17 Apr -- Villatuerta - Navarrete

I woke up later than usual this morning because the pilgrim from Spain requested that our breakfast be served at 8 am and I wasn't going to argue with her! That was actually great with me since I've be awakened every morning at 5 am so far.  She said that true Spaniards start the day later than the pilgrims do. Only the albergues and coffee houses along the Camino actually open early, and they only do that to accommodate the pilgrims.

So, breakfast was awesome! Cafe con leche, scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast, some kind of sweet cake, fruit, yogurt, cereal, and a variety of juices. I was in heaven.  Most places only offer bread with butter and jam for breakfast. But at least I can get my coffee.

We set off for Estella, but as usual, my knee prevented me from keeping up. They left me with hugs and a Buen Camino! And they were on their way at a pretty good clip.  I walked approx 5 km to Estella, found the bus station and waited for the bus. On the bus, I sat with a young man from Germany who studying radiology at the university in Frankfurt. We road together to Longrono. I then walked the 8 km to Navarrette where I saw the young German again. We stopped at a bar and had tapas and cafe con leche together. He was a real cutie, and spoke English quite well.

I found the albergue I had reserved and I met two ladies who had already checked into the same dorm. One was from Australia and the other from South Africa. Before I hit the showers, we made plans to go out for tapas together after siesta time.

I went out early and toured the beautiful cathedral in the town square. It was built in the 15th century and the artwork inside was exquisite.  I took my time walking through the rooms and taking photos when the other two women caught up with me.

We found a nice outdoor bar where we had tapas and wine across from the cathedral. My German buddy from the bus showed up with a Danish woman from the albergue that they were staying in. We spent the evening laughing and enjoying the beautiful evening.

It seemed as though the entire village was out and about in the town square, so we went there to see what might be going on. We were just in time to catch the Holy Thursday Processional coming out of the church. It was an impressive sight.  As the processional passed, I realized that my knee was swelling again. So, back to the albergue for me. The others followed the procession with the entire village pounding on drums and playing some kind of reed instruments.  I could hear them going for a couple of hours. I took some meds and fell asleep.  Pooped but content.