Spanish sun is hitting!

We have made it to Santo Domingo, which means around 180km of walking. I think that sounds really good!

After Pamplona we took of to Puenta La Reina; we somehow resigned to the fact that despite really good intentions we are just always the last pilgrims on the way... We arrived around 7.30pm in the refugio - according to pilgrim standard this is extremly late. On the other hand with a late start the way ahead is far less busy with pilgrims, so one can experience at least a little bit of solitude on the way.
The sun was very strong, both of us catched our first sun burn. I think Adib was quite disappointed that his sun approved genes would not protect him sufficiently. So now it is SPF 30 for the both of us!

Next stop was Estella, and as an extra bonus there is a free wine fountain on the Camino! This is a VERY popular stop amongst the pilgrims. Of course, we had no cups at hand - but my plastic tube like glasses case came in very handy (thank you IC-Berlin). We had a stop along the way a couple of hours later when a young Australien fellow came loudly singing up the road. He had filled his whole 1 liter bottle with wine - and the bottle was almost empty... He derserved it, after all he had started his journey on foot all the way back in Paris.

German has become the most popular language on the Camino, sometimes I wonder if anybody is left in Germany to do some work?
The countryside is very pretty with lots of rolling hills, wheat fields and of course whine fields (grapes). The plants are all very small at the moment, because they get cut back. It is the Rioja region, whine is cheap and very good! (And usually included in the pilgrims menu:).
From Estella (were we had a dinner in a restuarant with the most uncaring waiter I have ever seen - but it was soo bad that it was comical!) we went to Los Arcos, another pretty little town. All the streets are always built very narrow and people still manage in some way to manouver big cars and trucks around. It is quite a sight.
And from Los Arcos we finally went to Logroño, on of the next big city on the route. I really enjoyed it except it was a long hike there and it started getting really hot. We deceided to take another rest day in Logroño and stayed in a hotel again. It was great!!! Of course Rebecca and Dean arrived before us in Logroño and so once again we had dinner company. Not that night, because we had a shower and just passed out on the bed... But the next day we spent pretty much with doing nothing except strolling around,which was perfect. It was also hard to do anything because the thermometer hit 35Degrees!
We again enjoyed the Tapas (and some passive smoking!). It is almost unbelievable how much people smoke here (including the pilgrims from Spain and France).

After the rest day we took of for Najera. Lets just say, it was the hardest day so far! as usually we started late; but this was not a good idea... The tempertaure went up again to 35 Degrees, and the trail was completely exposed. We walked in the the hot Spanish sun when all Spanish people take their siesta, from 12.00pm to 4pm when the heat is the worst. Now we know that a siesta is an extremely good idea! But after a long, long day and a walk of 30km we finally made it by 8.30pm to our hostal. As usual we ran into Rebecca and Dean sitting in a bar with a drink already...
Najera is an interesting place; most towns and villages so far have been very pretty and interesting whereas Najrea has a slightle run down feeling. Nevertheless we did a bit of sight seeing the next morning; there is a beautiful church build into cliffs which is worthwhile to spend some time. And everywhere there is a tower, there is also a storck nesting!
After some sight seeing (that I insisted of) we finally left Najera around 11.00am in the morning (when most other pilgrims are already halfway at their destination...)

Luckily today it had cooled down, so it was actually quite nice to start a little later. We still had a long lunch break and made it by 6.00pm to Santo Domingo. It is a very cute little town, and the refugio is brand new- which means it is by pilgrim status very luxurious! After a hot shower I shot a few pics in town, which is celebratiing its 900 year anniversiry.

So far I have to say the Camino is quite an experience: I had down loaded a lot of books on my i-pod, however I really enjoy not listening to anything but the birds on the way (and of course my lovely boyfriend); and even though the way can be very challenging physically, it is very mind relaxing. Thoughts just wonder of and it feels very relaxing. It is also a great sense of accomplishment to fianlly arrive at the destiantion by foot (apart from the usual starving sensation that comes with it...)


Jetzt sollte ich ja eigentlich di deutsche Verson schreiben, aber das Wandern macht muede, und die Herberge verordnet jetzt Nachtruhe: deutsche Version folgt also beim naechsten mal!