Crack of Dawn

Jane: Well we surprised even ourselves by getting up at 5.45am and starting today´s walk at 6.25.  It was a bit of a challenge getting out of the room we were sharing with a couple of Americans without starting an international incident.  Do you just go for it irrespective of noise and get those backpacks stuufed, or do you tippy-toe around trying to make as little noise as possible?  The compromise we ended up with meant we had to completely re-pack the bags outside the albergue as mine was so badly packed.  We also had to extract our boots from behind where two pilgrims were sleeping on matresses on the floor infront of the bootrack.  Apparently walking the Camino Way in May is "the new black" so albergues are getting filled up fairly early in the afternoon.  many people had to get buses or taxis to a point further along the route as the village we were in and the next one along were both full by 4.00pm.  Anyway we arrived here, Torres del Rio at 12.35 and we have a BOTTOM BUNK and there are 3 loos!! What more could you want?!

The morning´s walk was lovely, through spanish farmland and passing amazing hedgerow flowers - such variety and colour and scents.  It was fresh - which is nice for walking, but it was over 8 kilometres to our first coffee, so that was a bit of a streatch.  It was a cloudy day and we ended walking for hour and half in the rain; better tomorrow I believe.

In an earlier blog we mentioned "angels" we have met so far and we forgot to mention a whole host of "angels" we met in a bar called Cafe Sabina, in Roncevalles.  We had a coffee here and returned to our albergue. Two hours later we went to eat -- no beautiful purple jacket that Mark and Liz had given Charlotte! Panic!!!!!! Re-trace steps - toilet, shower, boot room, reception, bunkbed, bunkbed, bunkbed, backpack - Eventually we remembered the cafe and galloped (well hobbled) round there.  Low and behold, on a chair where it had been left by Charlotte was the jacket untouched by the many people who might have picked it up.  Thank goodness for "angels".

Charlotte. Everything Jane has described I could have written. I felt weary today but chuffed to be on our way so early, we got to hear the dawn chorus and the air was scented with perfume from the hedgerow plants, we came across tamarisk trees in full flower, pink all over with a pungent perfume which filled the air, I wish you could see the amazing variety of spring flowers growing wild that we have to buy from garden centres. I am still coughing but I do feel my chest is getting better. It is lovely to get to the albergue each day, shower and change and then rest before the evening meal, bedtime is getting earlier and earlier. Thankyou all of you for your comments they made us laugh and mean so much to us. We are going to raise a glass tonight to our first full week on the Camino. We are now in Rioja having walked through Navarre, many miles to go but we face each day as it comes.

First seven days in five words.
Charlotte´s:
Surprising, challenging, scented, extroidinary,and doable.
Jane´s:
Disconbobulating, sensual, challenging, sociable, foreign

We haven´t mentioned Spanish food mauch, but we are saving that for a later blog.

Now do you believe us! When we said huge, we meant huge!

Please keep this to yourselves, but I just keep Charlotte off the old vino; any opportunity she can get!

(This was the fuente del vino, a free red wine fountain at Bodegas Irache)

Whereas, in contrast I merely had water.

More soon folks!