Day 6: Puenta la Riena to Estella

Last night, I put a needle and thread through my blister. I left a piece of the thread in the blister over night.

Verdict: it worked.  Although I didn't go deep enough. The blister didn't get any bigger.

I made up my mind to stop every hour torest  feet. Every 2 hours, I planned on raking off my socks for a few minutes. This is supposed to help with blisters. 

Verdict: It was wonderful to get those socks off my feet. My feet were thanking me too. My feet weren't near as tired today as the past few days.

The mornings are such a nice time to pray. It is so quiet, expect for the birds singing. Today, I was able to see the sun rise over the mountains since there weren't that many clouds. 

(Sun was starting to rise)

I almost didn't get up this morning. My alarm didn't go off, and I was sleeping so soundly. I got up quickly and packed up. Grabbed my breakfast (eggs and yogurt), and away I went without my café solo!

The famous bring leaving Puenta la Riena. 

As I was walking, I saw a little convent.

The view was spectacular along this walk. 

(These bushed were everywhere)

I have noticed that all the churches are in the center of the town.

As I was walking, I came upon a local cementary. 

By this point, I had already walked 4 km. The walk was getting pretty rough. The climbs were steep, but at least they were short. 

There were lots of vineyards. 

Came upon my first city (Manuera), and it was pretty interesting. Lots of nice things to see

(The view from the city was really nice)

There were several bridges that I crossed that were cool. 

(This was a great place for lunch and take off my socks)

Went under this bridge and got this great view.

It's always some level of fascination with new bugs...I have never seen bugs these colors before.

This made me smile. This meant that I had about 2.5 hours of walking left. 

It was a really sunny and hot day. So when I had the opportunity to come under some shade, I was so glad. 

When walking the Camino, one becomes accustomed  to seeing signs pointing out the way to walk. However, I came to a point when I had not seen a sign or a yellow arrow in a long time. There was a sigh of relief when I saw other hikers in distances...yes, going the right way!

(I did get to enjoy a field of red flowers)

After getting scared half to death that I was going the wrong way, I met some new pilgrims (a British and a Spanish pilgrim). They stated walking in the wrong direction and the people behind them just followed. Pretty funny.....when you don't know which way to go, you just follow those in front hoping they know where they are going. 

I was glad to reach the next to last village, because it was time for a sit down.

They had a nice church. It was gated shut, so I could go in and explore. 

Yay! Only an hour left of walking!

Saw this little hidden gem on the way. They turned it into a picnic area.

When I finally arrived, I had a coffee with my British and Spanish friends while waiting for the hostel to open. 

This is the view out my window/balcony

My Mexican friend (names don't stay with me) and I went out for tapas. We were directed to a nice place by a sweet local family. There were olives on my tapa, but I had already eaten them before the picture.

In Estella, there is a castle....unfortunately, it was locked....sad! I was only able to get pictures of the outside.

I also found this arch at the end of the old city that was a part of the castle's fortress.

It seems that everything was closed. I got a map from the man at the alburge desk, and quickly found out that everything was closed. Duh....it's Sunday. Days are starting to run together.

This is the saint Maria castle and convent. 

Even the St. George church was closed! I found this out after walking up 4 flights for stairs.

Apparently this fountain is a huge deal in Estella.

During my tour of the town, I stopped at a pharmacy to pick up some band-aids and shampoo. This all-in-one soap isn't cutting it on hair. My hair is sssoo nasty. Not anymore.......this is my luxury item. Now I am popped! 

Cooked rice for dinner. There isn't anywhere open to eat.