Day 5 (24 April) Cloudy To Bright — 17 Miles

The big decision of the morning was whether to wear rain gear or not. I ended up carrying my rain jacket and pants. It was iffy until about 11 AM when it seemed that they weren’t necessary. But it was still cold (40 degrees with a wind chill of 32).

As I left Puente La Reina, I passed an example of a well preserved shop dating from 1905. It would have been fun to have had breakfast there instead of at the hotel though not outside. I also captured the profile of the Romanesque bridge from which I took last night’s sundown photo. These small towns have maintained their characters even in 2024.

The first half of the walk was filled with ups and downs. The climbs were steep as were the descents. Along the way, I met up with some of the Kiwis and Aussies from my first and second days. Can you tell who belongs to each nationality? The couple on the left are Aussies and the four on the right are Kiwis. It’s the footgear that gives them away.

I must admit that I can more easily understand the Aussies. I was told that it has something to do with the way Kiwis pronounce vowels.

Eventually, we reached the hill town of Cirauqui requiring another climb. The town reminded me of those on the Amalfi coast and Sicily with their steps for sidewalks and hairpin curves. At one juncture, I had a choice. I think most pilgrims chose to go left.

After leaving Cirauqui, fields of yellow spread before us. So striking against the green and dark skies. In a few weeks, the color will be gone for another year.

I had reached Lorca, the halfway point. Time for some lunch. I was amused by the sign that welcomed every type of eater and offered non-Spanish dishes. This establishment even offered epson (sic) salts for tired feet!

I chose a small cafe at the end of town whose owners were Spanish and Chinese. They had met as university students in Rome. What a world! I asked to take their photo but the wife demurred; she said that she was shy.

But I did meet some satisfied diners who were not shy. Sean from Ireland had studied as a graduate student at Penn State. I chose the mixed salad and a draft beer – both were delicious and cost only 11.75 Euros.

Break time ended. Now for the final push to Estella. Almost immediately after leaving Lorca, I took this photo of a pilgrim framed within a tunnel of trees. I could not resist.

After winding through the countryside, I entered Estelle which was once a multi religious city with a large Jewish population. A plaque recounts the history of Jews in the city.

Several historic structures still stand in Estelle – the major church on the side of a hill and the palace of the Dukes of Navarra that is now a museum. After walking through the Castile gate at the south end of the historical section, I realized that I had to backtrack to get to my hotel. I’ll walk through the gate tomorrow to rejoin the Camino.

My hotel is located in Yerri section on the newer side of town; hence, the Yerri hotel. This long day led to my crashing until dinner time. In the restaurant, I met an Irishman, Robert, who was on his first personal Camino. Until now, he served as a guide for Camino tour groups that left him little time to experience the self-reflections and interactions with pilgrims outside of his tour group. You know that I had a lot to say.

We shared plenty of Camino and personal stories as well as dinner. I chose a salad of romaine lettuce hearts with anchovies. We both ate the pig knuckle. I ended with ice cream that had the consistency of semifreddo. Did you notice that no one was sitting behind Robert? The time was 8 PM. By 9:30, it was completely full. We were concerned whether the restaurant had enough customers to stay in business.

We might see one another at breakfast or on the road. He is on the road by 8; I at 9. But moments like these even only once are the treasures of the Camino.

Hotel Yerri: 2 but with bonus points for the anchovy salad making it 1.75