Los arcos

After a day of rest, we hit the road again gull of energy and recharged.   as we left Puente La Riena at 5am, we noticed two headlamps following us.  An hour later, we recognized a mother and her 9 yeat old son from the albergue.  We walked with them for the entire day.
It was nice to find someone to talk with as we walked at the same pace.  Arthur kept the conversation going by asking a million questions and listing endless facts.
We arrived at Estella without incident and sat in line for the albergue to open.  The albergue is run by volunteers and only requests a donation.  While waiting for it to open we talked with three 19 year olds who were walking from Santiago to St Jean.  One had just met uo with them that day and was thrilled to find someone walking that direction.  He gets lost every day because the markers are shown in only one direction.
The three were drinking wine from the free wine fountain that we would pass the next day.  The group then increased with three more 18 year olds arriving.   Julie and Marion would spend the day/night with them, talking, going swimming, etc.  We all had a great time.
We shared dinner with Gosha (mother) and Arthur and all the teenagers.  It was a great community.
The next morning,  we were out the door by 5:10 am as the weather is hot again, 100 degrees.   It might get as high as 106 in two days.  We need relief from the heat.
We raced to Los Arcos with Gosha and Arthur and arrived by 11:30 before the bad heat.
This albergue is 72 people,  so not quite as friendly, but we see the same people from the last couple days.  It is still a great experience.