It was the best night sleep I’ve had so far, no noise and we had bed sheets, so no sleeping bags! We woke up at 7am but it was closer to 9 when we finally left.
It had rained during the night so the air was refreshed and cool; perfect walking weather. The route took us through the village centre and out over the old bridge.
Sandra and Dirk stopped at the pharmacy but I went ahead as my Achilles was hurting resulting in my pace being slower, that way I can be caught up.
The path descended from the village before climbing up through a pine forest. At this point a crayfish decided to cross the path in front of me! Just bizarre.
After the steep hill I hobbled into Maneru, stopping at a bar. It wasn’t long before Brian, who I’d last seen in Uterga, arrived followed by my two traveling companions.
Here I took some ibruprofen and put some kinesiology tape on my ankle and tendon. After an ommelete we continued on. The pain by this time had subsided.
The 3 of us left the town passing more farmland until Cirauqui came into view. Perched on top of a hill where the path wound up through the narrow streets past the centre of town where we got a stamp for our credentials.
As we descended out of town I crossed paths with a pilgrim called Gabriel, from Poland. She was walking at fast pace but we got chatting, so I kept up.
As we passed a ford, Gabriel wanted to soak her feet, but I continued on. In front I could see a sombrero peaking above a hedgerow. That could only mean it was Brian!
I caught him up and walked with him as we navigated a vicious hill. We entered a little village called Lorca where a much needed stop was required. In a local shop on the village square, I got us two ice cold Shandy’s. Perfect!
We then moved on following more farmland and passing through Villatuerta. Up a hill we came across and old church nestled amoungst an olive grove. We took a minute to explore before moving on to our final destination at Estella.
Once in town we booked into the albergue where we met Markus. At 7pm we headed to the main plaza for some food.
Stu's Camino 