After a delicious breakfast at the Hotel Yerri, we left Estella at 7:40 a.m., making our way through the city gate...
...and past the Irache monastery where there is a wine fountain for pilgrims...
Although Diane did drink a bit of the wine, I couldn't do it because of a gentleman in front of me who thought it was OK to stick the faucet inside his mouth to have his drink. Sorry, but after that I was "vies" from the wine. Oh well, who drinks wine at 8 in the morning anyway?
Shortly afterwards, we had to make a choice between 2 options: the traditional route and an alternative scenic route. That was a no-brainier, and were we ever glad we took the latter. It began with a lengthy walk through beautiful forests...
...and when we got out into the open again there was just one stunning vista after another, leaving us almost speechless and believing that Spain must be one of the most beautiful countries in the world. And what a job it must be for local farmers to harvest these mountainside fields of grain!
Coming down from the heights, we entered the hill village of Luquin, where we found a cozy little cafe and had the most delicious cafe con leche! Since it was about 20 degrees cooler than yesterday, a hot coffee in a warm cafe in a cozy village was a real treat.
Leaving Luquin we soon joined up with the main, traditional El Camino route, and along the way were a variety of ancient ruins, leaving us wondering who once lived there and what these places were used for...
Oh, and can anyone explain to me what they use to stack these huge bales of hay so high? You find these stacks scattered everywhere, though there is no livestock to be seen for which you expect the hay to be used....
We arrived at our destination for the evening, the town of Los Arcos, fairly early, just after 2 p.m. We are in a 3rd floor room with a wrap around balcony overlooking the town square, which is busy with Sunday afternoon strollers....
Tonight we are looking forward to an early spaghetti meal, and hope to attend a pilgrim's mass in the church pictured above. We will give special thanks for mothers this Mother's Day!
Distance today: 21.1 kms
Time on the road: 6:10
Total distance to date: 137.4 kms
Walking days remaining: 30
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