#i dont wanna give up on Freak Town (home of the freaks) USA

[mokeonn]

I finally got really into City Skylines recently and I have to say, if you get the game you NEED the natural disaster pack. If not for the new gameplay features and the chaos of natural disasters, get it so when you make a city and you know you're not gonna play it again. There's nothing more fun to decide that you're done for the day and then unloading 15 meteors on your city.

[stephaniegeorge]

Camino De Santiago - my experience

Ooo you wanna know about the camino?

Thanks to the 20 odd people who have messaged me asking “Why on earth are you walking across Spain Steph you crazy”, I’ve decided to write a lil post. Look it might be massive. I have no idea, which is funny because I have no freaking idea about this thing even after 2 days.

Um, so I’ll start off by briefly explaining what the Camino de Santiago is. It’s a catholic pilgrimage that ends at the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. Legend says that it is a pilgrimage where all of your sins are forgiven… My fingers are crossed. Over time however, many people choose to do the camino for different reasons other than religion - some of them being spiritual, needing a break or just wanting a challenge.

There are many different routes, the most popular being the french way (which is what I chose to do). The beginning of the french way starts in St Jean Pied de Port, which is on the french side of the Pyrenees. It is just over 800km long and goes through north western Spain. During the camino, you cross small villages, ancient towns and gorgeous scenery. Everyones camino is different! Some people start at different points, some choose to walk from Santiago to St Jean, and some cross through the different routes along the way.

Before I babble on about my experience and give a few tips, I’ll pre babble on why I chose to do this.

I heard about this trek from my aunty in December 2015. After a pretty horrid year, I guess you could say that I wasn't in the greatest headspace. I hated uni, I’d been constantly injured for a number of years and all I wanted to do was travel but I had no money. The camino is cheap. You can do it off 15 euro a day or less if you really wanted to. That really stuck in my head. I ended up leaving uni anyway in 2016, and I decided that this was going to be an outlet in which i could clear my lil brain. Also was looking to gain some confidence as well.i

Arriving/Day 1

I caught a flight from Melbourne to Paris, then caught a train down to St Jean Pied de Port. I had booked an airbnb (linked) for the night as I was arriving at a later time. If you are arriving after 2pm time, I strongly suggest pre booking a place to stay as albergues tend to fill up by that time!

St Jean was honestly one of my favourite places. It is stunning and the atmosphere is buzzing as everyone is so excited to get up in the morning and start walking!! Make sure you get a good sleep on the first night, as the walk over the Pyrenees the next day is by far the hardest part of the camino.

Why the hardest day is the first I will never know, but I wasn't exactly expecting this to be super hard. I was pretty lucky to meet 3 lovely irish ladies (the first lot of irish ladies) at breakfast and we walked together for the next few days. Within the first 2km, you reach super steep hills that make you think that it isn't going to get any worse than this. But they do, and the terrain gets even worse as well. I sound as if this is torture, something that you wouldn't even want to do. But it’s the views and the hype of the first day that really gets everyone going. Unlike any other days on the camino, there is only 1 place in the 1st 27km that you can stop at (which is around the 13km mark). It’s definitely the day you stop to take the most photos. You pass through beautiful mountains, endless greenery and get to be amongst some gorgeous horses! The first day ends at Rounsevelles for the majority of people and other than a hotel, there is only 1 albergue to stay (it is pretty huge and you wouldn't have a problem finding a bed). I slept like a baby that night.

I’m not going to do through every day, as most of them become a blur. A blur thats pretty common in my life back home: Get up, walk, eat, walk, eat, sleep. I will however run through some of the highlights I had!

Meeting people!

I am so glad that I came on this myself and I highly recommend that if you choose to do this, you come alone! There is saying that goes around on the walk: “You walk alone, but you are never really alone”. Whenever you pass somebody on the camino or vice versa, everyone says “Buen Camino!” which basically means “Have a good camino” (make sure you do this… some people get crabby if you dont)

I was pretty lucky to meet the people I did. The first of them being the Irish ladies - Emma, Maureen and Eibhlin. We walked the first 4 days to Pamplona together (my favourite city) and had the most delicious pasta and pizza. I was pretty sad to say goodbye to them, other people who had started at the same time as us thought I was Irish too which became a running joke for the rest of the camino!

Who was next… Ah! Yes MORE IRISH LADIES and a bunch of men. I’d come across someone I didn't exactly like… We just didn't click (You get that on the camino, just like you do at home). Being the person I am, I couldn't exactly say “Fuck off”. Anyway, when I heard these lovely voices behind me I quickly latched on like leech.

So in the new group I found (and continued on with) we had 3 ladies from Ireland (Deirdree, Cathy and Marianne), 3 men from England (John, Paul and Harry), 1 from Denmark (Bo), 1 from the USA (Kevin) and 1 from Tasmania (Trevor)- my singing partner. So many different personalities, yet we all just meshed together. I think this was when I truly felt the most comfortable on the camino, as I felt respected and supported the whole time I was with them.

Everyone you meet on the camino has a different story about why they are doing it. I’ve always found that it is easier to talk about personal things with strangers because it’s unlikely that they know anyone that you know, and you are more inclined to be completely honest and put yourself out there. I learnt many lessons from many people.

Along the way, we met another 2 American gals from California. They were 20, which was pretty cool as I had only met one other person close to my age. I don't think I have played that many games of cards in my life! Halle taught me that I hate frisbee.

Being alone

There is nothing better than some alone time! I loved getting up early and walking by myself. If I wanted to walk 10km that day, I could. Or if I wanted to stop and rest for a bit, I could and not have pressure from other people to keep going. Putting in my headphones and jamming out for 3+ hours was sick, and I definitely got a lot of good thinking done.

In saying that though, sometimes being alone sucked. I was pretty much by myself for 3 or 4 days and in that time, I hurt my knee real bad, fell down the stairs in front of 20 odd people and ended up balling my eyes out, walking an entire day in the rain and getting lost. In hindsight, it forced a bit of independence out of me.  

Choosing to stop

I contemplated stopping my camino a number of times, but somehow things got better each day and I was able to get myself to my next destination. With a bad knee, blisters and my shin, I really didn't think that I was going to catch a break. I think mentally more than anything, it hurt. It wasn't until I got to Villafranca that realised I had a problem that from experience, doesn't end well at all. It was pretty tough stopping with only around 7 days to go, because I knew if I really wanted to, I could suck it up and limp the last 200km. But the last thing I wanted was to be on crutches for the rest of my holiday. 

You can always come back to the camino! 

FEW TIPS

Just a few little things that might help you if you decide to walk the camino/part of it!

Train PROPERLY: Get your bag and your boots a few months before, fill it with 10% of your body weight and walk. And do it again and again.

Get up early: Walking before 6.30am is beautiful, especially in summer. It’s not too cold and it makes the day go faster as well. Also helps when finding a place to stay as places can get booked out in peak season! Although I didn't go to Sarria, apparently it is pretty hard to find a place to stay if you don't leave early or book ahead!

Avoid pilgrim meals: One of my biggest regrets. The pilgrim meal sounds awesome, for around 10 euro you get 2 meals, a desert, wine, bread and water. The majority of the time they are pretty average (it’s almost like they have plates of food ready to go and zap it n the microwave). A lot of places you stay in have a kitchen, and it’s much cheaper to cook your own food. It’ll probably taste better as well.

Trekking poles: I didn't bring trekking poles because i didn't think i was going to need them. But let me tell you, if Jim hadn't of given me that one pole, i would have stopped before I got to day 7. If you haven't hiked much, GET THEM.

BLISTERS: So I had a reputation along the camino for having the most fucked up feet. I think I tried every single method to get prevent them/treat them, but seriously the best way is just leaving them. Compeed is good if you are prone to blisters in certain areas, but as soon as you have any sort of blister or even rubbing, putting compeer on just spreads it out and causes more blisters. It also keeps moisture in, which is the opposite of what you want. I found simply wrapping around the blister with a bandage much more comforting than anything.

Learn some spanish: Locals like it when people make an effort. After St Jean, many of them didn't speak english or very much at all. Learn key phrases and words! It makes things a lot easier + you also feel like you're a lil more cultured.

SO YEAH. If you have read all of this, my god. Well done. I hope it didn't make sense.