Days 2, 3 and 4 - Larrasoana to Estella

It's been a while and I'm on day four of my camino. The last three days have been very different indeed, ranging from the weather to the emotions to the landscape. Still no photos uploaded though, because these silly computers don't have usb ports, and it's sunday so I can't find a library wherever I am. I don't think I'd know how to ask to use it, either.

The second day's walking was very short, because the next albergue (after the one we stayed in) was a long time away and Ariel's ankles were aching from all the downhill the day before. My feet were still doing ok but I'm glad we stopped. We stayed at the albergue Trinidad de Arre, just before Pamplona, which is beautiful and lovingly maintained. Mum and Ishi asked what they look like, so I'll describe them a bit. This one had a small hallways with bathrooms on either side (hot showers are great), then a long hallway perpendicular to it. To one end was a large room with about 15 bunk beds, all with blankets on them (it was so cute) and another room with another 10 bunks. At the other end there was a kitchen and dining table, a lounge room and a laundry, all very lovely, but cold until the heating turned on (and we were able to dry the clothes that had been wet since the night before). And we had it all to ourselves until another pilgrim ( a spanish woman) came in at 8pm. The kitchen was great, but even better was that we found a supermarket by following people with shopping bags in reverse, and were able to buy lots of bread and gouda for me (ari is so strange for not liking cheese) and vegetables and pasta and everything else. We totally pigged out that night, because we'd hardly had a proper meal the day before. It's hard when you don't know enough spanish and want to save money by not going to restaurants, and the villages so far had been tiny, no shops at all. We also had plenty left for the next day. Overall, a very happy day.

The next day was another long one, about 29km and with a massive mountain in the middle, which was well worth the climb because of the silhouettes of all the medieval pilgrims and their flags and donkeys and everything up the top... these ones: http://diegoapereda.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/100_2439.jpg
For some reason that felt really good - somehow connecting back to the long tradition which pilgrimage to Santiago is in a concrete way. I don't know. But that day was very long, though not as hard as the first day even though we were achy and had sore feet. (And yes, we did come from all the way down in that valley and beyond.) We walked all the way through city Pamplona, through Cizur Menor, over the mountain, through the villages and to Puente la Reina, named such because of the queen of Sancho III who commissioned the bridge for pilgrims to use, an a beautiful one it is too! (The name means 'the queen's bridge.') The albergue we stayed in was a bit smaller than the last one, but there were more pilgrims, about 10 in our dormitory. Again, 6 or seven bunks in a room with an adjoining bathroom and laundry, a small kitchen and an eating room. Pretty much like a YHA. There was also an Australian pilgrim from Bellingen of all places, her name's Rachel and she's only two years older than me, has been travelling ever since leaving school. We walked together today - it's great to be actually able to speak to someone in English. It feels lonely just by yourself in Spain. I don't know, maybe I'm just not as much a traveller as I thought I might be. I miss being able to shower without getting all my clothes wet in the process, and being able to eat proper meals, what I like and when I like, and do things other than walking all day. Although the walking is the least annoying of all things here.

Today we walked another 22km to Estella, which is a town about the size of Lismore. There was some big market festival thing going on, so there were lots of people in the town - strange to me because everywhere we've passed through (even Pamplona) seems like a ghost town. Maybe I'm not doing it right. But it's also Sunday, so when I go out in a while (hobbling due to my five blisters where the seams of my socks are and on my little toe) I hope I can find some sort of food-buying place open. Been living off bread mainly today, in the vans that come through the villages. It was raining again today, and we got soaked through.... For four hours even my rain jacket can't keep the rain out. But such is life. The ablgergue here is really nice - there's new age music and incense burning in the foyer, and a little garden and a kitchen, and a very cold dorm room with (thankfully!) a couple of decent mattrasses on the bunks. Not that I really mind all that stuff, the simplicity.

Today is a bit more of a miserable day... I'm hobbling around with blisters and feeling depressed. It would be so easy to just catch a bus and plane to germany where I know how to talk and how to eat and have a permanent bed and everything else. So easy. But I don't suppose I will. Not yet, anyway.

Got to go - one minute left!!!