Day 4: Puenta La Reina, Estrella, Arcos

Day 4: Puenta La Reina, Estrella, Los Arcos, Viana
What an adventure! The Camino life is a simple life. We wake up, walk a few miles, grab coffee, walk some more, grab lunch, then walk into the town where we stay. Once we enter a town we find an alburgue, shower, do laundry, and relax and explore the town! On our second day, we met a wonderful Italian woman. Her name is Anita, and her oldest child is 56, so you can only guess her age! She has walked parts of the Camino for 8 years for a total of 2 Caminos. Many people choose to walk only a section of the Camino at a time, and return to where the left off until they finish. I continue to be amazed by all of the different nationalities. Yesterday we helped a Mexican and Turkish man with electrolytes, had dinner with women from California, Canada, New Zealand, and France, walked with a Puerto Rican, spoke with an Australian, had orange juice with a woman from Asia, shared tape with an Italian, had coffee with an German lady and of course many more! We don't all speak the same language, but we manage to communicate with a little bit of English, a small bit of Spanish, and a whole lot of hand gestures! The landscape is absolutely stunning. We are currently entering a part of Spain that is full of red clay. It makes for a beautiful hike, because we see red cliffs and many crops with red clay. My favorite parts of the journey are the little towns that we hike through each day because we always find something exciting. For example, yesterday we found one of the typical double wide doors slightly ajar. When we peaked in, we saw a giant pot which peaked our curiosity. We went inside the little courtyard area and looked up. Wow! We found a dome ceiling with beautiful designs. I will post a photo because I can't possibly describe the beauty. Inside was also a magnificent antique shop. It was unlike all American antique shops because the pieces were much older, and very exquisite. The owner spoke no English, but he told us (in Spanish, thanks to Profe!) that his pieces were 300-500 years old! We have decided not to worry about the number of miles we walk each day, and instead we are slowing to allow ourselves to take time enjoy the experience of Spanish culture. As we type this, we are sitting inside the "garden" of an incredible alburgue. Although advertised as a garden, it is not a garden at all! It's a beautiful roofless (the roof was destroyed in a Gothic war) stone church built in the 13th century. I will add a photo below. Don't worry Tom, we are also taking photos of the bread ovens!Read more