Day 10 - Thursday, 1st May, 2014 - 23.2 km
[Michael and Franz discussing the merits of taking a tent on the Camino!]
Although we determined to get going early we had had such a good meal the night before and social drink with a growing collection of Dutch Caminoers, including Franz and Lynn, that we were a little delayed in starting. That evening, Michael shared with me that Franz had brought a 2 kg - 2 person tent with him because of the old Camino guide that he had read before coming on the Camino with his wife. The guide had been 22 years old and there was much teasing and laughing between them. Michael himself had, as previously mentioned, got rid of his pack and bought a new Spanish one because the old one was too heavy. Michael suggested that I should have bought a set of digital luggage scales so that we could have a completion for the lightest pack. Franz however was determined not to jettison his tent and was going to carry it to Santiago as a matter of honour!
[Breakfast of champions - arriving at the cafe at Ventose after heading for the wrong village]
[Comfort - egg and bacon, wifi happiness and unusual daytime TV pop videos!]
We set off very Najera via Ventosa and thought we saw a short cut on the route. We decided to practice advance Caminoing and go 'off piste'. We ended up walking to what we thought was Ventosa only to find that this was a village nearby and realised that we had in fact completed two sides of a triangle - a long, not a short cut! With brief stops in Ventosa and Najera where they were preparing for a weekend of Fiesta we continued on to a very modern Albergue at Azofra. This was an excellent hostel, which was divided into single bedded double rooms. Michael and I shared one room while Eila teamed up with a delightful German girl Johana, who had been walking on the Camino and staying at the same place us us on the majority of the journey. Although Azofra was quite windy it had a wonderfully protected garden yard around a footbath pool and fountain and we found ourselves sitting in the sun while our washing dried.
[Azofra - modern hostel]
At supper we met up with Jo and Bev the retired Australoan ladies and compared our experiences. We had not seen them for some time and I told them that I expected them to leave us for dust once we started walking the flat plains of the Mesata (past Burgos) as this would be more like their walking experience in Australia!
Buen Camino.
[Melanie, a French pilgrim reviewing picture before returning home to work]
[Australian Jo with Eila]
[Johana reviewing her photos]
