The First Leg

Had a good day the 1st getting oriented and prepared for the beginning  leg on  the 2nd. Left the hotel yesterday at 6:30 am and the climb to the first milestone, Our Lady of Guadulupe church, was brutal, even though it was only 4km or 2.4 miles. It was very steep. As you left the church and got back on the pathway, there was a sign that said alpinists straight ahead  and the other route, take a left. I had always planned to take the more scenic steep path with a beautiful view overlooking the coast. Maybe in the future I'll give greater consideration to the less scenic, easier option. Even though I carried 2 bottles of water,  I ran out and there was no water available during the 10 1/2 trek. This is unusual and there should have been a warning in the guide. Would also have been nice if the guidebook had warned that the last 5 or 6 km were somewhat dangerous especially for those of us whose pack is too heavy. By this point my legs were rubbery and I was close to dehydration. I was in no mood to walk along a narrow trail, where if you slipped to the left, you would roll down in to  the valley, never to be found or if you slip to the right, you get the sea option. It was nice of them to have a few sections where cable was attached to rock to hold on to as I was also trying to balance my trekking poles in my left hand. Did I mention the trail was very rocky and several times had boulders in the middle of the trail to navigate. I did manage to take a couple of pics, but frankly snapping pics was not a priority . I will post some pics when I find better wifi. Anyway, I finally made it and found water at the bottom of the mountain. I've never experienced anything like this on the last two caminos. I decided to take an early day off today to recoup, and hit it again tomorrow.