Since my progress is so slow, I’m seeing different faces every day. Last night at dinner we had: Swiss, Canadian, Argentina, Italy, Korean x2, Taiwan, and a few others. This morning I passed a Polish couple, who were using a scooter as a backpack-cart. Also a German girl traveling with her dog; very few lodgings allow animals so she camps most nights.
The rain from yesterday has cleared out, leaving a few days of glorious fall weather for us: clear skies and much cooler temperatures. It’s definitely fall: I passed two 40-lb pumpkins in a vegetable patch this morning.
This was planned as only a 10.5km day, so I took a long break at lunch in Estella. The restaurant across from the municipal Alburgue, Casa Carmen, opened at noon, and I had the best-crafted meal yet here in Spain. A robust salad, topped with chicken tenders and dressed in a curry seasoning. Absolutely delicious!
Estella is a very old town, with lots of history I won’t bore you with. Museums, churches, and architecture treasures abound; it would be worth another visit sometime. The old quarter ends promptly at the old gate though, and one immediately thrown back into the modern world of traffic and chaos. Fortunately it was only 45 minutes further to my lodging.
This is my first stay in a municipal Alburgue, and it will hopefully be my last (rarely do they take reservations, but this one did). Facilities are spartan, rooms have more bunks, but the price reflects this.
Dinner at the municipal was simple: a nice salad, pan fried chicken cutlet, fries. We had Korea, Portland and Ontario at table.
Lodging: Alburgue San Cipriano, Ayegui
Kitsambler's Journeys 