We were so tired and our feet so sore, we weren’t sure how things would go this morning for the second leg of our day. Once we got going we did surprisingly well on our 15 mile day from Puente la Reina to Estella.

To leave Punte la Reina, you must first cross the large pedestrian bridge the city is named for (the queens bridge). It was a great way to start the morning. It only took minutes before we were out and into the Navarre countryside.

We are starting to meet other pilgrims and recognize several from yesterday. We don’t know any of their names, so we’ve created nicknames for the ones we’ve talked about. There’s Brazilian guy with beard. He’s with his Mom, traveling the Camino for her retirement. We met a guy from Atlanta who is walking alone because his wife isn’t healthy ebough to walk with him. We call him Bob. There’s French couple, self explanatory. They only speak French. We did figure out they’ve walked a portion of the Camino before, but not sure where. There’s also a guy we call gibbers because we can’t understand a word he says, but he keeps talking. Then there’s “the group,” about 20 people traveling together. It will be interesting to see if we run into these people tomorrow.

The typography today was very different than what we’d experienced day one crossing the Pyrennes foothills. Quaint farming towns with medieval pasts, rolling hills dotted with pine trees and wildflowers, and patches of vineyards and olive orchards. We all commented how today was easier than yesterday’s mountain journey.

We found a creek with a clear patch to sit and picnic mid day. Donna has made sandwiches, I had nuts and Eladio provided desert. It was enjoyable sitting at the side of the creek. We had been walking for hours and our simple sandwiches tasted so amazing.

The afternoon was hot and sunny, we has to shed our layers and don sun hats for the rest of the day. Wandering through the medieval villages was very enjoyable, best the best part was arriving into Estella at the end of the day to the gorgeous riverside town. We first met a delightful man who paints the emblem of St James on scallop shells for Camino Pilgrims. We each purchased one of his shells to carry with us the remainder on the journey. We quickly found our hotel, right next to a beautiful medieval period cathedral.

Puente la Reina (Queens Bridge)

A pilgrim walking out of Puente la Reina

A Medieval Bridge on the Camino

Donna and Eladio admiring an Olive Grove

Eladio approaching an old village on the Camino

Medieval village church

Wildflowers on the Camino de Santiago

Medieval church across from Hotel Hospederia Chapitel