April 29, 2023

There was almost a riot with an angry group of pilgrims at the winery in Irache, home of the world famous wine fountain, 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, 365 days a year.  Today, my day, they forgot to turn it on. This is a well publicized place of interest that every pilgrim that has done any reading about walking on the Camino expects to see and drink from. People were rattling their metal water bottles on the metal fence like a hungry prisoner in a jail house movie. On top of that, someone had set off an alarm so it was ringing too. Pilgrims looked on in disbelief, you would think the bones of St James were in there.

After awhile it is just time to keep moving on and after all it's just a touristy gimmick for the pilgrims. Today’s walk was 12.4 miles long, I walked through so much beautiful scenery.

I walked my way up to Azqueta, my intended stop for 2nd breakfast, but I felt good enough that I could have kept walking.  I stopped for some breakfast anyway at a very popular pilgrim bar.

After breakfast, I continued to walk uphill.

This picture looks east, the third ridge in the back was my first day walking to Spain.

This picture over the vineyard is looking to the west. I think this structure may be a well of some sort.

These are pictures of the scenery and a selfie.

Later on I ran into Janet (notice she is down to one trekking pole) again, we eventually found a food truck in the middle of nowhere ran by 3 Americans.

Foot care is so important when walking these long distances. I had done considerable research on trail shoes vs hiking boots, socks, tapes and lubricants if necessary. I always took my shower in the afternoon after walking, never in the morning so that my feet would start the day dry. For my first layer I wore toe socks so that my toes would not rub against each other and double socked my feet with wool socks for extra protection. Somehow I never got a blister. Janet removed her shoes and socks to cool her feet and I could see her blisters. I asked if she was ok? She told me that her feet were doing much better. Back in Estelle, at the albergue, one of the pilgrims was a nurse. She brought supplies and every night tended to people's feet, it was part of her personal pilgrimage.

Janet stayed a little longer so I left alone. It was warm out, definitely perfect walking weather. Due to a television series in South Korea, there were many Korean pilgrims. There was a family with at least 6 adults walking, 2 of the men, a father and son, were taking turns carrying a young boy.

Eventually, I arrived in Los Arcos and made my way to my albergue. I had made a reservation the day before by phone. I was concerned because the reservation was just under the name of Joe. Los Arcos was full, there were no private rooms to be found and I was lucky to have my reservation at the albergue. As I walked into the courtyard a man at the gate was turning people away, I did not have a good feeling. I told him of my reservation and that my name was Joe, he happened to be the person I talked with on the phone and he remembered me. He walked me over to "reception" aka the loading dock and I waited my turn to check-in.

Here is the thing, and it is a Camino lesson. In the picture above the young man was given his bunk assignment and I took his seat for my turn. I gave the clerk behind the desk my ID, money for the lodging and my pilgrim's credential to stamp and prove that I was a valid pilgrim. I asked the clerk for a bottom bunk if possible, as I had hurt my knee and found it difficult to climb up to the top bunk. Before she could answer, the pilgrim seated next to me said very sternly that she had already asked for a bottom bunk and that none were available. I said to the clerk that it was alright and that I was happy to have any bed for the night. The other pilgrim was given her dorm and bed assignment and left. The clerk turned to me and said "we have one last lower bunk left in a different dorm" Sometimes it pays to just be happy with what you can get and to be friendly about it. I finished checking in, hand washed my clothes, took a shower and went looking for dinner. Los Arcos wasn't a great stop, food was a challenge to find, but I was happy to go back to my lower bunk, until I hit my head on the top bed when I tried to get out of it. In the top bunk was a younger guy from Italy, I woke up around midnight and thought how quiet he was when he climbed up in the bunk earlier as it did not wake me up. Well, he must have left the bar at 1:30 am and got back and climb the bunk, it definitely woke me up.