Day 8: Estella - Los Arcos

Here we go! I left Madrid with my little backpack one week ago today. I was just telling Ch, one of my roommates tonight, that I feel a little overwhelmed by my blog, not because it is hanging over my head to write, but because so very much happens in one day on the Camino and it is hard to remember everything and report back on it all! 

N was having another short day so we took a selfie and said see you later down the Camino. 

Highlights from today included pretty colors as the sun rose...

Hitting up the Irache wine fountain just after 8am...

The sign says you should drink if you want the strength to arrive to Santiago. ;)

And, of course, pretty parts of the Camino!

I had nice breaks and felt rested too. I arrived to Los Arcos just after 3 and wanted to stay since it was almost 7 k until the next village. However, I have gotten back on the main stages and I couldn't find a bed. There was one last place to try, but they were so disorganized they couldn't even tell me if they had space. While I waited and tried to think of a plan B (rest and then keep walking, take a taxi, find a bus...) some French pilgrims that I had kept seeing told me they had booked a room and had an extra space. I said I would take it! Camino magic! 

It turned out that their room for four was actually for 6 so we ended up adopting 2 more, including Ch. :)

Ch and I visited the church. Lovely, a must-see if you come here. 

The organ:

And our saint, Santiago:

The small plaza was crowded with pilgrims so we shared a table with a solo Belgian and laughed and communicated the best we could in French, Spanish and English. He insisted on picking up the check. 

Ch helped bandage his feet after dinner (she's a nurse) and we are all tucked in now. It's chilly; the winds really picked up tonight. Hasta mañana. :)

Kilometers walked: 23.86 (Fitbit), 21.40 (Buen Camino app). More in sync today!

Day 7: Lorca - Estella

Today I was one of the last ones to leave the albergue...usually I am one of the first! I dozed and stretched while the others got ready and took my time getting going. The idea was to give my body some time to rest and recover. I soon ran into two new friends who had a similar plan. 

My knees felt a LOT better, but my right toes still were a little crunched. At a coffee stop, N helped me re-lace my boots to give my toesies more room. 

Maybe it seems like I am talking about my body a lot... word on the Camino is that the first third is physical, the second third emotional and the last third spiritual. I'm definitely very aware of my physical body hear days. 

There are definitely uncomfortable moments, but there are also magic ones like the rainbow over the path today. 

It was not a long day of walking and it was nice to take my time and really be present and notice details of nature on the way. I enjoyed wandering around Estella, a gorgeous historical town and I made rice and veggies for lunch and dinner in the albergue kitchen. This is a parochial hostel run by volunteers and you simply pay a donation. The volunteers are really friendly - one even gave us small silver shell charms. 

Old town 

Ega river 

I'm not sure of my plan tomorrow as far as how far I will walk (this is usually a major talking point at albergues),  the plan is to see how it goes and see how I feel! 

Kilometers walked: 13.94 (Fitbit), 8.44 (Buen Camino app). I did not get lost today. I did walk around Estella quite a bit. :)