We knew the distance for today was a bit shorter, so we were in no rush to get on the road early. After filling up at the breakfast buffet at Hostería de Curtidores, we hit the road out of Estella at 8 AM. Most of the trail today was gravel or dirt paths; the only time we walked on pavement was when we passed through one of the small villages. (The villages all seemed completely deserted, no one at all around, which seemed to be the norm in Spain: small towns devoid of people.)
Although some ominous looking clouds were occasionally lurking in the sky, no raindrops fell upon us all day.
Not long after leaving Estella, we came to the famous Wine Fountain (Fuente del Vino). A nearby monastery operates a vineyard, and every day they
fill a dispenser with 100 liters of wine. Anyone walking the Camino is free to try a taste. No drinking glasses are provided; tradition says that pilgrims use their shell to collect a sip
of wine. It is considered bad taste to fill your entire water bottle with the free wine. We met David from Berea, Kentucky again. He told us that Lil's B.F. Goodrich friends from Australia had left the Camino, rented a car, and now were
sightseeing around in Spain. Walking the Camino is not everyone's cup of tea. We met two brothers from Louisiana: Bruce and Ben. This was Ben's fourth Camino; he had talked Bruce into joining
him on this trip. We also walked with a friendly young woman from Okinawa. Her English was excellent, but she was very quiet and I didn't get her name.
Our route must have paralleled the cyclist route for the Camino, because we saw quite a few bicycling groups on the nearby roads (or bouncing past us on the gravel track).
I guess it would take about 10 days to ride the entire 500 miles of the Camino, so that would be a good vacation. Not too hilly, and plenty of places to stop for refueling.
At the highest point of the day, we came to an ancient Moorish fountain, presumably built there so people struggling up the hill could refresh themselves. There
was a food truck on the hilltop, so we decided to eat lunch there.
There was a long stretch of walking by fields and pastures before reaching Los Arcos. It got a bit boring.
Just 5 1/2 hours of walking today and we rolled into Los Arcos. After checking in, and walking a bit around town, we settled into the central square of Plaza de Santa Maria.
There we encountered Michelle the epidemiologist from Australia with whom we had enjoyed dinner last night. Michelle was sitting with Peggy from Canada, so we joined them. Later, through the plaza came
Joseph from Belguim, Gavin and Julie, the school teachers from Canada, David from Kentucky, and Kate from Germany and Giovanni from Italy - whom we had met at the very start of our Camino walk. I quite
enjoyed meeting people from around the world, and then seeing them again further on down the road. Lil attended the Pilgrim's Mass that evening in Santa Maria.
Tomorrow was a 17 mile stage, so we planned for an early start.
Panorama Photos
Still Photographs
