bbk-sdc

Last night at Estella was average, I managed to catch up with Ciaran and Lia who is from Nelson and their Camino family. They all stayed in Orison half way up the hill on the first night and got to know each other then. I had dinner with them which was a platter that had spicy chicken wigs that weren’t that spicy and roasted chilli’s that weren’t hot either, chips and a fried egg. It was nice enough and hit the spot well. I tried to get a needle to pop my blister but didn’t have any luck, then I remembered that I had some safety pins so I just purchased a lighter to sterilise the safety pins and pierced it when I got back to the hostel. I also purchased a couple of snacks for the next day some nuts with corn and things like corn chips they were really nice I had some the day before. I would be very grateful for this purchase later on.

When I got back to the hostel I met William my bunk mate he was on the top. As William said probably two of the bigger guys in the hostel and they put us in the smallest cubical. There wasn’t a lot of room to swing a cat if you had one. William and I took turns doing what we needed to, he had only arrived and was still getting setup and then was heading out to get some food. I went and recruited someone to help with the blister mission if I couldn’t quite reach. But I managed ok by myself. I put another specialist blister plaster on it and then headed back to get ready for bed. And to make sure I had everything I needed for the morning. After making sure that everything was ready for me to get away in the morning I got into bed. No blankets in the hostel it didn’t seem to cold when I went to bed but it got cold during the night. I had to get out of bed and put a t-shirt on but I was already quite cold by then. Oh and did I mention that there had been a reference on the App saying that there was bed bugs recently at this hostel. That made for a really peaceful sleep (not) but I did check the mattress fully before going to bed. They had installed sealed mattress covers installed on the mattresses a new addition me thinks. Also when I did lay down I discovered that the mattress was bent like a banana, so every time I rolled to either side I was rolling down hill not the best feeling to have when you are sleeping. I didn’t have a great sleep and I was wide awake at 4:00am. 

So I decided to get up and get ready to hit the road. I was ready to go by 5:00am and so headed out the door, again navigating my way through the town in the dark, at least it wasn’t raining (yet). Anyway I had checked and there were a couple of towns along the way that I was confident that I could get so,e breakfast at. 2km in Ayegui no sign of life, 7.5 kms in Azqueta no sign of life. 9.4kms Villamayor de Monjardin 11.3 kms till nothing. At this point I pulled out the sour coke bottles that I had purchased the night before and ate a handful to keep me going. Did I mention that there was also a thunderstorm now and very heavy rain. The track was muddy slippery and also sticking to your shoes like the other day. I had another 11.7 kms to the next town before I could get something else to eat. I think being a Saturday didn’t help but also following a public holiday yesterday everyone seemed pretty relaxed. Anyway after just over 21kms I made it to Los Arcos and found a shop open with a lovely lady who spoke English. She didn’t have heaps of stuff so I had a banana, the worst coffee I have had yet from a pod machine and a couple of donuts.I was aiming for Sansol tonight but there are so many people walking the Camino at the moment that it really difficult to book a bed in advance. I tried both places in Sansol but no luck, it was another 7.3 kms from Los Arcos to Sansol I was really feeling my legs my blister and my back but this stage. There was the hope of a booking that someone else had made at Torres Del Rio but they had to check out some things first. So I pushed on thankfully only one more km down a steep hill to get there. When I arrived there were other pilgrims trying to find accomodation. As it was pouring with rain I decided to ask at the shop if they knew of anything. He made a call and said yes just one minute around the corner. And so finally I arrived and was able to take my pack off and check in after 30km on the trail. 

The shower felt great, can’t do any washing as it won’t dry with all of the rain so hopefully tomorrow in Logroño. Today was another tough day did I mention that there was about 4kms of uphill in the dark out of Estella. My blister really hurt for most of the day and I was wet and kind of cold. I got my poles out as I figured moving my arms would help to warm me up and i was right it worked well. I was struggling for quite a bit f the walk today still beautiful vistas but grey and overcast and raining for quite a bit of the time. But I put Fiona’s Worship Playlist on and sung out loud as I was feeling rubbish and that helped change my mood. And I just decided to push through as well. The Blister has re-inflated with fluid but I am just going to leave it at this stage and see how I go. When I arrived there were two guys I have seen and talked with several times Bryce from Australia in his 50’s I reckon and Ray from Ireland in his 20’s we are staying at a place called Le Pata de Oca Hostal Rural and having dinner here so I look forward to that later on. 

My reflection from today, I started the day feeling pretty rubbish but after talking with Yona and the kids I felt much better. I wasn’t sure how I would go with the big day today especially with the blister. But we are capable of more than we think we can do. And finally worshipping and praising God is always good to turn your spirits around. That’s it for me for today.

Nga mihi

Mike