Days 8-10

September 02, 2014

Days 8-10

(08/02/14)

Two days ago we we hiked almost 21 miles. Long day-- I don't remember much. (Except a man along the trail that sold delicious jam and homemade bread! I am a terrible cook, but he gave me so many jam tips- I may have to try.....

I do remember arriving to our end destination, Navarette. We were hot and tired, but before we went to bed we stopped by the town church, which the guide book described as having one of the most "bling bling" alters on the camino. We couldn't miss something with a description like that! Ha.

The pictures a little blurry, but as you can see, it was definitely "bling bling"-ee. It's been cool to see different churches along the way. (We even went to mass the first night- in Spanish. I was all sorts of confused, but it was still very nice and they had a special blessing for pilgrims) We were told that many times, the bigger the church, the poorer the community. I'm not sure if that is true, but I have never seen a church this ostentatious.

Since we had worked our way ahead of schedule, yesterday felt fairly easy. (A little over 13 miles). Beautiful walk through vineyards. It reminded me of California.

We stayed at a great municipal alburgue (there are three different types of alburgues: municipal--run by the town, parish/convent--run by the church, and private). Our one last night was only 7 euros, and had private rooms! After spending the night in big rooms with as many as 100 people, just two per room is QUITE the luxury! Even though the walls were made of particle board, it was luxury to us! Also, another foot tub to soak our weary feet in. Spent the evening relaxing in the cute town.

Today we had another fairly easy day. About 13 miles to a town called, Granon. Had a nice day hiking...beautiful scenery, nice people, and a great picnic lunch in Santa Domingo de Calzado.

Fun to tell the time of day by how long your shadow is. It's like a game-- as soon as you've caught your shadow, it's midday and HOT and you should get off the trail.