Day 2 of the Camino

Stage 2 Imarcoain to Navarrete

The beginning sentence in my journal about this stage was Today was a long, long day.

We had a great breakfast at the hotel at 8 and it was probably a little after 9 when we pulled out. We had numerous picture stops just a few kms from the hotel as there was an aqueduct which made a great background for a group picture. We got quite good at finding creative ways to prop up Karin’s camera.

We aren’t Irish even though several people we met thought we were because our jerseys are all from the Wicklow 200. (Terri Lynn and Sheri have ridden that ride enough that we each had our own jersey so every other day we matched.)

We hadn’t gone very far after our photo op before my chain came off to the inside. I tried to get it back on by shifting it over but due to a lack of speed and not thinking fast enough to clip out I toppled over. Terri Lynn was excited to be able to use her emergency bike kit so the scrap on my right knee was well cleaned and a band-aid applied.

Our tourist stop for the day was Knights Templar church that was a short way off the road in the middle of no where. It is modeled after the Templar church in Jerusalem.

One of the streets in Peunte la Reina

Another photo op was in Puente la Reina where we got a sello (stamp) in our credencials and stopped on the old bridge that every pilgrim has walked/ridden over since the 11^th century.

We chatted with a group of 4 Italian women who were riding the Camino on mountain bikes. They were following the walking trail as much as possible.

To explain the credencial: The Camino de Santiago (Way of St James) is a pilgrimage that follows the path that James supposedly took. The story goes that James was sent by Jesus to Galicia to preach. He was largely unsuccessful and returned to Jerusalem where Agrippa had him beheaded. His followers placed his body on a boat which eventually reached Spain. His body was rediscovered in the 9^th century in Santiago. In the Middle Ages Santiago de Compostela became the 3^rd most important pilgrimage destination after Jerusalem and Rome. There are now numerous routes that lead to Santiago. To get a certificate saying that you have successfully completed the pilgrimage you have to prove that you walked the last 100 kms or cycled the last 200 kms. The way to do that is to pick up a credencial (credential) at your starting point. It is stamped with the date. From then on you need at least one stamp (sello) a day (more would be better) along the route to show that you actually did it. Karin was usually the one who went running into tourist offices, churches or other such places to get our sellos. Ours includes stamps from places we stayed and ate as well.

Karin looking for a sello

After Puente la Reina the road headed up and we had our first real climb of something like 5 kms. Once we made it to the top the road never really flattened out. (We ended up climbing 2579 m on the day.)

Another stop was at the monastery in Irache. Shortly before getting there we went through a major wind tunnel. The road was headed up and a strong head wind was whipping through the tunnel. We all made it through but it was hard work. The monastery in Irache is known for its wine fountain. The monks make wine and back in 1891 they put in a fountain to be used by the pilgrims. One spigot is for wine and one is for water. We stopped and had a little taste. (Sheri learned that wine kept in a plastic water bottle does NOT taste good the next morning.)

Back on the road again, Terri Lynn figured out that the estimated kms we needed to cover that day to get to Navarrete was about 20 kms too low. When she and Sheri informed Karin and I of the news, I was feeling pretty good so it didn’t matter to me. The good feeling wouldn’t last.

The road we were on was straight but constant hills.

I took this picture when I bonked. Above is where we came from. Below is the road to Viana

They weren’t very long but it wasn’t long before I bonked – i.e. completely ran out of energy. I was very hungry and ate several cereal bars but it takes a while for the energy to reach the muscles. I kept pedaling but was very glad when we stopped in Viana to see Paul’s wife. On the way into town I took my 3^rd fall of the day. My second fall was after one of our stops when I was looking down and trying to clip in as Sheri was doing the same thing in front of me. Since I was looking at my pedal I ran right into her bag and over I went – on my left side. I wasn’t going very fast and didn’t require any first aid.

My 3^rd fall came as we headed into the old part of Viana with cobblestone streets. I was a little behind and was told to keep my speed and go around the corner up the street. Not being very lucid, I took the corner a little wide and ran into Karin and over I went again. This time in front of an older Spanish woman, who, though I could not understand a word she said, obviously thought my fall was quite spectacular and I must be hurt. I was fine--other than a bruised elbow, knee and ego and feeling totally exhausted. We all walked our bikes up to the square in front of the church where I promptly laid down on a bench in the shade and took a break while the others talked with Paul’s wife and took care of getting a sello. I don’t remember if I ate anything again but when we took off I was feeling much more like my normal self.

Our next adventure was trying to get through Logrono. Arthur (whose route and councils we were following) said Logrono was easy to get through and well marked. Unfortunately I was in front and following my instinct (head west) and that got us off the marked path. We found it again on the other side of town but weren’t sure if we could take it with our road bikes. Next time we’ll try it since the only other way to Navarrete seemed to be the bypass where the speed limit was 120kms. There was a wide shoulder and we did fine except it was Sheri’s turn to bonk. At least she waited until about 5 kms from our destination. Riding into Navarrete we stopped and had another discussion. Should we go up the hill on N120 or find our way through town? We knew our hotel was on the other side of town since we had driven by it a couple of days before. A car came by and told us to take N120 – so up the hill we went. At least it was down hill for the last km before we rolled onto the beautiful grounds of Hotel San Camilo. I think all of us were more than ready to arrive at our destination.

After a shower and washing our bike clothes we headed into town to find some food. August is fiesta month in Spain and it was fiesta night in Naverete. Karin decided later on in the trip that everyone was having fiesta just for us. Since Spainards eat their main meal at noon (or rather between 2 and 4) it isn't always easy to find a big meal in the evening but this was worse than usual. We checked out every restaurant in town (obviously not a very big town) and no one was serving more than sandwiches. At least we were able to figure out that the best we could do was a hot steak sandwich and a coke (or lemon Fanta for me). All of us were craving pasta but we settled for what we could get. I finished off my meal with Spanish doughnut sticks dipped in chocolate. (That is not what they are called but it is a good way to describe them.)

The route for the day: http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/spain/imarcaoin/597574871