I arrived in Irun at midday and waited in this adorable bar, drinking beer, until the Pilgrim hostel opened at 4pm. By 4:15 I was officially a pilgrim and super excited to start the walk the next day.

Beware below: a long post and many tears.

Day 1 – IRUN TO PASAIA DONIBANE.

The weather forecast was not good. 11° and raining all day. I was optimistic in my waterproof gear. After breakfast which consisted of tea, coffee, baguette with jam and biscuits, my boyfriend and I set off on our adventure. Once we were off the main street, it was all up hill from there – this is not a metaphorical “up hill”, it was literally up and it was very muddy and slippery. An hour in and my waterproof jacket was starting to take on water, but all I kept saying to myself was “at least my hands are warm and my feet are dry”.

About 2 hours in, my so called “waterproof” pants were soaked through, dripping into my shoes and making my feet sloppily wet. I was still optimistic because my hands were warm.  I also had to take off my glasses because I couldn’t do the “Impervius” charm to stop them from being clouded and rain covered. I hate being a muggle.

“You can stand anything for 10 seconds,” says Kimmy Schmidt. “Then you just start on a new 10 seconds.”

It wasn’t until the 3rd hour when I realised we had a lot further to go and the rain wasn’t letting up – in fact, the wind was starting to pick up and no matter how many times I counted to 10, I wasn’t feeling any better. To say I was cold was an understatement. From that moment on, all I could do was walk, cry and count until we reached Pasaia Donibane, as there wasn’t anywhere to stop – we were on a mountain. But of course the wind blew harder, which not only made it difficult to walk in, made my arms and legs feel like they were getting stabbed by needles.

We reached Pasaia Donibane by about 2pm, after 6 hours of walking. Of course the albergue wasn’t open until 4pm, so we holed up in a bar for about two and a half hours until my lips changed back to normal from blue and I’d stopped shaking. The generosity of that bar lady is indescribable. She fed me tea, vodka, and gave me her scarf and a blanket, once I’d stripped myself of my soaked clothing. I was warmer butt naked than with my clothes on. Lucky I had the sense to buy shorts before I left home.

The photo below on the left is of my jacket – its not a very clear photo, but you can see the puddle it made and it was still sopping wet when we left. The second photo is of me, half alive and looking pretty fucked.

Never in my life have I felt like that before. I scared myself. I was worried I was going to get hypothermia and I’m pretty sure I was close at one stage. Although it was a tough day, sleep didn’t come easy.

Day 2: PASAIA DONIBANE TO ORIO VIA SAN SEBASTIAN

I was made to leave the albergue by 8am and found a nice little cafe before starting the next leg. I ate a croissant and drank an amazing coffee.

I made us stop at a supermarket to buy garbage bags to fashion a poncho out of – It was supposed to rain that day also. I made myself poncho and wore it proudly for about 30 minutes until I over-heated under the sun. No rain which was wonderful.

It was again, all up hill. It was a beautiful walk though. Coast and forest on either side of me.

I was still so physically exhausted from the day before that my muscles kept seizing up (and still do) during the walk, which made me slow and miserable. Along the way from Irun and at the hostel in Pasaia Donibane, I met this lovely Austrian girl who lent me her walking sticks (bastones), which helped a lot this day. It was still hard though.

I got to San Sebastian at approximately 1pm (after 11km) and stripped off my bag and shoes at a bar where I drank an espresso and sparkling water.

As I had to walk another 13kms to Orio, the time in San Sebastian was short. A quick burger and fries gave me the push to go on.

Alas the optimism and grease didn’t last. The total walking time for this day was 12 hours and I think I physically felt every second, and it was getting harder.

I became quite delirious and stumbled my way to Orio. Downhill was worse than up as my knees stopped working properly, making my hips more sore and my feet we’re getting seriously pummeled.

My amazing boyfriend came to my rescue with about 3 hours to go and took my bag for me – carrying about 10kgs and still moving faster than me.

I was not proud of myself, but I made it. And it was the first almost full night of sleep. San Martin Albergue was wonderful!

Day 3 – ORIO TO GETARIA VIA ZARAUTZ

When I woke up, nothing worked. Going to the toilet took time, gritting my teeth with every step. I hoped that I could have a rest day, but unfortunately the hostel wouldn’t allow that and I was again weeping.

I managed to walk 8kms to Zarautz before throwing in the towel. I’m so disappointed in myself. Only 3 days of the Camino and I can no longer walk like a regular-average human – I feel like a new born calf, clumsy and stupid. There’s another 5 and a half to 6 weeks of this.

My boyfriend has bought me a waterproof jacket and my own bastones, which will help immensely. The weather forecast is not great from Monday-

I will be having two rest days and hopefully that’s enough before I start feeling more like myself.

Wish me luck. I’ll need it!

– Miss Adventure

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