Navarette to Azofra

Dunno how this blog is gonna turn out. I´m buzzing pretty hard at the moment. Just got off a wine tour. Ask me how much it cost. How much did it cost, Christine? Glad you asked. ONE EURO. ONE. Of course...it was kinda short...but I drank a LOT of rosé. Ahem.

Anyway. Got a nice late start today out of Navarette, as you know, since I blogged this morning after the boys went on. I chased the boys all day. One thing I found out, though...alone, I am FAST. And I don´t stop.

First...the sandals. Not good to start with. Too hard on the muscles. So about ten minutes out, it was on with the boots. I´m trying to tough it out like Mike and Drew say to, but they are KILLING ME!!!! At this point, the muscles are fine, the knee is GOLDEN, and even the blisters are fine. Now it´s a heel issue...some extra bone on the back of my right heel. Swear to God, if it´s not one thing, it´s another. (And speaking of random issues, I´ve never had so many skin problems...new reaction every day, and I am NOT an allergen-prone person.) So anyway...I made it two hours with the boots, and then it was back to the sandal-shoes. Sorry, but they just feel better, and when you´re pushing out 23km on your own, trying to catch up with three boys, you don´t give a crap as long as it doesn´t hurt. The range of foot motion is a joy. I can actually flex my feet and use my toes to push off. They´re a trade off, of course...I feel every rock under me, and the cushioning isn´t as great, so the afternoon still hurts...but they don´t throw me sideways when I take a wrong step, and I´m not hobbling. So I think I´ll keep trying boots in the morning until I can´t stand it anymore. Hey. You do what works.

I am so not kidding...I BOOKED it today. The Germans left 15 or 20 minutes before me, and when I got to the breakfast stop in Ventosa, 7km away, they were just leaving. There is this dish in Spain called tortilla de patatas...it´s like a cross between a quiche and a potato pancake. GOOD. That stop was fifteen minutes. And in less than 4 hours since my start time in Navarette, I pulled into Najera, 17km away. I was at full-on, neighborhood walking, no weight, power walking speed. It was awesome. The pack is an afterthought right now. All I concentrate on is my feet. Baby plums outside of Ventosa...almost didn´t try them, but learned from the other day when Skip turned us on to locuts, so I picked one, brushed it off, and bit into it. It was beautiful.

Speaking of beautiful...THE VIEWS TODAY. I know, maybe it´s getting redundant, but I can´t emphasize enough what beautiful country this is. I don´t care if it´s blisteringly hot and I´m cursing the sun with every step...it doesn´t change the fact that it´s beautiful. Today was a blue sky like (I swear) I haven´t seen since 9/12/01. You know, the day the planes were grounded in America. Do you remember the sky that day? The Discovery Channel did a thing about it...how the jetwash from America´s air traffic stirs up the atmosphere and that crystal blue day was something that will only happen in a period of a day or two without air traffic. I´ve just never seen it this blue any other day. Vineyards...I never get tired of them. A million shades of green above russet-seipa, wide-tooth-combed soil below. Yellow wheat fields interrupting...silvery green weeds...cornflowers, red poppies, giant purple thistles, and yellow dandelions. Mountains in the distance, differing shades of purple and blue. ARRRGH! WANT TO POST PICTURES!! Sigh. I´m telling you. DO THIS.

Anyway. The walk from Ventosa to Nájera was really nice, even though I was hurrying. No water from Navarette to Nájera...didn´t know that but had enough for the whole day...those after me, beware. Passed the site of the legendary battle between the French knight Roldán and the giant Farregut. Also a poem or song on the wall, in Spanish, for peregrinos...have pictures of it so I can get someone to translate it for me at home.

Nájera was really nice. There was a new town and an old town. At first I was poking my head into every bar, looking for my boys. Finally found the Germans right before I crossed the bridge into the old town...across the bridge were sidewalk cafes along a shallow river with a bed that looked like cobblestones...green grass on each side...gorgeous view...and there was Skip Norris, sitting at one of the tables. We hollered, got there, and suddenly a waitress showed up with four tall beers. Bless that boy. We sat for a while as the boys tried to figure out how to mack on the hot Spanish girl next to us. When we finally went for lunch, the bartender was really happy to hear I was American; he´d been to Utah. We headed out of town and got all the way up the hill (about 10 minutes´ walk) when I realized I forgot my stick AGAIN. In the bar. GRRRRR!!! Went back. He was just closing but I got it.

It was hotter than Jesus when I got back up the hill. No sign of the boys. Walked another 10 minutes before I saw them, huddled in the shade of a broken down old barn that was the only spot of shade in all of Spain, it seemed, at that point. Bless their hearts. Though we didn´t talk much or walk together, really, the rest of the way to Azofra. It was HOT. Did I mention it was hot?? My brilliant shoulder-sunblock plan did not include my calves today, and I am now paying the price. Lesson learned.

Made it to Azofra, which seems like a kind of oasis in the desert. THIS GUY KNOWS HOW TO RUN AN ALBERGUE. One of the things I hate MOST is when they try to give you the grand tour on the way to your rooms, when all you care about is putting down your pack. Sometimes it´s even worse: you have to take your boots off before you do ANYTHING, including pay!! But THIS guy. ¨Put all your things down, and go relax.¨ Courtyard. Tables with umbrellas. Hank and Mimi and Jocelyn. FOOT POOL. Seriously. About 12´ square, a foot deep, fountain in the middle. Heaven. When we felt like it, we came back to the counter and paid. Small rooms with two twin beds apiece (I´m afraid I won´t fit...they´re blocked in by shelves). THIS guy INSISTED ON CARRYING MY PACK UP TO MY ROOM. WOW.

Shower, journal, a Coke, more foot pool, lots of lotion, no new blisters (YAY!), and then a wine tour leaving at 8. It was short...you get what you pay for...but according to the guy, it´s supposed to be longer than it was. Still, it was deep underground, walking through earthen tunnels...we peeked into giant CEMENT wine tanks in the old section, and climbed into giant steel wine casks in the new part. We got to try a red and a rosé. No one seemed to care how much we took, so I topped up on the rosé several times. =)

Decided I´m spending too much...can´t keep eating in bars, even on the menú peregrino. So today I bought a kind of rice-a-roni type thing, but as I was trying to figure it out, the wine tour was leaving. So I abandoned ship. Hey, I missed the wine fountain...wasn´t about to miss a 1€ tour.

I have never appreciated a blue sky so much as I do on this trip. I mean, when all you have to do is walk, a beautiful blue sky, under the sunshine, early in the morning, is a joy.

It takes about 8 days till your face, without makeup, looks right to you, and not like it´s missing something vital. After 8 days, you look in the mirror and stop thinking ACK I NEED MAKEUP and start thinking...MAN I look healthy.... =)

Al is here. Ten minutes after I arrived, he burst into my room and seized me in a bear hug. Al ROCKS.

I missed the boys today and was so happy we´re all together. I wonder how much longer that will last. I told myself at the outset that I needed to be quick to associate with people, but had to be just as quick to leave them, so as to allow others to take their place. But I love these guys. And we never know if we´ll see Hank and Al and Jocelyn and Mimi each night, but when we appear on the scene and they´re all sitting around with wine and beer (they leave MUCH earlier than we do), everyone hollers with joy. It´s a good, good group. You MUST walk your own Camino, and you can´t wait or push for anyone else...but it´s so hard not to. Friendships cement so fast here....

Drew...I assure you, there is no easy way out here. =) Stepping it out is key, and fun on days like today when you want to see how fast you can go for how long...but it´s gorgeous countryside, and speed and endurance takes a backseat to beautiful churches and numberless pictures of vineyard-and-mountain panoramas. You know what I mean. But trust me...this is a hump to die for.

Mike, tell Eric that. Give him kisses for me. I miss him and show his picture to everyone who will stand still long enough.

Ian and Rosie...you know MePhiMe?? HOW??? =)

Everyone I don´t know following this blog...thank you for your interest. I hope my information is helpful in some way.

Tomorrow...Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and stopping perhaps in Redecilla del Camino? Any info ahead of that is welcome, as I won´t check again till tomorrow night. I know the Santo Domingo legends...you will find plenty if you check. Tell me what´s after that if you choose.

merlintoes@hotmail.com...emails welcome.

Love you all!! Think Skip Norris is roundhousing the kitchen, so must go.