Laptop follies

Hey folks — The Camino postings will continue as soon as I work out my laptop issues. My poor Mac appears to have given up the ghost and I'm currently wrestling with a virus-ridden, decade-old PC. I am putting it out there into the etherverse for a new(ish) Mac. The Camino provides. Thanks for your patience. Happy New Year!

Email: It's Hot in Topeka
Twitter: @500Turtles
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Camino yellow arrows under freeway

More yellow arrows—spray-painted as well as an official posting—outside a tunnel leading under the freeway. You can see the rain water flowing down the middle. It didn't smell particularly enticing; quite a few pilgrims obviously used this spot as a toilet. This was snapped between either Zabaldika or Trinidad de Arre and Pamplona on May 5, 2010.

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[Images © Benjamin Scuglia.]

Camino: Wrong way sign

I took this photo between Zabaldika and Trindad de Arre. It is very easy to get lost along the Camino de Santiago if you aren't paying attention. This yellow X spray-painted onto some kind of utility shed is clearly meant to warn wandering pilgrims. The actual Camino was broad and well-marked at that spot, with Trinidad de Arre on the horizon within eyesight. But I suppose that hilly path could be tempting under the right circumstances.

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Twitter: @500Turtles
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[Images © Benjamin Scuglia.]

Tiny yellow arrow (outside Zabaldika)

A small, easy-to-miss, yellow arrow spray-painted onto a rock outside Zabaldika, Navarre. This was found along the nature trail I mentioned yesterday. It was considerate of someone to make sure there were yellow arrows to be found on this portion of the Camino de Santigao, but I missed it completely. In fact, I didn't see it until I grew frustrated and, in a terrible snit, began to retrace my steps. Luckily, I didn't have to walk very far, perhaps less than a mile, before I found this arrow and confirmed that I'd been heading in the right direction. I hadn't encountered anyone all morning and didn't learn until later that this nature trail, as I wrote yesterday, was a new addition to the Camino. Most peregrinos were following the traditional route along the freeway at the far bottom of the hill. Argh!

Email: It's Hot in Topeka
Twitter: @500Turtles
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[Images © Benjamin Scuglia.]

Muddy Camino (outside Zabaldika)

Rain, rain, go away. Yet another washed out portion of the Camino. This was just outside Zabaldika, Navarre, Day Three (May 5, 2010) on what turned out to be about two-and-a-half weeks of constant rain, cold and snow, wind and mud. Bleah. If the weather had been cooperative this would have been a breathtakingly beautiful nature walk. What I didn't realize until after I'd slogged through the mud all morning was that it was a relatively new addition to the Camino; the traditional route ran along the freeway at the bottom of the hill. Figures!

Email: It's Hot in Topeka
Twitter: @500Turtles
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[Images © Benjamin Scuglia.]

Dogs of the Camino (Zabaldika)

This will be the first in a series: Fierce Dogs of the Camino. This moon-faced canine was encountered just as I was leaving the Iglesia de San Esteban in Zabaldika, Navarre, which barely qualifies as a town at this point. It's a hamlet, I guess. I staggered up a steep hill behind the church and followed the Camino right through their backyard. The nun who found me as I was catching my breath could not have been more kind or accommodating. I'll have more photos of her and the church later. As I was leaving, this furry guy—or girl?—came trotting up to check me out. He kept his distance and did not make eye contact, but didn't give me any problems, either.

I'm running this series because tales of dangerous packs of dogs that terrorize hapless peregrinos along the Camino are plentiful and legendary. I grew up with dogs and have no fear of them. I know how to handle a tense situation with an angry dog. But even so, I was a tad bit anxious about these fearsome beasts said to populate the Camino. I needn't have worried. Most of the dogs I encountered—no doubt accustomed to having pilgrims pass through their turf all day, every day—were harmless as long as I left them alone.

Email: It's Hot in Topeka
Twitter: @500Turtles
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[Images © Benjamin Scuglia.]

Yellow arrow route marker (near Pamplona)

Sorry for the break in posting! I've been dealing with laptop issues. Argh. This photo is another angle on a photo I posted earlier. It was snapped somewhere between Zubiri and Pamplona on Day Two, I think. It's a nicer view of the typical route marker found along the Camino de Santiago. Most of the concrete markers I encountered also had stones piled on top as you see here. They are left by pilgrims for good luck and to just mark their progress. Click the image to embiggen.

Email: It's Hot in Topeka
Twitter: @500Turtles
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[Images © Benjamin Scuglia.]