Day 7 - Estella - Los Arcos - 8 September

Time Departed: 8.15am
Time Arrived: 2.15pm
Distance: 21.5kms
Cumulative Distance: 136.5kms
Percentage Completed: 17%
Weather: Cloudy and Sunny
Accommodation: Hotel Monaco
Feelings: Henk - Improved, Neil - Excited, Di - Mediocre

We caught a taxi from the hotel back to the Camino. The taxi driver was the same as last night so we think they only have one taxi in Estella! Last night's storm washed away the usual morning haze so the sun was on us earlier at nine thirty. However, parts of the day were in cloud which kept it moderately cooler.

It was a lovely undulating walk alongside farmfields again. 

In the first eight kilometres we climbed from 500m to 720 and continued on until we reached the hillside village of Monjardin at 11.00am. We joined other walkers and had a break which turned  into our lunch break. The local store which is run by an enterprising woman was doing a roaring trade. We bought bread and cured meat to have for lunch.

We were all comparing our injuries. One German fellow could barely walk a few steps to the bus stop so I'm guessing he was trying to catch a bus. There are all sorts of injuries from swollen knees, back pain to blisters.

Today my blisters gave me real gip. This is despite all the Compeed I am applying. After arriving at the hotel I spent quite a while sitting on the bed with the First Aid Kit trying to burst them to ease the pressure. They don't know it yet but I will be beating them into submission! They did feel pretty bad about seven kms from the end and I put some more Compeed on one. The last 5kms into town wasn't too bad.

We passed two major Camino icons today. The first was the Fuenta del Vino (the wine fountain). This is a fountain installed by a local winery and has two taps. One tap has red wine and the other has water. It was only nine o'clock so the timing was all wrong to have a decent drink. We had our Camino Credential stamped at the nearby local museum.

We also passed Fuenta de los Moros (Fountain of the Moors) which dates back to medieval times. It has steep covered steps down to a large pool. I'm sure the earlier pilgrims loved it on hot days!

When we started walking into Los Arcos we thought we were walking into a spaghetti western movie. There was no one around. Neil commented that the only thing missing was the tumble weeds! But what a surprise when we turned a corner at the end of the long narrow street. The small plaza was alive with many diners sitting under umbrellas. We recognised many walkers having a late lunch and a drink.

Our hotel looks nothing on the outside but is very pleasant and modern inside. Henk and I meant to have showers immediately on arrival but we put towels on the bed and slept for an hour. We must have needed it!

We met Neil at six and went to join the other walkers in the main plaza. It was buzzing. Two American women whom we have met several times along the way joined us for drinks. They are truly inspirational as they are both 70 years old and full of life. They have limited time and will be catching a bus tomorrow to get further along the path. A coming storm drove everyone under cover and we headed back to our hotel to join other walkers for the Menu de Peregrino. The rain was a welcome relief and the hail was unexpected!

It's a shorter day of 18kms tomorrow and breakfast is at seven o'clock so we can set off a bit earlier.