Today we walked 13.5 miles (21.8 km) in 6.5 hours with breaks and lunch.
The backpack rain covers are off! We walked the entire day without a single drop of rain — the first day that’s happened! We had a great, but somewhat long, day going through several little towns like Mañeru, Cirauqui, Lorca, and Villatuerta, enjoying the houses and little squares, and sometimes stopping for a break and a snack. Today is Sunday, so most stores are closed, but we managed to find several bakeries and cafes open anyway. We’re hitting our stride now, with several long days under our belt.
I’ve been meaning to talk about the age of people doing the Camino. There have been several times where the two of us were the youngest people in the room. There are people of all ages here, but according to the official statistics, almost 15% of them are over 60.
We’re also seeing lots of vineyards now, as well as olive orchards. And still a lot of green wheat, red poppies, and yellow rapeseed flowers.
It’s pretty quiet tonight here in Estella, since everything is closed because it’s Sunday, but we found a little convenience store open and managed to find some things to cook for dinner tonight. Our daily ritual is to get checked in to the albergue, shower, wash clothes (this place has a washing machine too, so that makes it easy), rest a bit, eat dinner (either out somewhere, or cooking something if they have a kitchen), and hit the bed early. Most pilgrims start stirring and packing things up shortly after sunrise, so staying up late is out of the question, but usually we’re so tired we’re lucky if we can make it past 9 pm anyway.
I wanted to mention how much we’re appreciating all the great comments from you guys reading along! The first thing we do each morning is read all the comments from everyone, and sometimes we wish we had more time to respond to them all. If you asked a question we haven’t answered, we probably just haven’t gotten to it yet, but be assured that we definitely saw it and appreciated it. :-)
The photos for today, starting as we headed out on a chilly, but beautiful blue-sky morning from Puente la Reina.
Vineyards.
Shorts and short sleeves! We even got to use the sunglasses and sunscreen for the first time!
Peregrinos taking a break.
Olive orchards.
Coming in to Estella, where we’re staying for the night.
Home sweet home, for tonight.
when you get to los arcos, i strongly recommend that you stay at casa de la abuela, plaza de la fruta 8. my wife and i stayed there last year and we loved it – they even did our laundry for free! we decided to skip casa austria la fuente after talking w the guy out front who had a shot glass of vermouth in one hand and a joint in the other (sorry, not my bag)
buen camino!
The photos are wonderful- makes me feel like I am in your backpack -along for the ride! Kathey -I also have found the small towns much more enjoyable all through-out Europe.
Manuel,
Thanks for the recommendation. We called Abuela from Villamayor but unfortunately they were already full. We ended up at Fuente after all, and I can definitely see what you said happening. :-) Not our bag either but fortunately it seems to be ok so far. Appreciate the comment anyway though!
Russell
These photos are so incredible it’s as if we could step onto the trail and join you. I wish it were that easy! Keep the posts coming…
Wondering as well if Kathey has been able to find enough veggie food along the way to balance out the vino?