...and as we left we thought the remains of the town wall were worth a shot. Notice that the sun is shining brightly, though it had rained overnight.
The wind, however, was as strong as ever, and for pretty much all of the day's walk our heads were down and our bodies strained against the steady gusts. It was hard work! This was our path for pretty much the whole way today...
While this path we walked was another 2000 year old Roman road, unfortunately it had recently received a fresh layer of gravel, which effectively hid the ancient stones. The path we walked today was also the longest stretch of the Camino with no stops (villages) along the way, so it was a somewhat tedious trek, with little variation in scenery...
See the stork in the picture above? And in the picture below the snow covered Pyrenees in the distance...
Due to the lack of villages along the way, we created our own lunch stop, as did many others, making sure to avoid the multiple thistles threatening to be a pain you-know-where!
Today was again the sort of walk you thought would never end, as there was no village in sight until you were within 300 metres of it. We crossed the brow of a small rise, and there it was...
When we got to our hostal/hotel, we encountered a significant problem: the young woman in charge had no record of our reservations! Oh no!! After much Spanish/English conversations and several attempted (but failed) calls to our travel agents in Scotland, I pushed my way behind the counter to check their computer screen listing the reservations and discovered the name of the secretary of our travel agency and a reservation for 2 couples. We were saved!!
After settling in, we shared a delicious pizza and an even more delicious bottle of a 2009 Rioja wine. Now we are resting in our rooms in this village of 60 people, and looking forward to an early dinner. After that, reading and checking e-mail, and then hopefully a good night's sleep...tomorrow we will reach the official halfway mark of the traditional el Camino Santiago.
Distance today: 17.1 kms (felt like 30!)
Time on the road: 4:30
Total distance to date: 393.9 kms
Walking days remaining: 19
Hard to believe you are almost halfway! Glad to hear that the rain has stopped. Hopefully the wind will abate also!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a tough walk.
ReplyDeleteHave a good rest and then may the wind be behind your back... the sun in your face...
and may the rain in Spain stay mainly in the plain.