Update

(An update) Have not been able to blog...long days, very hot and very limited computer time. At some point will fill in with details, but here is a short update about today. difficult day...no room, no phone, hot day in Estella. We left at 5:55 am to start our 23 kilometer walk to Estella. I had a lot of knee tendinitis for the first 10K but after aspirin, a cold compress and stretches, the pain faded away. First 17 kilometers went fast...next ones nearly killed us in the heat. Tom also developed knee tendinitis...a very common problem on the camino. We stopped to buy knee braces which helped alot. Did not get into Estella until 2:40 and everything full, including hotels, hostals, pensions etc. We waited at the parish albergue to see whether there was literally room at the inn. Six of us for 7 beds inside the church but needed to wait for approval from the parish priest who was off in Pamplona trying to buy mattresses to accommodate all the pilgrims flooding the Camino this year. Finally got it. Had to shower at albergue and then walk over to parish offices for beds. Went to dinner and then tried tried to find internet, but everything shut down before we could find internet due to a medievel festival. We found computers at the parish office and then had to figure out passwords. Anyway, long story short, no skype and very old computers. Tomorrow will be a short day. Hope to find room at Monjardin, about 15 kilometers away and then we will try to stay off stages to avoid all the pilgrims. The "we" I keep referring to are our traveling companions: a thirty-something couple, Jose Luis and his wife, Maite from Valencia (Maite is actually Venezuelan) and Roger and Denise Wiltshire, a 60-something couple from Leicester (sp) in England. We started traveling together in Pamplona. I have joked that we are traveling like a mixed up herd, from the movie "Ice Age". It describes us perfectly. Jose Luis and Maite speak almost no English and Roger and Denise speak no Spanish so it has been up to me to be translator. Although much goes without because it is a lot of silly, slapstick humor. We have been laughing our way along the camino and having a great time. They told us about 400 left Roncesvalles the day we left and the day after as well. The Guardia Civil actually came in to try to deal with all the pilgrims. Hence it is crowded on the camino. Most are young and pass by like hell on wheels to get to the next albergue. The albergues in Estella closed before 12:30. We can´t keep up as fast with all the heat, even if we leave before 6:00 am. Despite all the hardships, we are having a great time. Tom is doing fantastic and having a great time with Roger, who´s humor resembles Benny Hill at times. Jose Luis is also a jokester which helps make the difficult climbs less so. We often joke that we are a traveling United Nations or that we are only imitating the leaders of the Tour de France: Contador - a Spaniard, Armstrong - an American and Wiggins - a Brit! Blisters have been at a minimum so, so far, so good! When I can find wifi, I hope to load the blog I have been keeping on my Itouch with more details about our walk and experiences. Cris www.stutler.blogspot.com