THE TEAM AND HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS

THE TEAM

COLIN DILKS, “FUERTE”

SARA HAMILL, "HUNGRY"

SANDY GRAUPERA, “MS METEOROLOGY”

BEST MEAL

The roast duck Sandy ate in Elizondo in Hotel Trinkete

The flan in Planoles

Breakfast in campsite Ochagavia

Lentils in Bujaruelo

Anything in All i Oli, Vielha (off route)

The wild boar in the restaurant in Sallent de Gallego 

BEST REFUGIO GUARDADO

Casa de Piedra

Vallferrera

BEST EQUIPMENT

Thermarest mattress

GPS

dental floss (does a lot more than flossing)

anti-inflammatories

Colin's book (Cicerone)

Moisturiser (hours of taking the mickey out of Colin)

WORST EQUIPMENT

Pack of cards

Moisturiser!

Ferrino sleeping bags

Radio

BEST CAMPSITE

Off the route but Puyarruego

Puigcerda

Planoles for the bar

BEST CAMPING SPOT

Collado Adatún

Refugio no guardado in Casas de Irati

Guarrinza (morning views)

The corner in the Añisclo Canyon!

BEST CASA RURAL

Casa Mendilatz

Canfranc, Hostal Cabana

BEST DAY

Encamp to Cabana dels Esparvers

Vallferrera to Arinsal

BAD THINGS

Cold shower for €2 in swimming pool in Vilaminiscle

Walking the road to Balneario de Panticosa (off route)

Camp site in Port de la Selva

RAIN

WEIRD THINGS

Refugio Góriz

Camping by Conxita's garage, La Vajol

Paco in Puyarruego (off route)

Crashed plane near Requesens

Restaurant / farm in Requesens

Hotel Casa Eskisaroi in Elizondo

LINKS

Colin’s fantastic Flickr page of all of our photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/visualadventurer/collections/72157609733730018/




I have kept a lot of telephone numbers for places that we stayed and am happy to pass them on.

DAY 0. May 28th. TRAIN FROM BARCELONA TO IRUN

Not too nervous. Train down from Girona to Sants where we meet Mar who has got us a solar-powered battery charger. The train is an old, once comfortable Talgo which seems to have a broken suspension aswell as the knackered springs and cushions in the seats. Arrive in Irún after 8.30 hours and get a taxi in the rain to Hondarribia. Nice taxi driver who seems a bit gay, especially when he talks about Montgomery Clift’s summers in the area. Tapas OK, nothing special and not cheap. Like the cider. Hotel San Nikolas: friendly and well-located, clean and comfy. Nice Patxarán in the Parador opposite. Release the novel I read by Joyce Carol Oates in the square but have never got around to checking Book Crossing.

Day 1. CABO HIGER TO BERA May 29th.

Good sleep in Hotel San Nikolas, breakfast in smokey bar just outside walls. Sunny day. Get taxi to Faro. Convinced that we should start at the sea so we walk in the wrong direction for an hour. Officially start at 11am. Lunch in the unattractive centre of Irún. Tapas and 2 bottles of cider (perhaps not the best way to start). Leave civilization behind, start to climb hills and weather starts to deteriorate. Packs very heavy and backs sore. Lost at various points due to lack of marks and being a bit hopeless with the GPS. Arrive in Bera at 10pm with nowhere to stay. Follow sign for casa rural which takes us up a very unwelcome hill. Woman takes us in but offers no food so to bed with one or two biscuits and warm beer. Sandy with feet problems already. At some point she loses her sleeping mat.

Day 2. May 30th. BERA TO ELIZONDO

Yesterday we surpassed the stated hours in the books by over 4 hours and today sticks to this rule. Get up early and hobble stiffly to get bread and cakes from nice bakers down the hill in Bera. Climb up the hill in mist and see the sun break through the trees. Make tea at the bunker at the top which seems to be above the clouds. Set the gas canister on fire for entertainment. Sunny. Terrible hay fever. Farm-land, beech trees, views of valleys, up, down, up, down. Heavy rain, get wet changing and then it stops. Mud, mud, mud. Sheep, ponies, cows, vultures, bit lost, bunkers, refuges. Cyclist passes us. Tired and slow. Long, long way down to Elizondo, sporadic rain…enough to keep us damp. Entering town meet nice couple who walk with us to hotel Casa Eskisaroi which is a dump but clean, friendly and incredibly cheap. Like Elizondo a lot. Dinner at Hotel Trinkete very good (€72 for 3 with 2 bottles of wine). Good sleep but beds terrible.

DAY 3. May 31st. DAY OFF IN ELIZONDO

Rain, storms and orange alert for afternoon so we decide to stay. Stiff and tired. Breakfast nice in Bar Gloria. Internet, tourism, phone-calls, picnic, shops, fantastic siesta. Great town. Hotel move us to even cheaper rooms (€16 double, €11 single). Beds TERRIBLE. Washing. Doesn’t rain enough until later to stop me feeling bad about not walking. Wedding in town, hotel full. Good to rest blister, back and legs. Rain heavy from 6pm. Dinner at Trinkete good but salty. Sandy will remember the roast duck for the rest of her life. Bed 9pm.

DAY 4. June 1st. ELIZONDO TO COLLADO ADATUN. 10 hours

Leave Elizondo in the cold and drizzle after breakfast in the bakers near the church. Up, up, up, water, water, water. Begin to understand that the GR11 consists of up in the morning, up and down after that and finally down, down, down into a town. Get to Puerto de Urkiaga down route of many bunkers, refuges and pigeon-hunting towers. Urkiaga dark, spooky and damp so decide to try to make it to the collado. Camp but it rains and is freezing. Ferrino sleeping bags recommended by Intemperie are absolutely useless. Can’t sleep and knee hurts. Laxative taken the night before was a big mistake! Wait in tent in the morning in the hope that it warms up, but no sun, just cloud.

DAY 5. June 2nd. COLLADO ADATUN TO UBARRI CAMP-SITE.

Shorter day. Start walking down forest path following stream. Green and beautiful, crossing streams and rivers many times. See a lovely salamandra. Sore right knee and sleepy. Casa Pablo, Sarogain for lunch and dog eats Colin’s insole. Up hill after lunch, take old GR route so as to avoid going back on ourselves to Burguete. Bit lost as farmers seem to reclaim the GR as part of their land. Saved by the GPS. Join the “motorway” (Camino de Santiago) for a while and get to camp-site just before the heavy rain. Decide to stay in the albergue in the camp-site for €9 each. Hot shower, washing, making reservations for the weekend. Camp-site good (menu €11.50), hot water but barking dog all night and French Christians noisy early in the morning (consequence of the Camino).