The last of the Beatitudes :

Blessed are you pilgrim if on the way you meet yourself and gift yourself with time, without rushing, so as not to disregard the image in your heart.

Blessed are you pilgrim, if you discover that the “camino” holds a lot mjof silence, and the silence of prayer, and the prayer of meeting with the Father who is waiting for you.

Today was the first day we have felt we are getting into the rhythm of the Camino. Walking has become a subconscious activity. Like when breathing you don’t think of every breath, now the walking just happens without thinking about it.

The majority of today was on delightful natural paths through forest of Holm oak and pine trees, then through open country with vineyards on the left and peas and olive groves on the right. In the open the path was again lined with poppies, mostly red but also some orange and pink.

Soon after leaving Estella we came to one of the highlights of the day, the Bodegas Irache winery which has an ornate fountain built into the wall of the winery and right on our route. It is called Fuente del vino and has two taps, one with aqua, water, and the other vino tinto, red wine. Each day the winery makes 100 litres of wine available for pilgrims to fortify themselves with for the journey ahead. We only had a sip as it was still only 8.30 in the morning. The young ones empty their water bottles and fill them with wine planning on a fun day ahead. There is a web cam there so anyone who was awake could have seen us.

There was a bit of a climb up to Villamayor de Monjardin, a typical hill town with narrow streets radiating from the church. From here there was a great view down the valley we were about to descend. This was all out in the open with no protection from the sun but we were going into a mild head wind so that kept us cool. There are no villages in the valley but there is Cafe Movil, a mobile cafe set up to provide refreshments. We had freshly squeezed orange juice which was fantastic.

We meet up with and chat with a few people. Carolyn and John from Melbourne who we have seen since St Jean, a group of five friends from the north of England who are going as far as Burgos, Tom and Eileen from Philadelphia who are doing the same as us. There is a sort of etiquette that allows you to chat as long as you want and then without awkwardness or embarrassment just say we will see you later, and you walk ahead or drop behind or go into a cafe or whatever. A lot of people like to walk alone and only socialise at a cafe or albergue.

Barbara is continuing her good works. Yesterday Carolyn was complaining of corns so Barbara gave her some of her precious Wool-it. Today she found a hat on the path and raced ahead inquiring until she found the owner. She is now the lady of the water on the mountain, the bike mover of the turbines, the easing of the foot pain, and the provider of sun protection. She will be canonised long before we reach Santiago.

Ipod theme song for today is from Canned Heat:

I’m goin’ up the country, baby don’t you want to go,
I’m goin’ where I’ve never been before
I’m goin’ where the water tastes like wine