We have crossed a couple of bridges built by the Romans and the cobblestone roads that follow may have carried chariots, wagons, horses or foot traffic. They seem to have a center line of vertical stones and two rows of horizontal on either side. And they were rough on the ankles again. Here's what one looked like:
And here's what Sharon looked like trying to descend one of the curves in the road:
Fortunately we had had an interesting visit with our taxi driver from the day before. As he drove us from Uterga to Puente, he mentioned that he was from Pamplona. I would have guessed him to be mid-30s, and I asked him if he had ever run with the bulls. He grinned big and said he had, when he was younger and not as smart. "You don't run with the bulls anymore," I asked. No, he said, he was older and wiser, AND he had two boys who need a father! One day they would perhaps want to run with the bulls, and he would not be able to stop them, for he had done it when he was young as well.
The advice he gave us about the Camino between Puente la Reina and Estella was to start early, because it would get hot today. Also, while it wasn't as steep as the previous day, it was across farmland, with lots of rolling hills.
So start early we did. I had had a stroke of genius the night before and arranged with the hotel clerk to arrange transport for our backpacks from Puente to Estella. The good news was that we would walk unencumbered for the whole 12 miles. The bad news was that we WOULD have to walk the whole 12 miles, because our bags would be waiting for us at the Albergue ANFAS in Estella. There was no going part of the way if we wanted to see our backpacks again!
The first two villages went by clickety-click and by 10:30 we were enjoying coffee in Ciraqui, and lunch in Lorca by 12:30. We ran into several of our "friends" we had made along the way, and they were quite memorable. They included:
--The old man and his grandson from Valencia who had been walking for a few days. He was 74, not sure about his grandson, but we had spotted them the first day walking. The grandson carried a backpack big enough for the two of them, the grandfather carried a walking stick. They were enjoying each other's company and were proud to show off a few of the features of the Camino to us. When we came to a crossroads, they insisted that we take a picture together! It was a challenge for us to keep up with Pop's pace!
--George from Holland had crossed paths with us the day before and we noticed he was moving slowly today. He only planned to go as far as Lorca. He had had a type of cancer and had several courses of radiation, which had affected his nerve ending in his fingers and toes. He had to be very careful.
--The nice mother-daughter pair from Austin. It seemed that every time we turned around we saw them, at a coffee shop here or restaurant there.
--A lady from Holland who lived in Malaga, Spain and was walking just part of the Camino for a few days. Later, her sister from the U.S. would be coming to join her and they would complete the walk together.
--We've bumped into several people from Ireland, and as we had been warned, they were all lots of fun! One lady in particular had crossed paths with five or six times already and always smiled and spoke. A guy from Ireland passed us a couple of times, and when he said he was from Ireland, we asked if his name was Jack. No, it was Paul.
--The guy walking the wrong way on the Camino. I mentioned to him that he was going the wrong way. He pointed behind us and asked, "Santiago?" We pointed the direction we were heading and said, "Santiago!" He appeared embarrassed, turned around and started walking with us westerly--for a few paces! Then he smiled broadly, made a U-turn and continued in the direction he had been going.
--Rafael is from Barcelona and we have bumped into him 2-3 times already. He's about our age and super friendly.
--We met our first French couple today and got to slaughter that language for a little bit before he confessed to speaking English. They were from the French overseas department of Reunion, an island in the Indian Ocean renowned for its tropical beauty. The thing outstanding about them was their luggage--they carried their backpacks on something resembling a wheelbarrow, only a little longer, which they rolled along in turns behind or ahead of them.
We haven't seen Armando or Ben and Amanda, with whom we spent the first night, but we may run into them again. We had shared breakfast with Armando in Puente at the restaurante El Tremendo. When we noticed the bust of Ernest Hemingway there, the bartender reminded us that Hemingway had made Pamplona famous with his short story about the running of the bulls. He pulled out a book filled with pictures and clippings about Hemingway and flipped through them until he found one of the writer in full laughter. "Ah, Hemingway--there was a man!"
So we made it through our first full day of walking, and our 12 miles took us about nine hours, several blisters on Sharon's feet, a red neck and a rash on her calves. Tomorrow we will travel a little more slowly. Most of my pictures were taken with my camera today, so not too many to share, but take a look at what the Camino looked like today:
After leaving Villatuerta, we had thought it was only a couple miles to Estella. But the route continued, and continued, and continued and it was the longest two miles of our lives! Finally, we came to the river which marked the entrance to the town. It was a fitting sight to see!
Estella is a town of about 15,000 people and we arrived shortly at our albergue, which we learned was operated by the national association of mentally challenged people. That's the closest direct translation I will offer, but we worried a bit that maybe we shouldn't be staying here. Then we worried a bit that maybe we SHOULD be staying here!
We got checked in, had our credentials stamped, and were shown to our room--a huge chamber filled with 17 bunk beds and the first person we laid eyes on was an older Spanish gentleman dressed only in his shorts and who looked by his physique to be a snorer. The second one we saw could have been his twin. If we had had any energy, we might have turned and fled for better lodging! But the thing that made us the happiest was the fact that there behind the counter were two backpacks, a red one and a green one, and we knew we would have clean clothes for the night.
Isabell had said she would just as soon sleep in a homeless shelter as some of the places we had ahead of us, and perhaps she was right. The unisex bathrooms and showers are interesting, but they do have private stalls and that offer a degree of privacy.
We rested, showered then strolled down Main Street and took a few pictures of the town. Here's what the place looks like, as well as one of the churches.
We found a bar-restaurant with a pilgrim menu and wifi so settled in to eat and update the blog. I believe that most meals here come with a fried egg. But I'm exercising enough to overcome whatever dangers they pose. Plus, they are delicious! Take a look:
Suddenly people have come piling in to this place! I don't know exactly what is going on, but there is a television and they all seem to be watching some kind of sporting event. Two groups of guys seem to be aimlessly kicking a football around a field with no rhyme nor reason to it, but it drives this people crazy. I wonder what would happen if one team should score. We don't intend to find out. Good night all!
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