Day 9 - Pizza and Vino Tinto : Estella to Los Arcos

"Walk, Eat, Sleep, Repeat" now seems like a good description of our daily routine, and yet one that is wholly inadequate for describing the wondrous experiences we are enjoying. It seems to me that the Camino, and other longer hikes, force one to refine life down the essentials, which is an entirely welcome and freeing experience, and it in turn makes room for all the simple moments, wonder, and beauty that can be found along the way. It is in the often unnoticed, and unblogged about moments that the essence of the Camino can be found. I don't know if I could adequately convey my experiences or our feelings now, so I'll stick with the skeletal events of the day and hope that it conveys some of the beauty of our trek. 

This morning, we maintained our schedule of getting up early (5:50 am) to enjoy the sunrises of Spain and avoid hiking through the afternoon heat. While many pilgrims also did this, some adamantly refused to change their home schedules or walk anywhere before having breakfast at 7:30 or 8 am. As a result, many of these same people arrived later in afternoons, having walked through the worst heat of the day. My thoughts and prayers often go out to these pilgrims whose fortitude and stamina must be much greater than ours. 

We began this morning's hike by crossing a soccer field adjacent to the hostel, and rejoining the path at the road's edge on the other side. We soon discovered that we had stayed only a few hundred meters from the famed Fuente de Vino. This was a little disappointing, because neither of us found the prospect of wine at 6:30 am too appealing, and anyway, there was already quite a line-up of other pilgrims queing for a taste. Regretfully we decided to continue on rather than try for a sip. 

To our trepidation, once we had walked beyond the group of pilgrims at the fountain, two Spanish teenagers holding beers and drinking ran up to us and started walking with us. For about 5 minutes we were heavily questioned, with both positioning themselves between Sean and I, which made us feel increasingly nervous. However, they turned out to be very friendly, and rather drunk, and explained that the had walked 15 km into town yesterday to attend a local festival, and were now hiking back home, after nearly an entire day of drinking. When we turned a corner in the path and came to a group of other pilgrims, we discovered the both young men spoke four or five languages, and were merely curious about Canadians and Americas. After another 1/2 an hour of walking and talking with them, we said our goodbyes and left them helping another group of pilgrims with directions. Upon reflection, I have to admit that we are both ashamed or our initial response to these gentlemen. We had been so willing to judge them by their sudden appearance in the dark, and their questions that we almost mistook them and missed the experience they provided us with - namely a wonderful hour long hike with local company.

The Camino soon ventured into a beautifully forested region which provided a reprieve from the heat of the rising sun. We arrived outside of the village of Azqueta where we took a break, enjoyed some packed pastries and water, and watched the sunrise over the farmers' fields nearby. 

At the edge of Azqueta we had two options for the remaining part of today's hike - a shorter route which climbed uphill, and a longer one that crossed a prairie landscape. Ultimately, given the heat, we took the flatter route. As a result, today's trail mostly took us through an open landscape. 

I would not say it was barren, as there were wonderful vineyards, and hedgerows from time to time, but it nonetheless was certainly a largely unbroken tableau of flat fields which stretched on to the horizon, and seemed to be cut only by the Camino. Our hike took us past giant walls of hay in vast fields which provided several welcome patches of shade to shelter in. 

By 10 am, now soaked through, we decided to take a break on the edge of a wheat field, pull off our boots to dry out our socks, and relax. Indeed, given the temperature of the day, our thoughts and conversations soon turned to wondering what it would be like to hike through this region in the spring or summer, before the harvest? What would it be like to see the beauty of the swaying wheat or wander through crops taller than us?

 

 

After daydreaming for some time, we soon continued on and arrived in Los Arcos around noon. Here we discovered that many of the people we have met on the trail so far have continued on to Sansol. This is several shade-less kilometers further, and we decided that we lacked the energy to follow in the afternoon heat. Thankfully, the owner of the albergue, Casa de la Abula, opened her doors early. We therefore were soon checked in, had our passports stamped, and had been shown to our bunks. Tonight's residence is very clean and welcoming, however the small rooms have large numbers of bunks placed less than 2 ft apart, suggesting that between 12 and 16 people will soon be sharing a very small space. Given our early start, and the fact that we have arrived before everyone else, we enjoyed slightly longer showers, and had the chance to both wash and hang our daily laundry. Today we also decided to again re-examining our bags and to dispose of about 1/4 of our excess clothing into the municipal donation bin.

After lightening our daily loads, we visited the church of Santa Maria, with its gilded artwork, murals, domed roof, balcony, statue of St. James, and cool interior. 

We also enjoyed a late lunch consisting of a boccadillo con queso and an orange juice in the town square while we planned tomorrow's route. Rather than return to the business of a now full albergue, we took the opportunity to explore the town, take some photographs, and see how the region looked beyond "the way". The results of our exploration were somewhat upsetting. In Los Acros much of the town along the main route of the Camino is well built and very well maintained. However, just a block or so off of the main path, buildings are abandoned, doors and shutters have been nailed to their frames to hide the derelict state of same neighbourhoods, and shops are decidedly less welcoming. Given what we have seen here, we have decided to take part of each day and leave the Camino in the towns we come to in order to see Spain beyond the line of yellow arrows.

Early in the evening, after purchasing our usual batch of post cards, we again returned to the main town square to sit, enjoy a glass of wine, and get caught up on writing postcards to friends at home and our daily journals. 

Moreover, given that today's albergue also did not provide meals, we visited a local restaurant where we enjoyed our evening meal of the now usual and uninspiring Cruji Conques pizza in the main town courtyard. At 8 in the evening we attended the local pilgrim mass in the church, and soon after retired back to our bunk beds for the night. 

In our absence, the albergue had filled up with French pilgrims all cycling to Santiago, and as a result our night was quite a spectacle given that it was an evening full of muscular cyclists sleeping either naked or in thongs in close quarters. The surprises and adventure never end. ______________________________________________________________________________
Practical information:

Distance: 21.5 km
Max Temperature: 36°C
Accommodations: Casa de la Abula