Two More Days and a New Best Friend

On Thursday we left Roncesvalles and walked 22 km to Zuberi. The walk was pretty flat at first and we loved the farms we passed. We walked through woodlands with so many birds and wildflowers. But there was a creepy, black snake too! We enjoyed the walk, the church we visited, the little cafes where we stopped for refreshments and the whole experience...until about 5 PM. We were terribly exhausted and hurting and we had miles to go. Finally we arrived in Zuberi. It was so good to finally stop walking. It was already after 6 PM. The last hour or more had been rocky ( loose rocks, big and small, and all kinds of rocks protruding from the ground) and it was steep and all down hill. The typical pilgrim probably stops for the day between two and four. We aren't walking really fast, but we're not super slow either. A young man named Daniel, a fitness trainer from Moscow, followed us for a while and said we were moving at a good speed. He said we were the US special forces of the camino! But...we were probably the last pilgrims into town last night. Hmmm, we stop to look and listen and take pictures all the time.

When we went out for dinner we were pleased to see so many people we knew from the previous days! We had a great dinner. NOTE: If you go to a restaurant you can eat the pilgrim meal of the day. It costs 10-13 euros for the meal and you eat whatever they are serving, usually a delicious soup, meat and potatoes and  dessert along with crusty bread, water and wine. And last night it was a treat to have salad. We sat at a long table with other pilgrims and enjoyed sharing stories.

After the long day yesterday we decided to take it easy today. It was a beautiful day and we walked and explored as far as Zalbadika. A runaway horse ran down the path past us, a couple of fancy bluish greenish lizards made an appearance and there were more birds to entertain us. Yesterday Emily quieted us and we thought we heard a cuckoo clock! It was a bird. We always find something to marvel at. Tonight we are staying in a restored building attached to the church of St. Stephen in Zalbadika, population 30, including four religious sisters (Society of the Sacred Heart). The church was built in the early 13th century and has not had any major renovations.  One of the church bells is the oldest in the province. They let us climb to the bell tower, at least 100 circular stone steps. Mona rang the bells, you probably heard it!!

At 8:30 pm we attended a prayer service in the church choir loft.  One of the sisters led the service for us pilgrims and this is just one sentence of her prayer, "Lord God, you who have mercy on those who love you and are never far from those who seek you, help these pilgrims on their way to Compostela."

There's so much more but we just had a knock on our door to sat that it's "lights out". Tomorrow I will have to remember to tell you about the new skills that Emily has learned...oh yes, our new best friend is...IBUPROFEN!