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Well I had an absolute feast last night in Puente La Reina, I decided to have dinner at my accomodation which was a good choice. For 22 Euro it was a 3 course meal, the entree was two different sorts of pasta, I had spaghetti with a tomato and bacon sauce and it was great. Plus all sorts of salad that you could choose yourself. Then the main was either Chicken or Fish, as I had fish the previous two nights I decided to go with Chicken it was really good a leg of chicken and there was chips as well with it and some sort of sauce which was really yummy. Then there was a range of desserts to choose from, and I had some lemon mousse. And it was delicious. So I went to bed feeling very satisfied.

In the afternoon I had some tortilla which is also called Spanish Omelette and there are variations of it. This one had cheese tomatoes and some sort of creamy sauce on the top and it was delicious. While I was having a beer Santi which is short for Santiago came and joined me for a drink along with an English woman in her 50’s and we talked about a range of things for abut 30mins or so. Santi is from Australia and when the English woman left. Santi asked what I do? I always try to avoid that question as long as I can. But when I told him I was a Baptist minister, he asked are you serious? I assured him that I was indeed a Baptist Minister. And we talked for the next 3 hours or so about all sorts of things. But Santi told me that he was on a spiritual journey and that about 10 weeks before coming on the Camino   He had a  spiritual encounter and had started attending his local church. He felt as though he was looking for Jesus and that he needed to surrender everything in his life and learn how to love himself and others. He explained that the first3 days of the Camino were amazing and he had been feeling things dropping away and leaving all of his stress and worries behind.

We talked for awhile and he asked quite a few questions I told him ask whatever he liked. We talked about Apostles Creed the difference between the Catholic and Protestant Church the reformation and several other things. He asked how long I had been a Pastor and I said 30 years, and he said or so you are the real deal! It was pretty funny. I felt to share with him some verses of scripture from, the Gospel of John – This is my command•: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 The greatest love a person can show is to •die for his friends.  (John 15:12–13, NCV) And i set him up with the You Version Bible App on his phone and he was going to start reading the verse of the day. It was a real encounter and I said to him that he can ask anything he would like as we keep seeing each other as we make our way to Santiago. 

I also had a pretty emotional day yesterday, I felt an overwhelming sense to speak to Fiona (my late wife) for those i don’t know well who are reading this. I spoke out loud to her for about 30mins in the middle of the countryside with no one else around. I told her about me walking the Camino and how much i miss her, I told her about each of our kids and there was definitely some tears shed. Then I told her about Yona and about us getting married in July and how much she would like Yona. I then spent quite a long time praying and giving thanks for all that I have in my life and for God’s faithfulness to me throughout my life. For a few minutes I fought the urge to speak to her. But it was overwhelming and I am so pleased that I did. I felt heaps better after talking with her. 

Yesterday I had tried to book a bed in Estella but everything that I tried I received a response that sorry they were full for the night. So I decided that I needed to head off early in the morning and head to the Municipal Hostel as they don’t take bookings it was first in to get beds. So I woke at 4:00am which now seems to be a bit of a pattern and quietly got up, trying not to wake my roommate James who was from Ireland, there was only the two of us in a room for 3. I had a pretty lousy sleep. So I headed out the door at about 5:30am and started my walk to Estella in the dark with my head torch. It is weird walking through a town where no one’s awake and all the doors are closed. 

There was a good moon as i walked and it looked dramatic I tried to capture it on my phone. Just out of town there was a big hill and I could see a group of pilgrims making their way up ahead of me. My fitness is definitely getting better I caught up to the group by the top of the hill as they had stopped to rest for a bit. They were a group of 20 and 30 something men and women. I waked with them for a while and it was lovely to hear about them and why they were walking the Camino. All of them had significant life changes happening and had decided they should walk the Camino and they had met each other on the first night. There was two from England, one from Ireland, one from Wales, and one from New York. It was lovely to walk with them for a few km’s until we stopped to get a coffee and some other food for breakfast a warm chocolate croissant that had just been delivered to the shop. They hung around and I decided to head off. 

I found my blister bothered me quite a lot and I had to stop and try putting some lambs wool in my sock to relieve some pressure which seemed to work pretty well. The terrain is very undulating, it seems there is always a climb into every town and then a decent as you exit. But some times it is a climb into the town and then out the other side as well. I have also found that there signs indicating the distance to the next town are somewhat optimistic which sucks when you are expecting it to arrive sooner than it eventually does. I have found that if I shorten my strides and just put one foot in front of the other I manage to chug up the hills quite well. And when I arrived at Estella after we had negotiated some construction that blocked the entrance into the street for the hostel we arrived at 11:00am. I say we as I was with a woman from Minnesota in the US she arrived via taxi as i was trying to workout how to get around the construction zone. I asked her what her flag was on her pack, Minnesota she said. I asked why not US and she said would you want an American flag on your pack at the moment? i said fair enough. We were able to lock or bags inside and then come back to check in at 12. I went to explore the town a little and brought some food and then came back at 12 and there was a queue but I made it in second in line. The hostel is only 8 euros for the night, but it is quite basic but it will be fine. I have had a shower set up my bed and now I am completing the blog. Soon i will go and get some food. 

I reached another milestone today i hit 100km into the Camino here is a screen shot of the app and a picture taken in both directions at 100km mark.

That it is for me today thanks for your comments and feedback.

Nga mihi

Mike