One Year Ago: Snow!

(from my journal)

Estella
Easter Saturday / 5:20AM

I woke up early and surprisingly refreshed. I wrote some post cards and will attempt to pack my bag before everyone else it up for breakfast.

It’s snowing.

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Los Arcos
4:30PM

Arrived in Los Arcos about 3PM. This morning, Charlie, Eamon, Petra, and I set off from Estella in high spirits and snow. While not heavy or constant, it was thick, gloopy stuff. It didn’t stick to the roads, but did most everywhere else.

We stopped for a quick café con leche and croissant in the outskirts of Estella before pushing on to Irache. There, we generally made fools of ourselves drinking from and posing for photos next to the famous wine fountain.

It’s possible that I over-hyped it in my head, or maybe it was the sleet and snow, but I left feeling vaguely disappointed. The wine wasn’t very good either.

By the time we reached Villamajor, in the shadows of the castle of Montjardin, it was downright Christmassy.

Spent quite a lot of time talking with Eamon while the others fell behind. Visited the church in Villamajor. While th emedieval statues were nice, the rest of the Romanesque interior looked rather like it had been gutted by iconoclasts. Cold stone with no relief.

We took a wrong turn after the church and started climbing to the castle. We were soon put right and began the descent from the town, only to discover Charlie and Petra waiting for us.

We descended out of the snow , and I walked with Charlie the rest of the day – fascinating fellow. He retired from the British army and worked military sales in Indonesia for a number years before abruptly changing careers in his fifties. He training to become a psychotherapist and now has a small practice.

The Way wound up and down and around hills and ridges through ancient vineyards, until we came happily and at last to Los Arcos, where Eamon and Petra were waiting for us. We checked into the most charming albergue yet, with the longest name we’d seen, Albergue la Fuente Casa de Austria.

Charlie and I talked a bit about the Camino and why we wanted – or needed – to walk the Way.

I still haven’t worked it out.

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8:00PM

Sunday Mass on Saturday night in the local church of Santa Maria. Impressive enough on the outside, but the interior was a cavalcade of baroque gold, three stories tall. I counted nine altars, but I certainly missed some. We tried to get photos after Mass, but it was impossible to get everything in frame. Afterwards, the priest gave us all the pilgrim’s blessing.

All the photos: day 5!