So last night was a lovely sociable dinner. There was a fixed price menu for €19 for 3 courses and wine, bread and water was included in the price.
I was offered a bottle of wine or a glass of wine and since it felt like there was no way I was going to drink a bottle I politely accepted a glass, a couple of hours later I was being told off for having been so stingy as other would have willingly helped me out! Note to self going forward take the bottle and share!!
At dinner I sat next to 2 recently retired Shell executives, Andy and Eric. Both have left their wives and families to do this. Andy is walking the whole way, Eric is with him for the first two weeks, Andy then has another friend joining for a week before he finishes in his own. They were both great fun over dinner.
Eric then was heading off to mass which I had intended to do but on the basis that I wanted to keep my back moving and have an early night, I skipped it.
In the bar however, I bumped into Andy and Wendy who I had met at Stansted airport. They were settling into another bottle of wine so I grabbed another glass to join them. My back was starting to feel better, amazing! We were joined by a couple from Australia who having walked the first day from St Jean Pied de Port had just had bikes delivered and we’re going to complete the rest of the route to Santiago on bike. Then they are heading over to the UK where their daughter is starting University. They are on a 9 week trip and once again I learnt that Matt’s job gives him 5 months paid leave after 10 years and Linda’s gives 3 months paid leave. Both take long breaks every couple of years though and they say that this is totally normal. I am not sure about 10 years for the same company but I am loving the whole regular paid sabbatical idea!
It was a fun night, and after a couple of glasses of red wine my back was feeling way better then expected so I headed off to bed.
Today, Wednesday, was a long day, my schedule was 30km and I had learnt that most other people were stopping at Zubiri, after 24km but for some, now unknown reason, I had decided to go onto Akerreta!
At breakfast it was clear that my back is not right, but I can walk, and actually that is the most comfortable thing, so I decided to head off around 8.15am.
I met Andy as I was leaving but he was waiting for Eric and since they were stopping in Zubiri I decided to keep going. Just as I had spotted the path For the day, I saw another lady looking for it so I shouted to let her know where it was. Yannick was walking on her own too so we set off together. It was the start of a very fun day.
We walked the whole way together sharing life histories and experiences. We found that we both walk fairly fast and were pretty evenly matched and we powered through the 24km to Zubiri in 6 hours. The time flew by to be honest.
The scenery for the day was absolutely stunning, some climbing but overall more downhills. We spent a good couple of hours walking through some stunning pine woods which just gave off the most amazing sound underfoot as we crunched through the pine needles. It also provided a good welcome break from the sun in the afternoon which was stunning after yesterday but it was nice to have the shade too.
We arrived in Zubiri and I joined Yannack for a beer before I headed off. I have to say Zubiri was looking mighty attractive right then, even more so after a cold beer, then, even worse, Yannack came back to tell me that the place she was staying has a zacuzzi that you can book for a 45 minute slot. I was very very tempted to just stop right there are share her room, but we had only just met so I decided that might be very odd! We did make plans to meet in Pamplona though since we both have a rest day there.
I then tried to stand, having sat for 20 mins my back had completely seized up and I hobbled off to find a bathroom before I moved on. It took me some time to wobble back to the path, Yannack kindly suggested that a cab might be sensible but I felt once I got moving I would be OK, and it was, once I made it up the next hill I was OK again.
It did feel fairly lonely heading out again on my own though, and I was pleased to spot a group of 3 Canadians ahead of me. Two were struggling and walking very slowly and having just got moving I did not dare to slow down so I wished them well and passed, Renee though asked if she could join me as she was walking faster then her husband and friend but had no one to walk with. After checking a couple of times that her husband would not object, Renee and I headed off.
It was certainly a brisk walk as I just needed to get to Akerreta by that stage. My pace was increased by the sight of a snake on the path. I have to say I leapt out of my skin, whilst shrieking, and then speeding up even faster. Poor Renee was still insisted that she was very grateful to have a fast pace… good thing as I was not stopping. I really hope that this is a one off, no more snakes please! A short hour and a quarter later we rolled into Akerreta. It was a relief to arrive, it felt like a long 30km today.
I was so pleased to find that my shoebox bedroom had a large bathroom with a bath, I could not get into the bath fast enough, it was absolutely amazing. I think all the rooms had baths and each person came down looking so refreshed and pleased.
I am now chilling in the sun on the patio with a beer, just wonderful. Such a brilliant day today.