Camino Frances Day 6 Estrella to…

Trying to Keep Up

I’m running a little behind on everything the flu has taken me for a bit. In the future I will try to do better As I have a long hiking year ahead of me and hope to continue blogging and vlogging. 

Spain has always held a fascination for me as has Mexico. They are the places where most of my blood comes from and I find it mesmerizing to be amongst the people and culture of those two countries.  If you tend to your roots your branches will become stronger.

For anyone walking the Camino Francis I would definitely recommend spending a little extra time in Estrella as it is a beautiful place steeped in so much history the beautiful river running through it. You will find yourself walking some distance if you want to go to the grocery store and you have stopped at the first Alburgue on the river. The main church is magnificent and I spent some time walking the streets around it.

Wine on Tap

Still trying to figure out my purpose on this journey and things will turn out as they’re you’re supposed to. Antonio Derek and I left around the same time and as we walked through a little bit of countryside out of the town we came across the place that many pilgrims look forward to. The Irache Bodega Which has wine taps on a wall on the side of one of the buildings. I did not imbibe as I don’t drink alcohol, but I was assured by the others that it was a quality product. The bodega itself is magnificent! The thing that strikes me every time I visit a European country is the amount of history, the amount of structures and monuments still standing after centuries and it makes me realize how young my own country still is.

Antonio soon outpaced me and I walked alone through the fields and long ancient walls alone for a little bit. Noah from Germany soon caught up with me and we shared the miles together. Aside from Irache there was no population center until reaching Los Arcos. We made our way through the outskirts and into the historic center of the town. Noah had a coffee in mind and I needed something a little more substantial so I walked through the surrounding area until I found a small restaurant.

Sleeping at the Table

This is when my plans went astray for the day. I had ordered the three course meal of salad main course and dessert and a bottle of water. The salad came and I hungrily ate it and while waiting for the main course I fell asleep at the table. Apparently the waitress had put my meal in front of me and I remained asleep for some time. Guess I was more tired than I knew. It was getting a little bit late in the day and the staff was kind enough to find a pension that a friend of theirs owned and secured a room for me for €50. They packed up my meal and gave me the directions 2 blocks up where the proprietor met me and gave me a key.

Closing of the Day

After falling asleep for a bit I found myself still hungry and walked out in search something to eat. It was Sunday and I held out little hope, but there was one small bar open and I got a nice plate of pasta and a small sandwich. The patrons were mostly in their 70s and it was very pleasant watching people walk in and out have a glass of wine that they asked to be watered down and then make their way out after socializing with friends for a few minutes. I’ve always enjoyed that kind of sense of community. Making my way back to the pension I set an alarm for 4:00 AM So that I could be in Sansol to meet up with some of the others.

Final Thoughts

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” — C.S. Lewis