Breakfast was coffee and granola bars we had brought with us. While sipping our coffee we saw a group of cyclist getting ready for a day on the trail. Soon enough it was time to hit the road.
We head down the road and through the town of Puente la Reina. It was a beautiful Sunday morning and the streets were fairly quiet. There was a crispness to the air and the skies were clear.
As we walked we wondered if we would be able to get any supplies, with it being Sunday and all. The roads were so quiet. Then we saw a few stores and cafes were open for the pilgrims. We stocked up on water, gatorade, chips and lunch. Coming out of the store we saw one of the French couple having coffee. They didn't look like they were walking today, no packs was the clue.
We continued on the cobble roads and then over the bridge, a 11th century bridge better known as the Queens Bridge.
The day is said to be one of the 'easier' stages. With a mix of rolling hills and vineyards. The landscape was beautiful. It did however start to get rather warm as we walked along. There was even a section of well perserved Roman roads outside the town of Ciauqui. The town it self was on a hilltop. Since this section is out in farm lands there really is no shade to rest in. Also some of the rolling hill were fairly steep. One in particular was a challenge. We just took our time and stopped when we needed.
With the combination of heat and lack of food I was getting tired. At one point all the signs looked like we were still a long way away from Estella. But we just kept on walking. We might have been tired but we were trying to stay in good humor.
We came upon a little town of Lorca. Once again a quiet little town, with cobble streets. We happened upon two Alburges and decided to stop for a rest and some ice cream. Sitting on a bench outside enjoying the ice cream, I kept looking at the sign at the alburque across the street. It said it had double rooms available and for a reasonable price. Even though we had reservation in a town on the other side of Estella, I was tempted to cancel those and just stay here for the night. After all it was getting late in the afternoon and we had at least another 10km to go. The more I sat there the better it sounded. So I casually mention "hey they say they have rooms over there. Should we see if ones available?" Without hesitation the answer was "yes". At that point we were both just plain tired.
So we head across the street and ask if they have something available and we are in luck. They have a double room with a private bath. They also serve a pilgrims meal if we were interested, and we were. We were shown to our room. Time for a shower and a bit of a nap. But first I had to call the other hotel. They were understanding and told me it was ok, they would see us tomorrow. So with that taken care of I rested comfortably for an hour or so.
Dinner was served in the bar of the Alburgue. The showed us to a table where a couple from America, and Frenchmen and a man from Denmark were seated. The converstaion was the normal camino talk at first. Where are you from, where did you start, and so on. The Frenchman told us he walk from St Jean to Roncelvalles, 27km, in 5 hours. Wow! And he was an older gentleman at that. Amazing.
Our dinner was a round of pasta with sauce and bread, followed by chicken and ice cream for dessert. Oh and the bottle of wine for the table. I was happy that I was able to eat more this night.
At a table next to us was two Spanish gentleman who were cycling the camino. They told us how they did 90 km on the Camino that day. Their English was not so good but they made sure we understood they didn't take the regular road but took the Camino trail. Just thinking back to earlier in the day when we saw a cyclist pushing his bike up a hill, I had a great respect for those who can ride the trail.
You never know what the Camino will challenge you with or how things will happen, but I was happy we stopped where we did tonight. Maybe we were suppose to be here at this time with these people, exchanging ideas.
Total Km walked for the day 13.
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