Saturday, May 7, 2011

Journey to Santiago - Day 2, Second Stage

Day 2 - Roncesvalles to Zubiri
Distance walked today: 21.5 km (14 miles)
Total distance walked: 21.5  km (284.2 miles)
Total distance left: 722.5 km (58.1 miles)
Information on the stage traveled here.


I was so happy to hear from Adal yesterday morning!  He ended up buying a cheap 29 Euro cell phone and calling cards, and texting works.  It seems that this solution was easier than trying to find a data plan for the iphone that worked with our local Swedish company.

He tells me all is well, he sounds happy and excited to start.  N and him were excited to speak to each other finally.  Yesterday he took a bus from Pamplona to Roncesvalles where he will complete his first stage, from Roncesvalles to Zubiri.  A stage is basically a day's walk.  This stage is 21.5 km.

Extensive detail about this stage (in Spanish): http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/etapa-de-roncesvalles-a-zubiri

He happened to meet someone on Facebook that lives in Zubiri and will probably dine with him tonight.  That sounds cool, to meet with a local in their own town.

As for our life here, today N and I went downtown to buy a gift for a friend's birthday party.  The house is on Lidingo and has a beautiful view from atop a hill.  Lots of embassy kids, as it was an embassy family celebrating, so I felt very much at ease and in the company of friends.  It was a great time, both for myself and N.  It was an ice cream social, with toppings and fruits for the kids to put on their bowl of ice cream, which was a great idea.  There was even a piñata, which I haven't seen in years at a party.  And thanks to the glorious 60 deg F weather, the kids were running around outside, playing in the sandbox, playground, everywhere.  I thought, wow, it's been a long time since I saw kids running around like that so free; it reminded me of the times of my childhood, a time of less technology and more outside time.

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