Second day El Camino

Most unfortunately, today, Ian, who has been suffering from a respiratory infection, could not walk this stage. (He took a bus, which, he told us, was full of walkers. The first day must have done in a lot of them.) So at 8:a.m. on a crisp, perfectly clear morning, Tanya and I headed out for a 16.7 mile walk to Akeretta, which was actually 18.1 miles and that is a lot of miles. More of that later.

A truism about mileage: the quoted distance is almost always less than the actual distance.

This is the church in Roncesvalles whose bells play an exuberant tune on the hour:





We have been impressed by the prettiness and the cleanness of the towns:





The water drainage system in one of the towns:




Early morning cobwebs:




A pretty house:




A balcony with lots of flowers:




At about the half way point, we sat down for a snack. A few cats were hoping for handouts:





Entrance to a cemetary:




A roadside stand!



Were we ever going to get to the hotel at Akerreta? We actually did at 4:00 p.m., which is not bad--say one hour total stopping for sustenance, but those last couple of hours were a bit of a slog. Actually, what makes it hard is the heat. When we were in the cool of the morning or in the woods, it was fine. I am actually appreciating those Luna Nutz Over Chocolate energy bars!

We are again at a lovely hotel, an old, very old and charming family-run hostal rural. The most striking feature of the room is the window:






Yes, it is tiny and it has a shutter, which would not be photographed. Here is the view looking out the window:




There is a tub and plenty of hot water. How good a long soak felt, as did a lie down for an hour. Dinner is here to night for which I am most grateful. Neither Tanya not I wanted to take another step to seek out sustenance. The only problem with this place is that you can hear everyone talking and next door to me are some really loud Frenchmen!


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