Puenta La Reina to Estella

We managed to get a somewhat separated "suite" in the albergue last night with one bunk bed and one single and no one claimed the lower bunk so it was relatively private. Lights went out at 10 pm and on again at 7 am, by which time only the laggards were not up and out. Our headlamp worked well, and Advil pm and exhaustion meant we slept through all noises during the night. We fixed a protein shake in the dark before dawn, had a coffee and tea at the Aulbergue, and managed to stagger out the door at 7:30 am headed for Estella.

The trail led up a steep incline for the first hour or so, and the cafe marked on the map and planned for our breakfast in Maneru was closed, so we trudged on to Cirauqui in dejection. There was supposed to be another cafe there, and we walked off the trail by 150 yards to find it - got more tea and coffee and some cookies, no eggs or toast available. Then back on the trail we found a place with yogurt, rough bread, which we bought to accompany our cheese for our lunch. Passed olive groves, grape arbors, other farming activity.

The trail was quite thick with pilgrims - one or two every 100 yards strung out for miles. Mostly Spanish and French. We talked to one couple who showed us some good picture spots, and the wife was born Dutch but had married a Spaniard and both now lived in Marbella with two golden retrievers. They were planning to take the dogs to the US with them next year for an RV vacation. Weather was cool, windy, clouds made it look foreboding like storms ahead, but we never got the rain. The Spanish man said "God is with us" as we noticed it pouring where we had been just before.

Cirauqui had a city gate where you could stamp your own pilgrim credential. On the way out of town you walked on a well-preserved Roman road, with a Roman bridge across a small river. Doubt any roads we build will last 2,000 years! Very picturesque. Crossed the Rio Saldo on a medieval pilgrim bridge, then climbed to the town of Lorca. Found a place that had cold water, diet coke, and baloney that we used for lunch sandwiches, and outdoor chairs that we placed to take our boots off and raise our feet. Pilgrims all waved at us as they went by, many envious, some had a look of sheer exhaustion and were going on by willpower alone.

We passed the Brazilian or Tibetan girl pilgrim with blisters from the first day, and gave her encouragement just a couple kilometers from Estella.

We were also exhausted and trudged into Estella at 3pm after being out for 7 and a half hours. We climbed a bridge over rio Ega and asked an old man for our Pension San Andreas, which we had reserved the night before. He took us most of the way, saying we would not otherwise be able to follow his directions. Quite true! It was in a main square but the door was locked. Found a bell, no answer, but finally someone buzzed us in. The owner lady recognized that we had called for a room with bath and gave us the key to room 42 with balcony overlooking the plaza. Even a fan and mini fridge. Nice clean beds!

The distance covered was 21.1 kms with 300 meter climbs according to the book. My pedometer registered 14 miles and 35,000 steps, roughly the same as the last few days. The miserable pedometer registered only 800 calories! Should be 8,000. It doesn´t know about the hills or the backpacks we are carrying!

We crashed for a couple of hours, then went out to look around. Found an Albergue to stamp our credential, and an American couple were volunteering to help there for the summer. From Colorado. He directed us to the church of St. Michael  across the way where mass was just started. On our way in, Leslie tripped on a protruding cobblestone and fell, luckily only scraping up her hands a bit, but she was shook up. Attended communion mass and saw a few pilgrims we had shared the Camino with over the past few days. After mass went to an Italian restaurant, where Leslie ordered as a deserved treat a non-Pilgrim meal (pizza, salad, white wine) and was rewarded with a bill 2 and a half times as high as mine, about $40! And she somehow broke a wine glass and cut her hand slightly. At this point we decided we were at the point of exhaustion, making dangerous mistakes, and should spend a day recovering from tiredness and blisters, so we returned and asked the hotel owner lady for a second night, which she granted. Went to bed at 9:30 and slept 12 hours.