tracycockerham
- Sep 7, 2022
- 4 min read

On being sun-safe and a day in the life of a pilgrim…rant warning…

Somewhere between Lectoure and Condom-en-Armagnac, I passed the 300 mile mark…and am now at 315. I have about 135 miles left until I arrive St Jean Pied de Port, where the four paths in France merge. That is the starting point for the 2nd half of my journey and leads me over the Pyrenees into Spain. It’s Basque Country, baby!

While I am at mile 315, I’ve only walked 307, because today I looked at the temperature and made an executive health decision. I am not walking in 90 degree heat in baking sun again. I’m done with that. Here’s why. I got sunburned yesterday. Yep. It’s true. Me, the head of the sun-safety police, got sunburned. That was the final straw for me. I applied and reapplied my sunscreen every 50-60 minutes, but it was so hot/no shade and the sunscreen kept running off my body. It’s too hot for my long sleeves when I am about to have heatstroke and if you know me you know I always wear long sleeves hiking. My arms got sunburned…AND, while I wear a wide brimmed hat even my face got sunburned. This happened because of the reflection from the ground. This is why, people, when your shadow is shorter than you are tall you need to seek shade! Period! That’s when the sun’s rays are at their strongest. There is no shade today and after 1pm I am not walking in this heat. To hell with that, I say!

So, I shared a ride out of Lectoure this morning with another sun-safe pilgrim to the beautiful town of La Romieu, 8 miles away and began my walking day there. This allowed me to finish by 1pm. And because of that it’s been an really wonderful day.

Sunscreen replenishment occurs about every 3rd day FYI: the pharmacist here says this one is the best and so does Consumer Reports and my derm at UCSF

Now I am short 8 miles on a 1000 mile journey but I can make it up when I am in Bilbao in mid September by walking a stage of the camino in that area. And if I miss 8 miles or if I miss 50 miles I don’t care, I will be missing them in memory of The Ginger, who died from the shitty disease called melanoma. I’m not getting sunburned again. #remembertheginger

I’ve traveled 115 (walked and now a taxi) miles over the 6 days since Scott’s been gone, averaging about 19 miles a day (a couple of days were short, the rest have been long long long). FYI, that’s way too much. I prefer the 12-15 mile days. I can do 20-24 miles but I don’t like doing it day after day and I really don’t like doing it in the heat and the sun. I’ve got 3 short days coming up and possibly some rain and clouds so am really, really looking forward to that.

This was the “I almost had heatstroke” day I removed my hat, wet my buff with water and put it all over my face and head til I cooled down. Then I put my hat back on my wet hair

Here’s how the days go when you’re on The Way. Depending on length of the hike, I wake up between 615 and 7am. I like to be out the door by first light and for sure by sunrise. On shorter hiking days I might leave a little later. I spend the hours hiking, walking, thinking, talking to myself, over-thinking, as I often do. The number of photos taken each day is largely dependent on the weather. Rain, almost no pics. Heat? I’m usually too grouchy to take pics.

If there was any place to stop and have a rest and a drink I’d do it, but so far there have been very few. So I stop at the first cafe I see on my way into town, and often times because the villages are small, the first cafe is also the gite or hotel I am staying.

On some days I meet people on the walk and chat a bit, but on this route, the Le Puy route, that is a luxury when it happens. This route is not as diverse and there aren’t too many people I’ve met who are out for the camino spirit. Most are out for a holiday walk. But it’s always pleasant and I know once once I am in St Jean the number of pilgrims will increase ten-fold and most of the holiday walkers will be gone.

After I arrive and have my coke (by the way, this is a new thing for me, I don’t really drink sodas but it just sounds good after a long hike, ha!). If I’ve arrived in time for lunch I will eat a small lunch, otherwise I eat on the trail. I shower, do laundry and hope everything will dry before the next day. Depending on the length of that day’s hike I may nap or I may go out and venture around the village.

Dinner is usually around 7 or 730pm, so I have my pre dinner glass of rose about 630 and head to dinner. French dinners are big and delicious and very long. Always 3 courses and always with wine. I just can’t eat this much food and have been ashamed for not cleaning my plate as is the custom in France. I apologize profusely and hope they believe I really did enjoy it.

Sometimes the dinners are a group meal and other times I am on my own. I enjoy both. I’m usually in bed by 930 and asleep by 1030 and I do it all again the next day.

Before we left for this trip one of our neighbors asked why we didn’t just drive from town to town. My response was this, I can’t see and experience a place from a car. When I am somewhere I want to be IN IT. And be a part of it.

I enjoy the fancy hotel vacations (especially if they have a spa) but for the most part, if I’ve gone somewhere it’s because I want to walk away from it differently than I was when I arrived.

So right now as I am writing this I’m sitting with a little girl and her dog and we are having a chat. She doesn’t speak English and I don’t speak French, but we both speak the universal language of DOG. This little girl is used to new people arriving at her families gite every day and so she’s not shy. And years from now I will remember this conversation and this experience and how hot it is it was and how the dogs fur felt when I pet him, and this little cutie pie and her smiling face. So that’s why I do it.