Puente de Reina to Estella

14 miles. I kept getting whiffs of mothballs all day, especially when we were out on the little paths away from towns. I finally mentioned it to Scott and he said it was all the yellow flowering bushes - Scotch Broom (an invasive species in California anyway).

As each day passes, we see more and more wild flowers in bloom, often with a snail attached. Poppies came out today!

We are definitely in a rhythm now, with our morning routines of stuffing our things back into the backpacks, eating muesli, fruit, and yogurt, then setting out just after dawn (the sun rises late here), and walking silently with the throngs of other pilgrims until we spread out as the day progresses. Our feet, backs, and legs now seem accustomed to the long miles and heavy loads. It seems like a very long time since we started in France.

A high point of day was following a 2000 year old Roman road for several miles. Juxtaposed against this was the ultramodern autopista highway running parallel. Sheesh those chariot rides must have knocked out people's teeth - the surface of the ancient road is super bumpy and not very cozy for the feet. Made me think about my super strict high school Latin teacher, Miss Thompson, and all she taught us about the Roman Empire. The engineering and workmanship are incredible, but I always wonder about the slaves who built all these roads, bridges, and aqueducts. So much work to lay all those small stones!

Barro (mud) is still everywhere. Brown splatters up to the thigh are a dead give away you are a pilgrim.

One thing has been bothering me a little. We walk through so many towns with so much history, yet if we stopped to investigate for too long, we risk not getting to the destination in time to get a good bed, hand wash our laundry, shop for food, and cook. So today we are totally cheating by not staying in an albergue and taking tomorrow off in Estella. We pretty much fell into a very sweet deal and are staying for 2 nights in a large modern apartment overlooking the square for 60 euros a night. We can spend the day at the museums and cathedrals tomorrow without heavy packs! Woo hoo, such luxury! And there are food shops just steps away. And a washer, and lightning fast wifi, and a big bed, etc. Although we are doing great, I am a little desperate to get a good night's sleep away from the snoring.

Knowing Spanish (castellano) has proven to be essential on this trip. I don't think we would have been able to conduct the negotiations to get this apartment, buy food as easily, or ask for directions along the way without it. Also well over half the pilgrims are from Spain.

Studying this language has been one of my favorite hobbies for the last ten years and I keep it fresh by reading Spanish novels and cross-checking as I go with the English translations. I am slowly working through 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez at home and on the ice. It is going to take a while.

Pics: leaving at dawn, another medieval bridge, beautiful Ciraqui in the distance, fifty cent bowl of local olives, the dinner we made from local foods including the regional specialty alcochofas (artichokes) for ten cents each, dessert (the cookies here look good but are rather blah and pale in comparison to Elizabeth's cookies), and me looking exhausted but exhilarated by the artichokes (mom, every time we buy artichokes we laugh and think of you and how you mortified Elizabeth with artichoke innuendos).