’m sure it was worse because I was wearing the heavy pack. I’m more careful now. The next time at the doctor’s they asked if I had had any falls. I didn’t mention it because I didn’t think that’s what they meant.
Yes, they aren’t interested in these types of falls. I actually confirmed this when I told them I occasionally trip over tree roots and rocks when not paying attention hiking in the Sandias.