Cizur Menor to Puente La Reina

14 miles today. We took a detour to Eunate to see a 12th century octagonal church in the middle of green fields and barren (for now) vineyards. The church closes from 1:30 to 4:30 for siesta so we had to race walk to get there before that. Now I have a charlie horse in my calf and Scott has a blister on his pinky toe (see below). It was worth it though. The peace and tranquility in that ancient structure was such a balm. We sat in silence for quite a while.

Before that we climbed another mountain to Alto de Perdon, the place with the iron cutout monument to pilgrims and the place of many humongous wind turbines. At the top we could see the whole way we had come for the past several days - 56 miles. On the way up it was cold and damp but on the way down it was warm and dry. We are now in a more Mediterranean climate. The vistas remain unbelievably beautiful every where you look. Green, green, and more glowing emerald green!

We hobbled past Obano where a nobleman's daughter, Felicia, left her life of leisure after being changed by the camino. Her brother, William, went after her to try and convince her to return and when she wouldn't, he killed her with a dagger in a fit of rage. Then he went on the camino, was also transformed by it, then spent the rest of his days helping pilgrims. His skull (relics) reside in the church. I just can't see Elizabeth and Ben ever getting to this point in their sibling relationship, thank goodness.

Finally we arrived in Puente la Reina and are set up in the basement of a fancy restaurant with fifty other pilgrims (25 women and 1 toilet!). So bizarre - there is an ultra modern room with three shower pods only for the women. An electric panel in the shower lets you choose jazz music, special lights, and different jets of water. I let out a yelp when a very hot powerful spray of water got me in my cootchi-coo. Such a strange thing to have this luxury in the midst of some serious sardine sleeping, lack of privacy, and super simple living.

Can we just discuss "ronquidos" (snoring)? Even with ear plugs on, there are always at least 5 people who sound like Ford F-350s, 2 inches from your ear. It is impossible to sleep through because it sounds like they are choking to death. I always considered myself a heavy sleeper until now. It is all part of this crazy journey, so I need to embrace it all.

Yeah, that mood thing changing because of terremotos...naw, it's the never-ending ronquidos that's fouling my mood.

The pics below: Scott at Alto de Perdon,
Scott's blister, the incredible dinner Scott made for us with fresh picked artichokes and local mushrooms, the crazy modern shower, and another medieval bridge.