Spain adventure!
Artieda was a great little village nestled in the mountains. It was a village of stone huts, but was very comfortable with an incredible view.
A couple of distinct things about this village was how windy it was and how liberal they were! They had all sorts of free Palestine and end capitalism signage. During the course of the next day, the walk from Artieda, we walked over mountains and saw an abandoned castle. It felt like a scene from Indiana Jones, but with less Nazis!
We ended the day in a sleepy town. That closed its hotel/bar at 8:00, it was a really small town!
That next morning was poorly planned. The albergue we had planned on visiting was closed so we ended up walking a 40 kilometer day that was mostly mountains! While we were up in the mountains we got lost because someone redirected the arrows of the path! So after about an hour of that whole mess we finally got back on the right trail. Then we ran into the bull. It was at the bottom of this hill and looked very angry… Hahah of course! The bull ended up walking away, but not before snorting angrily and stomping away.
When we reached the next town and found out that the albergue was closed. We then had to walk through three more towns to reach a bed. The night was so beautiful though and while I was so tired it was the first Spanish night sky I had really spent time in.
The dusk was purple and blue, a mosaic that twisted through bent trees. I moved slowly through the dusk. So restless with scents of lilac and honey suckle. I was floating through that sweeping night of distant city lights and nearby meadows of wet grass with a spring creaking along side of that muddy path.
We finally made it to the city, but I was so tired. Directed up a narrow street of cobble stone, I turned a corner to walk up the steps leading to the alburgue. When suddenly and an angelic choir hit my ears and I couldn’t help but smile at the weird occurance. I mean I understand the alburgue was in a church, and having a bed was a god send, but who has choir practice at 9:30 at night!
After that we bussed to Pamplona and had a rest day. My feet were so sore!
In Pamplona we met up with Aaron, Brian, and Cooper who we have traveled with ever since!
Yesterday it rained all day. The road was muddy and my leg had powerful shooting pains that made it tough for me to walk! I had a lot of mud in my left shoe and was feeling really miserable. When we reached the edge of the town where we stayed that night, I saw a donkey tied to a pole. The donkey was standing in deep mud and was soaked to the bone. It’s head was down and had no cover. It was eye opening to see how truly blessed I am.
On a lighter note the camaraderie between all off my classmates has been incredible! They’ve been really supportive, open and really just an amazing community of people. Rain or shine, pain or relief, I just feel blessed to be on this trip and all that I have available to me.
