May 1st-Estella to Los Arcos

Last night i had a great meal in Estella, Being a 'Pilgrim' you can get a Pilgrims menu, This consists of a starter, Main course,Desert and a bottle of wine! for 8-12 Euros, So i had a large salad, Chicken and Chips (french fries) Yoghurt with fruit and a carafe of red wine for 11 euros,
This morning i set off with some other guys at 7am we made our way out of town and was soon at the Bodegas Irache which is a famous stop, Its a winery and has 2 taps outside for pilgrims to refresh themselves, One of the taps will supply water whilst the other gives free wine, As it was very early i did not take any wine and looking at the faces of those that did try it i wasn't missing anything special, As we made our way up the hill the Camino split, One direction was a 19km route that was fairly flat whilst the other took you up the hill and was 17km, We took the high road and boy were we glad we did, The scenery is spectacular, My images do not do it justice, We stopped half way up for a snack and then carried on over the top and down to a pretty small village for a proper breakfast, The night before an Italian couple asked if i was heading to Los Arcos, I said i was, They told me that as its 1st May there was a festival there and the town was fully booked, Our group said that if we could not get a bed there we would have a long walk to Torres Del Rio which in the movie had the mad El Ramon, We ventured into Los Arcos and it was a ghost town, We got beds in the first place we tried, I believe there is some kind of festival later, If so i will try and get some shots, Los Arcos also has a running with Bulls festival later in the year, Yesterday i had a few twinges in my left knee, Today it has puffed up and has some fluid on it, At the same time i am getting some discomfort from the base of my left Foot which i have been told could be tendinitis, After some massaging of the foot the discomfort has subsided, It could due to lack of fluid, I drink 2 litres of water but that does not seem to be enough so i will have to increase the fluid intake, As for the knee i will have to try and take some anti inflammatory's and ice it and hope it goes down, The last week has been pretty strenuous on the body and its telling me in its own way, Lots of people suffering from one alement or another, Mostly feet, hips and back pain,
I am happy to get up each morning and walk and have not had that 'oh not again' feeling, The weather is perfect for walking, The images may look very over cast but its warm and dry, Perfect

Big walk tomorrow so will be later with the blog

FREE Wine and Water

Snack stop

 Storm in the distance

 The long and winding road

 The steep accent was worth it for the views

Wildflowers of many species line the Camino

 The trail was busy in places

 Lots of different crops along the route

 Drinking fountain and trough

 Brekky on the Camino

 A pile of Pilgrims

The Camino at this time of year is truly beautiful and i really hope it stays that way as it gets busier and busier, Even though there are plenty of people around you cans still find some personal space and each day i have walked part buy myself
If you are a bird watcher the Camino offers a lot, Since the start i have had good viewings of Griffin Vulture, Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Kestrel, Wheatear, Chough and a variety of lowland birds like Goldfich, Greenfinch,Whitethroat, Swallow, Swift,The list goes on and the last 3 days the woodland has had cuckoo calling, Today i could hear 4 different cuckoo's along the trail
I have to say that i am relaxing into the walk and finding it a special experience, No 2 days are the same
Buen Camino

Dave