We got up early this morning, sort of victims of the great bed race. Many pilgrims leave the hostels early to avoid the mid day heat, but many also leave super early to ensure they get a bed at the next destination. I think we had a bit of both as the lights from headlamps and cell phones spun around the room at 530am.
We left Cizur Menor at 715 am started the climb through farmlands and up to Alto del Perdon. Steep climb again and windy at the top!
We rejoined our Idaho friend for a bit on the trail and also spent some trail time with the couple from Madrid. We really enjoy them and I hope that today won’t be our last visit. The trail was tough, but beautiful and we are sore and tired. And because of that we had some tension between us too. It is tough living out of a pack, spending 6-8 hours physically pushing yourself beyond normal limits and trying to remain calm and patient with each other.
We travelled through some very pretty towns. Clean and full of history. Obanos was very pretty with a monument and church. We decided to only travel as far as Puente la Reina as the two towns past this were already fully booked.
We did not have a reservation and after last night at the hostel wanted something more private and with a private bath. The one albergue that had a private room was through town so we went that way. Very pretty town. We bumped in to our Madrid friends who were moving on another 5 km to the next town but had stopped at the cathedral to get their cello. As we moved to the other side of town, we realized the albergue was up a steep road. Neither of us had the strength to climb up, then back down and up again after supper. We turned around and went back down and found a room in a small hotel in the old town area. The cathedral is just down the street, we stopped in to visit. The bridge that crosses the rio Arga was built in the 12th century, it is stunning.
We’ll stay here tonight, leave early and head to Estella, 22 kms away tomorrow and depending on fitness see where we will go from there.
All in all, we are safe, happy (mostly) and healing. I miss Grant though, a lot, there are many things he would enjoy about these small towns. I imagine he would not like the walk though.
Along the Way - Our Camino 