13 Miles to Los Arcos

Headed out of Estella not long after 7am lights on. Thank God that night has come to an end even though I am sleeping pretty soundly despite the cacophony of passed out pilgrims in the night. We walked with and got to know the kiwi couple from New Zealand, John and Debbie.  He is a lay minister in his retirement and she has a very flexible office job.  John from NZ had a app on his iPhone that let us know we had walked 7.8 km to the first place we could have a chance to get something to eat. I suppose we could have stopped on our way out of Estella but we find ourselves so eager to just get on the road that sometimes we forget.

We entered the pretty little town of Villamayor de Monjardin and spied a small cafe where our friends Mark and Lynn were seated. After some bantering that we would bring up the rear in case he lost track of his wife again, they heartily recommended the offerings of this particular waystop.  The cheese and tomatoe sandwich I had and the egg sandwich with onion and a piece of homemade banana bread for John along with the awesome cafe con leche, was second to none.  The 3 or so friendly kittens and their mama made the experience for me.  I was glad to find some that would actually let me pet them.  I am missing my kitty Lily back home.

We have entered into the country of olive trees and grape vines. I think there is nothing that goes together better.  We walked and walked across long, hot and flat pathways with no shade even though I needed to take a break in the worst way.  No town in sight for sustenance but I see a lone tree up ahead! I pulled out my little used until now, mat for sitting on, and we plopped down and removed our shoes and massaged our aching feet.  Before long we were joined by other pilgrims taking advantage of the shade.  We had a great picnic of an orange, mixed nuts and a small bag of green olives in their brine which was so delicious! Hit the spot.  The french man walking along picking up trash, who is on his 20th pilgrimage, passed us by.  I told him thank you and even though he speaks no English, I think he knew what I was trying to convey.  Someone told us it has become his way of giving something back to the Camino.

We lumbered into the small Camino town of Los Arcos on sore feet, only to find every accommodation that might have a private room, completo....remember your Spanish lesson from a couple of days ago?  Frustrated we plopped down in the grass under a tree and pulled out the guidebooks.  We checked the private albergue following after a German couple whose male counterpart conveyed that he just cannot sleep with all the snoring in the dorm situations. The woman at the Albergue wanted 50 euros for a room shared with five others!  Looks like we are headed to the municipal albergue.  6 euros a night per person will just have to do. Suck it up pilgrims. I try to be thankful for a place to lay my head and a hot shower just as pilgrims from so long ago probably were. But they probably didn't even have a shower.

70 souls in one room.....at least we got the bunk on the end.  Settled in and went to find lunch snacks for tomorrow and get a bite to eat.  Met up with friends Rick and Christina once again and saw our Ozzie friends from the first night way back in Orisson, twins Pat and Sue.  We sat in front of the ancient church barely able to converse with the church bells chiming loudly with no rhyme or reason as if a child was pulling the rope!  We just had to laugh.  John being a little tired of the pilgrims menu, ordered a salad without the ever present tuna and I had the white beans which are served in a delicious broth.  A bottle of wonderful red all for about 18 euro.

After dinner we wandered into the church where there was a mass just beginning.  We humbly sat down in a back pew with other pilgrims.  Imagine a huge cavernous place with intricately detailed statuary everywhere you looked all covered in gold!  It brought thoughts of Spanish history and how they plundered other lands for just this prize. I could make out the words peregrinos and Camino and espiritus santo and christos and I knew we were receiving a blessing.  At the end we all arose and walked around a courtyard singing a solemn hymn. It was a very moving experience. An old man with kindly eyes tried to say something to John. But we didn't understand. That was our communion.  All this ritual and glittering gold to appease a God Who is no further away than our very breath.