The Rain In Spain

I am not going to dwell on the rain, but I will say that it has influenced our first week on the Camino.  Today we had a very light sprinkle as we walked from Los Arcos to Torres del Rio - we actually had a bit of sunshine too so I slathered on the SPF50 and was thankful to not be soaking wet.  Yesterday on our way from Puente La Reina (the Bridge of the Queen) to Estella the sky became black, there was thunder and lightning overhead, the skies opened up and it poured!  We quickly donned our rain capes but they were really not much good.  My feet were soaked and I ended up with a rub on my heel from the wet sock.  Here I thought I was going to manage without foot issues.  Added to my foot concerns is the fact that my shoes are failing.  There is a hole on the inside of my heel that has rubbed a hole in my favourite socks.  We'll try a quick repair (duct tape) until we get to Logrono tomorrow where I may look at buying a new pair!

Let me tell you about our journey since I last wrote.  We left Pamplona - in the rain - after staying in a hotel for our second night there.  I had a long hot bath and a bit better sleep, it felt like heaven after the municipal albergue that was about on par with a homeless shelter, except at a homeless shelter they provide a towel and soap!   We expected the albergues would be sparse but I am finding it very hard to get a good rest with so many people around and all the snoring!  I digress!  Back to our walk.  We had breakfast at a village, Cizur Menor, on the outskirts of Pamplona.  From there we headed across fields towards a mountain ridge.  The climb to 790m was up a steep slope, the path was very rock and covered thick with sticky mud that sucked at our shoes and made the going very slow and strenuous.  When we arrived at the top I experienced yet another emotional moment as we had reached Alto del Perdon - the iconic set of iron statues of the pilgrims - heads bent into the west wind.   Also along the ridge, there are a great number giant turbines that harness the wind energy.  The turbines were strangely still when we were on the top,  black clouds gathering all around us but we must have been in the eye of the storm.  We experienced a feeling of calm as we gazed back to Pamplona in the distance and then forward down the steep hill towards the endless green fields that we would soon walk through.  We looked back up an hour or so later all the turbines were turning.

We have entered into a more agricultural area, there are green fields of grain, almond trees as well as olive and fig trees.  The spring flowers are starting to bloom with bright red poppies nodding their heads along the path.  Each day the leaves on the trees are a little bit larger as are the blossoms on the flowering trees, all due to the rain we've experienced.  The soil has also changed, the deep red soil of the Rioja region is evident.  Tomorrow we enter the Rioja wine district.

The villages are further apart it seems and eerily quiet as we go through them.  We seldom see many people  - just shuttered homes and the odd dog or cat.  Puenta La Reina was a bit different, we walked through the village around dinner time and saw children playing - there is life in the villages.

Our accommodation at PLR was in an albergue but we paid a bit extra and got a private room with our own bath!  I actually slept 8 solid hours.  The next morning I was ready for the 22k walk to Estella.  We walked most of the way with two very interesting people.  The man, Tony, who is walking to Santiago, is from England and Dana a younger woman is only walking for a week.  They have worked together as representatives of their governments in some of the real hot spots in the world including Kosovo.   Dana works for the US government and is currently in Kabul in the capacity of aid for agriculture.   Tony is a retired Marine so even at 66 he was hard to keep up with.  We did move along quicker than we have, so that and along with the good dousing we received we needed a good rest so once again we got a private room.  I crashed immediately after dinner and slept 10 hours.  We stayed in a 400-year old house run by a Dutch evangelical group.  The food was so good, both dinner and breakfast.  Dinner was a salad (rare so far), pasta with lots of vegetables and chicken and rice pudding for dessert.  Breakfast went beyond the usual white bread, jam and coffee.  There was granola, yogurt, grainy bread, cheese and salami.  Their hours were quite strict - breakfast 6:30 to 7:30 and leave by 8:00.  The early start was great for us, we saw amazing light on the fields and took lots of photos on the 12k to Los Arcos.   We stopped in the square by the church for coffee, hot chocolate, oranges and pastry!  While we were there the bell tower struck 12:00 and the ringing went on for about 3 minutes - perhaps because it's Sunday?  We arrived at 2:00 at our final destination 8k away in Torres del Rio (Towers on the River).  Our laundry is done, we've showered and now we'll wander the village looking for a place for dinner.  Today we walked mostly by ourselves which was perfect.