24 April 2008

We set from Cirauqui early this morning. It is a cool morning, no clouds in sight. The walking seem pleasant enough but still difficult because nothing is flat, all the path is rocky. A large part of the walk is along an ancient Roman road, one that has been described in a 12th Century text. Parts are quite good but others have been washed away and the stones stolen by villagers a long time ago when the Camino was not so popular. On the good parts, one can see the hollowed out steps on the flat stones made by the millions of pilgrims preceeding us. The good weather has dried up the earth and it is now possible to walk without sinking in though it is quite uneven and difficult in places. We managed to cover the 15kms to Estella in about 8 hours including stops. At one point, we stopped at a monument erected in memory of a Canadian pilgrim (woman) who had died tragically along that area of the Camino. By now, I think I might join her, I am so sore and hot. Bernie still is smiling and taking pictures. (he doesn´t dare complain because I will suggest to cab it to the next town). When we got to Estella, we walked past the refugios where most people stop and went searching for the Monastary of St.Benito (St. Benedict). Bernie read about it and we know they take in Pilgrims. After walking a few extra kms, we stopped in a bar and asked if they could call the Monastary to reserve for us. (Bernie had read that one must call in advance) With our limited Spanish, it was quite a feat. We finally found our way there which was much further than we thought, right on top of a hill on the north side of town. After asking many people, an elderly man tried to direct us with no success so he decided to walk us to the base of the hill. When we finally found the place, it was defended by many layers of gates so it was a real challenge to get ourselves in. Once inside the gate, we rang the door and it took forever for someone to appear behind a grill like in a cloister. It turns out that, in that huge convent, there are only 10 nuns (Nina,they are your size). The place is absolutely spotless and shiny. We are shown to two separate rooms because there are no double ones. We are right across from each other, we both have full bathrooms with towels, soap, shampoo and even bubblebath. Such luxury. We now have to attend Vespers at 7 p.m. It was quite interesting and the nuns sang Gregorian chants just like angels. I was walking on my socked feet since our shoes are quite muddy. The little nun that was dealing with us since our arrival did not like it. She kept telling me that their tiled floors were way too cold. When I came out of Bernie´s room, there were beautiful leather slippers in my room. Unfortunately, they were so small I had to stuff my feet into them like in an 18hour girdle. As if my feet are not sore enough. It was very sweet of her.
The dinner was fairly basic. We were joined for dinner by a medical doctor, also an expert of Romanesque archeology. Again, our limited Spanish made it hard to converse freely but we did manage to communicate. We were each in our rooms by 9h30. No radio, t.v. or books to read. We were not expected back down until 9 a.m. so it was a great chance to catch up on our sleep.