Early in the morning we wake up with more vigor after yesterday, the sneakers still wet (they were soaked in water, although we put newspapers in them, according to the instructions of the host), after a cafe con leche and a hearty breakfast (included in the price of accommodation) and a photo as a souvenir (I was going to forget, the owner told us that we are the first post-Covid pilgrims to stay in his house).
We start moving, we actually have to recover the 7 km from the last stage and the 21 km from the current stage. Great aspirations, but we start with hope. The 7 km from
Uterga to
Puente la Reina are done without any problem, the only inconvenience was the lack of shops, well, the lack of open shops. A saviour appears as the following event happens to us in
Puente la Reina. I was sitting outside on the sidewalk, Vasile, my husband, sitting on the curb, enjoying a soda and a well-deserved break, and we were watching the lively conversations of the locals. We decide to start following the original route, but we don't make more than a few steps and we are interrupted by a voice that warns us from behind: “No podeis ir por ahi con la bici, teneis que tomar la carretera. Hay escaleras al bajar”, what we didn't know and the local tells us is that when we go down from the village we will find stairs following the traditional route. We couldn't go that way of course, so the local led us to the road, we thanked him and we started for the Roman bridge that is after the descent.
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Roman Bridge
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| We are on the right way |
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Refugio de P.P Reparadores-Puente La Reina
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Refugio de P.P Reparadores-Puente La Reina
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| Two pilgrims walk on the Roman bridge |
In our thoughts we thank heaven and the man that warned us for sparing us of the unnecessary effort. We advanced another 5 km on a dirt road, keeping the highway on the right.
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| Highway on the right |
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Small Break
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Dirt Road
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| Camino |
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| Highway |
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| Under the Highway |
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| Under the Highway part 2 |
A not so very pleasant part of this stage is the ascent of Mañeru. Although it is very hot since the morning, you could feel the effects of yesterday's storm, the humidity of the air stuck to our skin and the hot air took our breath away. The sloping dirt road with numerous ditches made of water flowing down the valley, along with mud and stones made the ascent a torment.
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| Ascent |
We move slowly as if time stood still, we finally manage to reach the end of the climb, sweaty and weak. We don't even feel the rest of the trip to Estella, how it passed, what happened, although there were many ups and downs. We arrive in the city, we are one hundred percent sure that we will find open hostels (on the specialized sites they were all open), surprise !! Everything is closed, another storm is approaching and we are without accommodation, so we took all the hostels in the city one by one. In the end we find something accessible from all points of view, financially and without too many stairs. Of course, human nature in conditions of stress toys with us, dark thoughts surround us: what do we do if albergues will not open? What if we have to continue to stay in hostels / hotels? We decide to calm down and take each day as it comes. It's a wonderfully special trip, let's enjoy it!
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| Day 2 |
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Somewhere on Camino
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On Camino de Tronos you either walk or die
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