Apologies for the test posts. I’m having some dramas uploading photos. Let’s see how this puppy goes.
It would be hard to get lost on the Camino. People passing by, shop keepers, farmers, will wave, say ‘camino’, and point where you’re supposed to go. Once a bus driver beeped his horn whilst driving by and thumbed us the other way. Leaving Burguete, hords of us got ‘beeped’ by a friendly driver going the other way and pointing to the turn we’d all missed. It wasn’t till we turned that we saw the massive yellow arrows painted on the road.
We got away from Zariquequi in the cool of the morning at half seven, picked up some coffees and a ham and cheese bread roll from the little pilgrim shop and headed up hill.
A patchwork quilt of green wheat, brown tilled soil and yellow canola (could be rapeseed?) opens up below us as we rise, Pampalona still visible in the distance. From the top of the hill wind turbines run north and south in either direction along the ridge and we can see the path before us and the path behind light up for miles in the rising sunlight.
After dropping down off the ridge we fall into our stride undulating through lush farm land. Along the track there’s wild lavender and lemon thyme, patches of rich red poppies have come out and buttercups, dandelion and lovely little purple things are popping up everywhere.
We make good time and by noon we’re 12km down in the town of Puenta la Reina. We duck into two little churches here, the first a smaller, quite austere vaulted ceiling-ed chapel with a simple bronze (?) of Christ on an unusual Y shaped cross, the second, a much larger building with a massive ceiling-height wall of gold sculpture and statuary. It was a stark contrast. I wonder which one Christ would’ve gone for?
The church warden stamps our Camino passes and goes off to close the front door from the massive swarm of bees slowly descending from the bell tower in humming cloud.
We lunch here in a little taverna by the old stone bridge out of town before heading off. The last section is harder as the day warms and we’re tested on the steep climb up to Maneru.
We can almost smell the wine as we make the final push up to the hill town of Cirauqui. Of course the alburgue is at the top of the hill! Next to the church with massive bells! We’ll see how the night goes. This little alburgue is sensational; a washing sink, cloth lines (see how domesticated i’m becoming in retirement), toilets and showers away from the dorms so people can sleep, very clean and tidy and beautifully appointed with some nice timber furniture, a leather Gladstone bag etc etc.
Dinner, chickpea and mushroom stew is served with a green salad and a pitcher of local red wine….in the 200 year old stone cellar downstairs!
Dust of the day showered off, clothes washed, bellies full and next day sorted (rinse and repeat), and it’s off to bed.
