Stage 6- Villatuerta to Los Arcos

  

"To move, to breathe, to fly, to float,

  To gain all while you give.

  To roam the roads of lands remote,

  To travel is to live."

- Hans Christian Andersen 

During Stage 6 of the Camino, I traveled 25.4 miles, 15.8 km, and 34,879 steps.  I had another fine day of weather with cool temps in the morning, and bright blue sky in the afternoon.  I hiked through the city of Estella, and stopped briefly for some breakfast and to help a fellow hiker find a bank and change some money.  We got lost briefly heading out of town looking for the legendary wine fountain on the outskirts of the city.  After about a 40 minute fruitless detour, we got back on our way heading in the direction of the wine fountain at the Monasteria de Irache.  Just before reaching the wine fountain, I stopped along the trail at the work site of an old blacksmith.  I ended up buying an iron scallop shell (the symbol of the Camino), that was handmade by the blacksmith.  While there, I talked briefly with a 79 year old Welshman who was hiking the Camino alone.  He was a retired technology teacher, and a poet as well.  He shared a few of his poems while waiting to have his staff repaired by the blacksmith.  The Welshman had damaged his staff and nearly his own self when he was knocked to the ground by a cyclist a few days earlier on the Camino.  

After leaving the blacksmith, I headed up the hill to the Monastery and the wine fountain.  There were actually two fountains side by side, a water & a wine fountain provided by the Monastery for hikers on the Camino de Santiago Trail.  There is a webcam at this site, so Estalita was actually able to see me standing at the fountain getting some wine for the long trip ahead.  By the way, she got up at 4am to make sure that she could see me waving to her from the fountain!!  

Shortly after leaving the fountain, I headed into a steep alternate route climb into the mountains that lasted the better part of 3 hours.  I didn't see any other hikers along this route, and only 1 cyclist near the tail end of it.  A few hours later, I made my way into Los Arcos and found a crowded alburgue to stay for the night.  The cost was 10 euros.  I checked in and then walked into the town square for some sangria and some carbs.  I had some bread and spaghetti bolognese for my evening meal. 

 Overall, I had probably one of the worst nights I've had in terms of lodging while hiking the Camino.  There was a shortage of TP, only ice cold showers, inconsistent internet, and I had a top bunk as well.  I also encountered my loudest snorer on the Camino.  I thought the room was going to shake right out from underneath  me!!   Under normal conditions, I might have struggled to fall asleep, but the demand of walking so much every day and expending a ton energy makes it rather easy to fall asleep each night.

Lights out.