Day sixteen, 16 May 2015
Najera to Ciruena
Started @6.45am till 12.30pm (5hours) 15,5 kilometres

Large breakfast break

After an excellent sleep in an up market two bed room, I woke up very refreshed indeed! I woke up at my usual 5 o clock. Early morning starting time, but due to the cold weather I could stay in bed for another hour! Blessed are the cold ones. At six, after a lovely hot shower I was on the road again. There was a big hill to climb immediately and I struggled enormously. Don’t do hills well.

Libby went ahead and so did the bus loads of other pilgrims, while I just meandered up the hill. Didn’t t worry me much! The light was stunning, the landscape delightful and the solitude welcoming. I stopped a lot to enjoy the landscape and at one stage two partridges flew up, scaring the living day lights out of me!

We had breakfast in the next little town, and Lo and behold who would we meet but Judith! From Christchurch! It was so good to meet her again, that we stayed a tad longer than planned. One gets cold rather quickly when sitting down, that the packs are slapped up again and we continued our journey. Met a lovely man from Venuzuela, who had a gorgeous voice and sang “the rain of Spain is falling on the plains” ! Most people I meet are much faster walkers than me, hence we talk and they move on, such is life!

All the stunning wild flowers are out and the whole walk was patch after patch of stunning poppies, purple and yellow flowers! I felt as if the show was just for me!
On the top of the last hill, we had a quick drink of an un~employed young man, who told me that it was less than two kilometres to our hostel! Hurray! Nearly there! To get to the little village we had to walk through a large village empty of people! A golf town! Summer residents only! I met two little girls and I asked where all the people had gone? Oh they are all in Bilbao they answered! So it was! We found the hostel without a problem and Franscisco the lovely and friendly host couldn’t do enough for us! A hot shower and cold beer later, all was forgotten, this was such a pleasant day, easy walk and all together fabulous.

Today ‘s lesson: Rioja crianza is three year old non acid wine!
Today ‘s gift: Sun breaking through the clouds and lighting up part of the landscape