Day six, Estella to Los Arcos

In the square outside the church at Los Arcos, from, left, Mack, an English artist, an Irish woman whose name I didn't get, Anna, the Irish friend I met several days ago, next would be her father, but he'd gone off, Connor, the noisy Irish policeman I met a few days ago, Merethe and Jens, a Danish couple I've seen every day but only just connected up with.

It's been a fun day. At breakfast I spoke with Martin and Lyn, who I'd met last night. I was in good time and set off just before 8am from Estella. It was a cool morning, so I had a hoodie over my T-shirt.

 First up, at 2.8km, was the Fuente del Vino (the fountain of wine) at the monastery of Irache. This is one of the most famous stopping points on the Camino. There are two fountains, as you see in the photo. The one on the right serves water, although I didn't see it getting a lot of use. The one on the left pumps wine. There's a webcam recording all the people who take wine. You can find it at www.irache.com or so they say. I was there five minutes either side of 8.40am on Friday June 7 - let me know if you find it.

I wasn't up to drinking wine at that time of day, but I sacrificed one of my 500ml of water to the nearby rosemary bush and turned it into the same amount of wine for ron (later ron). It was still cold and very windy. 

At 3.4km , I decided to take the alternate route, a mountain trail. Almost no one was taking that option, and I hardly saw anyone. The trail meanders off on it's own for about 9km before rejoining the main Camino. I took off my hoodie - I was never really warm enough after that, but I didn't put it back on.

Heeding my own advice, at the 10km mark, about 10.30am, I stopped at the village of Luquin, a tiny hill village. At the bar there (for bar, read licensed cafe, the normal stopping point along the way), I had a large piece of tortilla, heated and served with a lump of crusty baguette and a coffee for the grand price of €2.60. It's wonderful how cheap food is here (and beer at about €2 - wonderful). Here I diverge and give you the Wikipedia version of tortilla: Spanish omelette,^[1] or literally Spanish tortilla,^[2] is the English name for a traditional dish from Spanish cuisine called tortilla española, tortilla de patatas or tortilla de papas. It is an omelette made with eggs and potatoes, sometimes also with onion and/or chives or garlic; fried in oil and often served cold as an appetiser. It is part of the cuisine of Spain.

Not at all as I would have thought, but very lovely and sustaining just the same.

As I walked along a few themes for the day started to drift through my head. The most important was to reflect upon my many friends and the relationships I've had, and am having in my life. I realised that I'm at peace with everyone (but put your hand up if you disagree). I've been blessed with many relationships in my life, from casual friends and workmates, to much more intense emotional relationships, and as far as I can tell, I'm at peace with all of them now, which is wonderful.

On a more mundane level, I thought about the mechanics of walking. At least 50 percent of pilgrims seem to walk with two poles. For many of them, I'd say they're a waste of time. They're walking along, dragging these sticks, but getting little or no benefit from them. If you're one of the many people I've met along the way, or if you're considering poles, I'd recommend this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q2YwOE4okA
I bought a pair in NZ, but decided that the hassle of getting them here through checked luggage wasn't worth it. Apparently, many airlines won't let them through. I bought one at St Jean Pied de Port for €10, much cheaper than in NZ. Besides, it was a nice shade of green, which is why I chose it.

On day one, I held it all day in my right hand, where it feels natural. On day two, I swapped to my left hand - that left me more free to take photos, drink water or wipe my nose, but by the end of the day my left elbow had completely seized up. Now, I alternate. On my watch, the gps gives me all sorts of info - metres of ascent and descent, speed, elapsed time and distance and actual time. By leaving the visible window on distance, I walk odd kilometres with the pole in my left hand, and even kilometres with the pole in my right hand. I'm sure to match my left arm with my right leg and vice versa. Every time I change, I feel a new charge of energy, as the rested arm takes over. (And by the way, today I ascended 421m and descended 353m)

And so the day went on. Despite my 20 minute stop at Luquin, I stuck with 4km every hour, arriving at the Monaco Hotel at Los Arcos just before 1pm.

Hot on my heels were a Danish couple, Jens and Merethe. I'd seen them almost every day, but never spoken. Turns out they were booked with the same company and had been in the same hotel as me from the start. Quite by accident, after unpacking, we all went out exploring at the same time, so decided to go and have a beer in the square outside the church.

So far, it had been my quietest day on the Camino. I'd only had the one stop and had spoken to no one. We hadn't long sat down with our beer when Connor, the Irish man I met at Akerreta, burst on to the scene (I don't think he could arrive any other way). With him was Anna, her father and her friend, who were completing their last day on the Camino for this episode, heading back to England to resume work on Monday. We were joined by Mack, an English artist, who wisely decided that large noisy groups were worth joining.

There seems to be an ebb and flow between quiet and noisy times. Just when you feel you're on your own, the world explodes with people.

My hotel room is the smallest I've had so far, but has everything in it. I have a little balcony, were the clean socks are drying, and a view to this little square. 

This episode of the blog comes to you with the support of the Monastery at Irache, whose bountiful assistance, added to the two beers in the square, has made it all a bit of a dream.

Please comment - I'd love to know you're one of the 100 or so who are sometimes following this blog.

The app on my watch is playing up, so I haven't been able to download all the statistics. I think tomorrow I might just use Strava on my phone (so many options).

Here's a link to today's photos. It pretty well starts at Estella and finishes here in Los Arcos, but with downloading from both phone and camera, it doesn't always follow strict chronological order: https://photos.app.goo.gl/iwipVx4ccHLe4meZ9

My Suunto app finally decided to download today's into to my phone - here it is https://app.suunto.com/move/petergibbs/5cfa8840e883bf1caad8f89e

Now it's 9pm in Los Arcos. I went downstairs to meet Jens and Merethe and there they were with Martin and Lyn, who I met last night and this morning. We've all been booked by the same company, so will meet up again soon, although I have a rest day after tomorrow and they will move on.

We all had dinner together - in the photo, from left Martin, Jens Merethe, me and Lyn.

It was a nice dinner, as they all are, at a ridiculously low price. I had a paella for first course, then a smaller pork and mushroom dish followed by tiramisu and a bottle of wine, shared between the three of us on the right, as Martin and Jens decided to have beer. €12 for the lot.

In the square outside my room, things are gearing up for some sort of a celebration. Because of the double glazing, I can't hear much, but soon after I got to my room, someone from the hotel arrived with earplugs and apologised in advance.





Tomorrow is a longer day - 28km to Logrona. It's a historic town, with lots to look at. Just as well, as Sunday is my first rest day, the end of stage one of five stages - oh no!