Notes from day 5

We had a great day today, as we had almost no rain. We even had a little sunshine for part of the afternoon.  It was such a delight not to walk thru the rain.  We’ve got pics we want to send, but our signal here is too weak tonight, so we will have to post them later.

Tonight we are at a small hostel in the village of Villamayor de Monjardin.  It is in a 500 year old building. Lovely, but not much heat. It is run by a Dutch Christian organization.  After a nice communal dinner we joined in the pilgrim meditation in the former stable.

High above us on the hill are the ruins of a castle.  Buried inside are the remains of the former King of Pamplona who ruled from 905 to 925.

Earlier in the day we travelled thru Estella where we passed the former Palace of Navarre from the 12th century.

And this morning the path went over the old Roman Highway for a few miles.  That section was tough going as there hadn’t been much road maintenance in 2,000 yrs.

We drank from the fountain of wine - a fountain on the wall of a winery that dispensed red wine.  Pilgrims were encouraged to drink for vitality and a successful journey.

And we passed an area in the middle of no where that had shelves of refreshment for pilgrims - juice boxes, bottled water, snacks, fruits, etc. Just a donation box if you wanted.

Last night we stayed at another small hosted in a very small village.  Only 5 pilgrims there.  We ate dinner together. We talked to Jen from Seattle.  She had had 5 surgeries on her ankle, and nearly died from an autoimunne desease in 2016.  She is going as far as she is able.

Also talked with Stu - a former attorney from DC, who later managed a client’s hotel portfolio.  He is 72 and now retired on the French Riviera. Pretty sure he can afford to live anywhere he wants.  He said he is doing the Camino because as he gets older he finds himself becoming more religious.  He is walking the 500 miles alone to try to figure that out.

Guess that’s all for tonight.  Hopefully we can post pics tomorrow.