If there’s one word to use for today it was HOT!
We got up not too much after 6 and were on the trail before 7–this is a huge accomplishment for us. Shaun, Rob, and Michele were out at least 1/2 hour before us. Richard hung around to walk with us to the bridge. He’s catching a bus to jump forward on the trail so he can hike another day or two with some Scottish friends he met when he first started the trail. He’s not going to be able to do the entire trail this time so we decided to give him the honorary title of “Taxi English Rich” until he returns. We exchanged emails and he is planning to come spend a few days with us when we are completing the Camino.
We caught up with the Aussie crowd about 3 miles up the trail. This was after completing our one big climb for the day and entering the village of Maseru. We all headed out together but soon got separated.
With the heat today, people were more spread out and moving slower than usual. By the time we got to the next village of Cirauqui (2 hot miles later), Rob and Shaun were way out front and Michelle was dropping behind. Cirauqui is a picturesque little village built upon a single hill with winding, steep streets running in all directions. Even though I was hungry, no one wanted to stop. About a mile out of town, I found a shady spot and sat down–I needed fuel and I was going to have it (it gives you powers when you carry the food). Michele walked by while we were eating and asked if we were having morning tea.
We haven’t eaten lunch any day before 1p so I had convinced myself that we were doing terrible today since we’d already eaten lunch and were only half way. When Pam told me it was only 11:20, I perked up some.
We caught back up with the Aussies at an unknown bar on the side of the road. Rob and Michele started telling me about the hazards of Australia. Shaun kept saying “The snakes are bastards. The crocodiles are bastards. The wombats are bastards. The sharks are bastards. The kangaroos are bastards. The toads are bastards. The spiders are bastards.” Michele stopped him there. “The spiders aren’t bastards. There’s only 4 species that will kill you instantly.” They were having a great time messing with me.
Even though we left the bar first, they soon past us and then we couldn’t catch them again. Pam, George, and I were dying from the heat at 84F while they were all saying this would be a great winter day. The summers get really hot in Australia with temps regularly up around 110F. We may need to reconsider spending one of our winters down under and go in their winter instead.
The final few miles were just hot and miserable. I was dragging and my inner voice started getting really mean to me (don’t pretend you don’t have a voice in your head with a constant running commentary). I know that I am an acquired taste with very few people able to maintain a like of the flavor for long–thank goodness for family which has to take you anyway. I decided to give the Australian gang their freedom for a while.
When Pam and I got to Estella, we had left George behind at Villatuerta while we looked for a bank. We haven’t been able to get Euros yet and have been running on charge cards and borrowed money from George. We got into town and went to the first Albergue that was on the trail thinking if George came on he’d stop here first. We hit the jackpot here and got a private room on the top floor with our own balcony and a bathroom with a bathtub. After de-stinkifying, we went in search of an open bank.
Crossing the bridge to get to the heart of town, we met an Irish man that started the same day we did. We talked with Tommy for a while and told him our plans until Pam got attacked by biting ants and we had to run off the bridge.
Estella is about 8 times the size of Puente La Reina so there are multiple banks. When we looked in Villatuerta for a bank, they were closed for siesta so we pushed on hoping to catch a bank in Estella when it reopened after siesta. Again, no luck. We got there 10 minutes too late because I’ve picked up Pam’s sense of direction. I may have to wire home for $ soon if this keeps happening.
After a little grocery and pharmaceutical shopping, we decided to head back to the refuge to connect to wifi to find George. We turned the corner on the only pizza place in town, and there he sat. He did get the same Albergue but not the same setup. He’s in a 24 bed room on a top bunk without an outlet near his bed. I felt obliged to rub in the nice accommodations we had thanks to Oscar at the front desk who took pity on Pam’s pathetic appearance when we arrived. The no makeup, no hair conditioner, and no leg shaving is finally paying off for us.
