Breakfast on the road. We have eaten every meal together for the last 10 days. It's been nice to share meals.
Sunrise on El Camino. Up early every morning before sunrise. Not often the kids tell us to wake up at 5:15!
In front of the church fountain in Viana, Spain.
The old woman that stole our groceries.
Gisela and Julie walking hand in hand.
Triple bunk, sleeps a family of four!
Loquats!
Kids with map in hand...we're doomed.
We had another good day walking from Los Arcos with the reduced packs. Thirteen miles seemed easy even with a few hills. We were able to get a relatively early start to the day and beat the heat. Up at 5:15, out by 6:30am in time to see the amazing sunrise. I'm not sure what was causing the beautiful rays of sunshine, but it was one of the most beautiful sunrises I've ever seen. Unfortunately, it was to our back, so we only had time for a few precious look backs.
That beauty would grow with intensity and burn the backs of my legs as we hiked toward Viana. We started seeing a lot of the same people and recognized them and greeted them as we passed them, then they passed us. It was not a race, just various groups going at different paces. Many were suffering and going slow, trying to end the day by noon.
We saw the Irish family again and the husband was struggling greatly with a sore and stiff knee. He was by far the strongest in the group and now their weakest link. Roles change on El Camino from day to day and we have to be ready and accepting at what is thrown our way. We decided to stop in Viana because it was a smaller town and we seemed to enjoy their quiet and friendliness. Also, the guide book made it sounds like there was a nice albergue.
We rolled into town and the first albergue had a sign sold out. We then passed the Irish family and they were waiting in line for the free albergue that had space for 16, and they were 12-15 and a little worried about getting in. We found the one we selected from the guidebook and there was a long line out in front. We settled into line and some familiar faces were behind us. When we checked in, they told us there were rooms for either 9 or 18. We requested the 9 man room and asked the group of four if they would like to stay in the same room. "Sure, you guys seem ok, I guess.". What a vote of support.
We walked up to the room to discover the triple bunks. We selected our bunks, not realizing they had been assigned on a slip of paper. When our roommates showed up, they looked at their numbers, then said no worries and selected their bunks. They consisted of a husband and wife teaching ESL in the middle east and two of their friends from college, both women. One in their group llaid down on the bed and immediately ripped a big one. They all laughed.
We showered, changed, and went to eat. Soon we discovered that for the 54 bunks, there was only one toilet per sex, and one unisex. It was going to be a touh morning. We were starved and split 3 pilgrim meals (three course meals). Our bodies crave salt and carbs and our minds crave fresh fruits and veggies. We had salad, potatoes, lamb, fish and fresh melon. It filled us up and then some. We waddled back to the albergue for an afternoon siesta. Our roommates were already sleeping. Mid-nap a German stumbled in looking for his bed based on the number. Sean, the husband of the other couple was awake and told him, up there pal, we don't go by numbers, pointing to a top bunk. The German sighed and threw his gear on the top bunk and left.
Julie's walking sticks had been taken at the last albergue, so we inquired if there were any extras. The inn keeper produced one and gave it to Julie to try out. It had been left behind like much gear. It was too tall for her, but it would work for Stewart, the father of the Irish family. We walked to town to buy dinner at the store. One restaurant meal per day is all we can stomach. We ran into Stewart and Julie gave him the walking stick which he greatly appreciated. We bought our dinner from the store and started walking back to the albergue.
An old woman was struggling to carry her groceries home. She had been in line in front of us. I offered to have one of the girls help her, but she declined saying she lived close by. Gisela asked me for our groceries and I said I thought she or one of the girls had picked them up. Julie ran back to the store. Nothing there! The old woman must have our food. Gisela ran to the old woman, limping a little before she turned a corner and disappeared. She caught her explained the situation, the old woman replied, "I thought they seemed heavy". We all laughed about the situation. She told us how she had lived in the same house in the town her whole life. It was well kept up and being remodeled at the time. 4 full stories and she was living on the top floor. She wished us a Buen Camino.
Back at the room, we told the story to our roommates and all laughed again. We had a great time with them and enjoyed having someone else in the too with us, other than the disgruntled German. The heat was unbearable as usual, above 90 as we tried to sleep at 9pm. Our room had a view of Logrono and a 13th century church in ruin. We finally fell asleep and sometime during the night when I was fast asleep, the German returned and left before I awoke. He was on Gisela's bed, so she heard him come and go and only saw his mid-section as he changed in front of her in the morning.
We slept in until 6 as we knew we were only going to hike 7 miles with packs on. It was a good night sleep for most of us. We packed ate and hit the road, stopping briefly in Logrono before reaching our destination of Ventosa. The albergue was closd upon arrival so we walked town which consisted of a bar and meat shop only. We ordered some sandwiches, coffee and waited for the albergue to open. It was the best albergue yet, 42 spaces over 7 rooms with 3 showers and two toilets per sex. Now that's a better ratio.
Along the way, there was a nice woman who passed out loquats to hungry pilgrims. We had a couple of bunches and gave her a two euro donation. We saw our roommates near the end of the day, but they were going on to the following town. Hopefully we will see them down the trail.
Our roommates tonight are a Dutch couple in their 70's, Peter and Katlina. It's our first time seeing them, but there are other familiar faces here. Tomorrow we plan for a 10 mile hike with full packs.
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