The wine giveth & the bed taketh away…

part2a

Finally walking into Estella (said as Rocky Balboa would say it) was a thank god moment – not too long to go… Then about 15 minutes of walking thru the town we start to wonder how bloody far does this town go??!! Reaching the peak of yet another long concrete hill and a sign for a Albergue ahead one was thinking quit now and have wine for breakfast.


But the suburban jungle was fading away and a very large sign with the word vino was in site! It has been 14km since our last stop and all we wanted was our bread cheese fruit and vino…

What a moment we had! One of the reasons of doing this in the afternoon was to experience this with little to no peregrinos as usually Estella is the place to end that days journey, and the fountain is a first stop in the morning.. We had it right!

part2bWe heard a solitary “Buen Camino” greeting as we entered the pearly gates of heaven – opps sorry I mean the wrought iron entry to the fountain…

We made a new friend 🙂 Ronald from Austria (not Australia) he was traveling the way solo and the 3 of us set up a picnic, shared food and stories and drank the delicious vino from our water bottles. What a wonderful afternoon.

Stories shared on the way are great to hear. Ronald shared some history from his country and his calming voice and detailed expressions kept us interested and continually asking questions. History, religion, family, and wishes were swapped amongst the three of us. All in between refilling our water bottles with vino 🙂

Getting late, we bid farewell to our new friend and continued along the way to get to the next Albergue only a few km’s down the road…

6.2km to be exact – with light fading and feet screaming to be set free from their shoes it is amazing how one can be on such a high then shot down to the lowest of lows when the town we entered has no accommodation in it and the next town is 3+ k’s away… We walked separately at that point both contemplating What the F we are doing!!!

Up yet another hill we reach Villamayor de Monjarden with 2 Albergues we are surely safe for the night! Ya!!

“I’m sorry we are full. There is no floor space either, full also… But we do have a solution, you can sleep in the shelter in the town centre!” A happy volunteer tells us smiling at 730pm at night after walking over 30km that day….

We hold our breath… Nod our heads – and remember this is the Camino – this can happen! But no worries we can use the showers for €2 so things are looking up!

part2cUpon inspecting our patch of concrete (our bed for the night) we laugh and met yet another friend who makes the night seem not completely s**t – Eric from Holland! He and his companions are with us tonight – all in all 6 of us..

The kindness of strangers comes out again with the offer of sleeping matts for us who have laughed at the people trudging these along the Camino (why would u need that!) a tiny bit of comfort makes all the difference …

After more wine and beer (we needed it to numb the body for the night ahead) we go to bed… If only someone could turn the street lights off?? Towel as a pillow and shirt for an eye mask – this is going to be fun!

The church bells tell us each hour that goes by and the town dogs serenade us with their howling – no they don’t we just want them to shut up!!!!!!!!

Somewhere between 1am and 5am a few hours of restless sleep happened until I’m awoken by the pilgrim wanting his sleeping mat back – yep some start that early!

So if you can’t beat them – join them and after 31.8km the day before and sleeping outside on the concrete in the town square we are off with the loving help of a musli bar from our gorgeous Eric – today lets go easy….

19km later on a road i like (no boulders or gravel) and we hit Torres del Rio!! This little slice of heaven for €10 at an Albergue with a POOL – Spanish sun eat your heart out we are stopping here for the day 🙂

sunrise

 

 

Comments

  1. Luisa Pelizzari says

    OMG!!! That’s the “pilgrim” part of the journey I guess. Stay positive girls xxx

    “Eyes on the road Rhonda”

    Lu

  2. Thanks so much for your stories. Sounds very …… very …….. inviting no wrong word, enriching maybe. I know, your having an awsome time and its an experience you will never have again. Keep up the fantastic stories

  3. Sooooo…. Meeting lots of men…. Any you’d take home to your mother? Lol

  4. Michele Yonson says

    sounds like fun girls – nothing a vino cant fix anyway. Keep up the reporting, its great to hear.

  5. The Davis' says

    Sounds like you girls are having a ball !!!!
    We sit down to read together each night, just to see what you have been up to.
    Luv you heaps.
    Xoxoxoxox

  6. Love reading these blogs… Know that we are all behind you… EVERY step of the way xxxx 🙂

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