El Camino: first trek

One of the things Inaki and I vowed to do when we came to Spain was to spend some time on the Camino Santiago and do as many phases of the walk as we could. We've done 3 now, a short stretch in July and 2 longer ones this October. Though what I really want to post on are our last 2 hikes, I figure I should go in order and lead with the pithy 4 miler. In our defense, it was 95 degree weather and we weren't in the mood for a 20 kilometer trip.

This hike actually occurred on our way down the mountain with Dori in July. Since, as you may remember, we didn't want to dive into the forest, we didn't get much exercise and wanted a little more. We had her drop us off in Puerto de Erro and we walked to Ilarratz:

It was dusty and hot, but the trail was easy, mostly downhill to start. The tough part was the rocky terrain, hard to walk on and check out the view at the same time.

We had great views from the high point!

And loved the togetherness time.

It was so hot out that we actually started singing gospel songs to get through it. I don't know why really, but I think the spirit of the trail touched me somehow. Or, perhaps I was hallucinating. My "Amazing Grace" and "Saints", including the milk and honey train part, have never sounded better. A little further down the trail, We tried to catch Inaki, mid-spin jump, in a picture. Not sure why. This is as good as it got...

This is one of the small towns we went through. They are my favorite part of the camino! All the homes have so much charm and character and make me remember how cool it is that I live here and get to do this stuff.

Did I mention it was hot? On the way into our final destination, Ilarratz, Inaki went so crazy with heat that he acted out his favorite scene from his all time favorite movie, Gladiator (ask him about it sometime and get ready for the rant of your life).

And that was it. I'll get info on the other 2 tours up soon!