Day 11–Sunday, May 21. Ventosa to Ciruena (16 miles)

We had a luxurious morning and got to sleep in past 7. Since we had agreed to wait for George before leaving, we didn’t think we’d be in a big rush–he’s 4 miles back so we aren’t expecting him much before 9. That means, that, yet again, we were the last ones out of the Albergue (but intentional this time!).

We texted George that we would meet him at he pilgrim cafe in town. He texted back that he was only a mile away. We ate our breakfast then looked up to see him climbing the hill into town. He told us he left at 6:40 and got in at 8:40–he’s consistently averaging 2 miles/hour or more these days when he has a purpose or is tired.

It was only a little over 6 miles into Najera. The day was cloudy and breezy; much better than the 25 and sunny predicted (oops, forgot Americans like Fahrenheit–77). We made tracks into town. We only stopped once at a little picnic area on the trail because we had lost sight of George. By the time we dropped our packs, he had already caught up and said to keep going.

We made Najera by 11:15. Pam and I stopped at the first cafe on the trail for a coffee. George was there before we could order. He’d already done over 10 miles and it wasn’t even lunch time. Actually, George was ready for lunch, but we weren’t and they didn’t have anything that appealed to him, so we agreed to move on to the heart of town and try to find some food that appealed to him.

Once we wound our way through town and got to the river, we were once again amazed at the change of geology. The old part of town is sandwiched between a river and a dramatic rocky cliff face. This town has a lot of history in it, but we were on a mission–food for George, and pop a real blister on one of my toes. Why now after over 300 miles of hiking?

We discussed hiking plans with George and agreed that we would split up for a few days and meet up in Burgos on Thursday afternoon. Although George is doing fantastic today, we still wanted to hike another 10 miles and he’s not ready for a 20 mile day yet (nor are we). We want to put in a few longer days of 15 to 18 miles and get to Burgos by Wednesday then take a zero day. George is comfortable now in the 12 to 14 mile range. He’d doing fantastic overall (as long as you don’t ask him how he feels–he’ll love this hike in retrospect).

When we left, George had a plate of food in front of him and he was sitting, so that’s all it takes to make him happy. We didn’t walk two blocks before we made friends with a new group of people. Bob, Paul, and Chris were 3 Americans which were doing the trail for the third time. The first time, Bob did it with his family. The second time, they thought Chris had a stroke and had to be hospitalized. Fortunately, it was just a reaction to some medications he was taking. After they released him from the hospital, they felt it prudent to not resume hiking and just drink for a week to make sure Chris was safe to get back on a plane. They also do trail magic on the AT near Washington DC, so we might get to meet them next year.

We also came upon An and Andy again walking with the Americans. I finally remembered to get a picture with them. We have been hiking and talking to our Holland friends since Estella, so it’s only fitting to include their picture.

Entering Ciruena, we split off from Bob, Paul, and Chris in search of food. As we were entering a restaurant/bar, we saw Lee and Sandy. They were telling us about the local municipal and how nice the rooms were. We said we were going on but they were still willing to let us have lunch with them (apparently I didn’t snore bad enough last night to be shunned today).

An and Andy ran into us on the street leaving town. They told us George had just gotten in and that there was still room at the Municipal. We vacillated for a minute or two, but we decided to push on to the next town since it was only 2p–we wanted to try to string a couple of longer days together. The bigger picture though–George did 14 miles today. If we can get him thicker soled boots, we won’t be able to keep up with him. He’s lost at least 4″ off his belt and he’s shedding pounds. If we could only get him beyond the physical ailments, he could be a real long distance hiker.

I’m glad this afternoon was over cast. The trail would be miserable on a hot sunny day which everyone who stayed behind is going to have tomorrow. It took us almost 3.5 hours to cover the 6 miles. When we got to the Albergue, they had 2 beds left, but they were in separate rooms. The owners sister has a bed and breakfast just a few blocks away and she could get us in a private room with our own bath for just twice the amount of the Albergue–Pam talked me into splurging.

We got a 2nd floor bedroom (3rd for Americans). I think it used to be an attic space but it’s been finished off and is an amazing space. We signed up for breakfast and laundry service so we’ve got an easy night of peace and relaxation ahead.

For supper, the Albergue that we went to originally has a communal Pilgrim supper, so we went back over for dinner. There was a Swiss, a South Korean, 4 Chinese, an Englishman, 3 Italians, us 2 Americans, and 2 others I didn’t get a chance to talk to. We had a great time talking (in pidgin) to everyone. The South Korean wins the award for hiking in most countries at 80. One of the Italian Ladies we had spent last night with, so she told everyone our plan to travel for 5-6 years–everyone liked our plans and were envious.

Tonight is an early night because we have breakfast at 7 and we want to be on the road as early as possible because Belorado doesn’t have a lot of available beds–we’re sticking with our not phoning ahead for reservations. So far, we’ve been very lucky. If all else fails, we have a tent. I hate to think we are carrying this gear and aren’t going to use it the entire Camino.

I’ve got to remember, I have a few rants I rants to get to in tomorrow’s post.