Day Seven – August 15

It was dark and other pilgrims were still sleeping, so we were repacking our backpacks with just the light of our phones while trying to make as little noise as possible. Cindy went out to use the bathroom and had forgotten to take her key, so she had to wait until I went out because she didn’t want to disturb the others. Plus I had somehow “lost” my converter between the bed and my backpack and was frantically looking for it in the dark. As we were whispering, the gal in the bed next to Cindy reached down and picked it up. All this time we’re giggling, trying not to laugh out loud. We needed to get out of there!

Finally, we were ready. We walk out the way we had come into the square but it was dark and weren’t sure if we were going the right way to get back on the Camino. As we are standing under a street light working on figuring out which way to go, a police car drives up and points us in the direction we were headed. It’s true – “the Camino provides”. 😉

We’re soon back at the bridge we hobbled over the day before and recognize some landmarks. There was that massive church and more amazing architecture that we now wished we’d taken the time to explore after we arrived yesterday. But there is only so much time in a day and we had chosen to relax a bit. Maybe we’ll be back someday.

Eventually we enter a newer and more residential part of Estella and are having to pay close attention to the signs. Just as we are leaving town, we encounter a blacksmith who’s selling Camino trinkets and mementos that catch our eye.

Of course, we have to stop. We each pick out a shell and the man threads a leather string through so we can wear them. We chat with him – well Cindy does because my Spanish left my brain – and found that his father before him was also a blacksmith. He was kind enough to pose for a photo and a video. We were so delighted to begin our day with such a lovely experience and a treasured ‘souvenir’.

We were looking forward to one of the famed stops on the Camino – the Irache Wine Fountain; ‘a fountain that flows with water and wine’.  If you arrive when it’s open, you can fill your Camino shell with wine to “fortify” 😉 you for the journey ahead. The vines supplying the fountain grow all around it and have been cultivated since the 12^th century! Sadly, we were passing by before it opened, so didn’t get to taste the wine. Ah well.

A short distance from the wine fountain is the Monasterio de Irache. It’s thought that there has been a monastery in this location since the 7^th century and Benedictines founded this one in the 10^th century. It later became a Benedictine university teaching medicine, law, philosophy and theology as late as the 19^th century. It wasn’t open either which was fine since we hadn’t yet had breakfast and the next town was still two and a half miles away. We were treated to a gorgeous sunrise, then a walk through a lovely oak forest and landscapes of vineyards and wheat fields.

After breakfast, and my first time ordering something in Spanish, only a couple kilometers later we arrive in a very small town (Villamayor de Monjardin) with a 12^th century church and – if you want to take the time to climb a steep hill – a 7^th century castle. We could see it for miles before we reached the town and would love to have visited it, but it wasn’t on the schedule.

Beyond Villamayor de Monjardin, it was a 7.5 mile stretch to Los Arcos. A long, fairly level road through fields of harvested wheat with stacks of bales taller than a house, vineyards and olive groves. We were both feeling pure joy.

I had made a Camino playlist and now felt like listening to it. A song came on that I had to share with Cindy; so fitting to this adventure and it prompted her to start dancing! The whole time she’s twirling on the gravel road, I’m thinking – please don’t fall, please don’t fall. So ironic considering the events of the following day…  The lyrics — ” ‘One day, you’ll leave this world behind, so live a life you will remember’. My father told me when I was just a child, ‘These are the nights that never die’ “ 

Soon we see Matti behind us about a half mile or so away… he obviously spotted us long before that because when he catches up to us, he says “you know those words you read on the side mirror of cars – ‘ objects are closer than they appear’…  His subtle sense of humor always had us smiling. 

Our last rest stop before we continue on to Los Arcos is a spot that sometimes will have a ‘food truck’ with refreshments for pilgrims. The only thing there today – besides some welcome shade – was a picnic table and about a dozen other pilgrims also resting their feet and eating a snack they’d brought from the last town or picked up that morning.  As we cool off and refuel, we get a text with an attached photo from Onno who has already arrived in Los Arcos. “There is a festival today”.  And that he hoped we brought something white to wear. 😆

As we arrive into Los Arcos, we stop at a bakery for a quick snack. And soon see the crowds. See all the white? We snap a few pics and take a video, then on to our Albergue – a room with only three beds, a nice BIG bathroom and a balcony!

We clean up and head over to the town square where we meet some of our ‘Camino family’ and more engaging and enthusiastic pilgrims. We order a couple of sangrias and relax a bit before we decide to see what the bull running is all about. We learn that many towns in the Basque Country celebrate in mid-August to honor Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Our Lady of Assumption) and San Roque (a miracle healer from the 13^th century). Festivities can include sport activities, concerts, dances and bull running.

We were forewarned about the crowds but we weren’t prepared to see running bulls! Or the fact that many of the towns’ residents would stay up all night partying. We watched several small bulls running up and down a barricaded street and into a ring, where they are teased into chasing those who are ‘brave’ enough to taunt them. We didn’t stay long to watch – it was a hundred degrees in the sun and a few minutes watching the bulls being tormented was enough for us.

By now we needed some dinner. About ten of us gathered for a late meal and lively conversation.  Which included a comment by the one American male to Cindy in response to something… ‘you must be a blonde’.  The room got very quiet for about 5 seconds before Matti changed the subject. We had a good laugh later. Because Cindy’s calm reply was due to her many years of being a flight attendant. That guy was really lucky.

Another memorable day.  Now off to bed – the walk to Logroño is our longest one yet and the beginning of our second week.  We are stoked!

“I am part of all I have seen.”

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