Walking Day 7 - Estella to Monjardin

Morning arrives and with it more hilarity. Although we are exhausted by our day´s walk, the night´s heat does not let up and our room was uncomfortable. In an effort to find a cool spot to sleep, I had removed my mattress from the top bunk and placed it on the floor by the window where there was somewhat of a breeze. I did not realize my efforts would cause such a misunderstanding that would have us howling with laughter all morning. It seems the noise emitted by the plastic-encased mattress as I dropped it to the floor and then lay down on was loud enough to cause Roger to sit up briefly and look around. Maite, also heard and woke up to see Roger. He lay down but his movements caused Maite to think that Roger had emitted some nocturnal air. Jose woke up from the top bunk and poked his head down to chastise Maite for letting loose. Maite was giggling so hard at this point she couldn´t do anything but shake her head at Jose, who still thought she was the guilty party. Things quieted down for awhile until there was another loud noise outside our window. This caused Denise to wake up rather concerned as Roger´s boots were airing out in the window sill, placed there by Jose and Maite. Denise thought the boots had fallen off to the roof top below. When they realized Denise´s concerns, it provokes another round of nocturnal giggles. As morning breaks and we start packing up to leave, the night´s stories start unfolding. When all the translating back and forth is done, I realize that I am the guilty party that started all the misunderstanding when I moved my mattress.

These morning conversations are a wonderful way to wake up and start the day. We are getting up awfully early to beat the heat and so laughing helps to energize us for another day of walking. After our hilarity from the night wears off, today´s joking starts afresh with Jose poking fun at Roger. We will be passing by the Irache Monastery, which is a former home to a Benedictine community of monks. Serving pilgrims since the 10th century, the monastery was closed in 1985. It now houses a museum. But, of special interest to us is the bodega right next door. Bodegas Irache has also been serving pilgrims in its own way. There is a fountain located right next to the pilgrim´s path. The fountain offers much needed water but it also offers wine. Because of this, Jose begins teasing that we best be careful or we will be leaving Roger behind at the fountain of wine. Jose mugs and imitates Roger drinking from the fountain and Roger imitates Jose imitating him and soon, we are all laughing hysterically.

We continue this way until we reach the bodega. Outside the fountain area, we encounter some young pilgrims looking as if they were waiting for a Grateful Dead concert. They were making music on a bongo while sitting on their backpacks. A dread-headed young man explained they were waiting for the wine fountain to open, currently there was no wine. We set off to explore this for ourselves. The sign on the wall welcomes all pilgrims to come and fortify their spirits for the journey ahead. Even though it is only a little after eight in the morning, we do not hesitate. We eagerly go to the fountain but like the other pilgrims, we find the wine is not flowing. We are disappointed, but we take pictures and wave at the webcam and then head off after determining the wine is not going to flow. Paul had hoped to see us at the webcam, but it is the middle of the night at home and I have no way to let him know of our arrival. We wish our fellow travelers a hearty goodbye and good luck as they wait for the fountain to flow and we head off towards our next destination.


The suggested stage would have us ending our day in Los Arcos, a day´s walk of 21 kilometers. But we have been walking for a week and we are tired. We opt instead to end our day in Monjardin, a tiny little hamlet at the half-point of the stage. When we arrive, it is early and the parroquial albergue is not open yet. Jose goes in to enquire and we are told that we can stay, but that our hospitalero (a volunteer host) needs to go to town and we may enter when he returns. We sit at the table outside the albergue and buy some cold drinks from the machine outside and enjoy the fact that we are done walking for the day. Our host walks out and introduces himself. He is a sprite of a man, wiry and tan. He informs us his name Juan Manuel. He graciously welcomes us and as we introduce ourselves, he claps his hands together and smiles broadly. He explains that just that morning, he had lost his volunteer who had been staying with him for the past week. The volunteer spoke English and Juan Manuel did not. He says that he prayed for help and was going to ask the first person who spoke English if they would consider staying for the night to help him welcome other pilgrims. I started laughing and told him that he asked for help and he received. Not only was there one person who spoke English but four of us. He is extremely pleased and points to the heavens with a broad smile. He says he will return quickly and we may drop off our backpacks inside while we wait. There is no food at the albergue or store but we may go up to the bar, where the owner serves meals. We take advantage of his advice --- who are we to refuse a meal and a beer after a day´s walk. Once sated, we head back to the albergue to wait for our host, who arrives shortly. He gives us a tour of the albergue, which is two rooms, each with a single platform to hold mattresses, about 15 in each room. A pile of blankets are located in each corner of the room. There are two showers and two bathrooms and a small kitchen with no stove but a microwave. This is one of the most spartan of albergues at which we have stayed. Juan Manuel registers us into his book. Just as he finishes, several pilgrims walk in to see if there is room and he warmly welcomes them. They speak no Spanish, but they do speak English so I jump in to help translate. Maite sits at the table to help log them in and Jose gives them a tour. Juan Manual is very pleased with our help. This routine continues throughout the afternoon as weary pilgrims arrive. The albergue is soon filled with pilgrims who are doing the same day´s end routine: shower, hand wash of clothes and hang on the line to dry and then set out to look for food. The town is rather sparse with the bar being really the only place to find food.

We set off to explore what little there is of the tiny town. Monjardin sits above the surrounding countryside. Above you can see the ruins of St. Stephen´s Castle. Completing our tour takes about five minutes so we head back to the bar. There is a covered sitting area so we take advantage of the shade and have another round of beers. Nothing tastes so good as an ice cold beer after a hot day´s walk. We spend the late afternoon chatting with other pilgrims and trying to decide what to do about dinner. Although we are traveling by foot and staying in albergues, it is easy to spend a majority of your day´s allowance on food. Most places offer a pilgrim´s menu, which is usually two courses, wine or water, bread and dessert for anywhere between 8 to 11 euros. With six of us traveling together, it does not take long to figure out we can make dinner for a lot less. But without a store, we are without anything to make the evening´s meal. Roger and Denise, however, come to the rescue. Tiny towns like Monjardin are frequently serviced by traveling grocery stores selling either fruits and vegetables, frozen meats and fish, knife-sharpening or other services required by residents. They herald their arrival into town by either holding down their van horns or playing music from a loud speaker for an interminable amount of time giving people time to make their way to their location. One such van rolled into Monjardin and Roger and Denise take advantage and buy several large pork tenderloins and some eggs. With his pocket rocket and Jose cooking skills, we are soon served up a tasty and filling dinner. We buy two bottles of wine and bread from the bar. We all pitch in fruit that we all carry in our backpacks and sit down to another wonderful and delicious communal meal outside the albergue. As our evening winds down to an end, Jose and Juan Manual have offered to massage the feet or leg muscles of anyone who needs some pain relief brought about by the constant walking. Quite a few pilgrims take up their offer, myself included. My knee tendinitis has now moved from one knee to the other and the arches of my feet are getting extremely sore and tender. Without the massaging, the next day´s walk might end prematurely due to injury. At this point, leg and back pain has become a standard part of the journey. Standing first thing in morning makes you cringe and cry out a little. It takes about 5 kilometers of walking slowly before your muscles warm up and the pain seems to dissipate. Nobody turns down an offer of a massage. In fact, it is part of the communal evening ritual after dinner. The menthol smell of Reflex or Vick´s Vapor Rub wafts through the air as people tend to sore and aching legs and feet.
This night, I help Juan Manual translate questions to a young woman from Slovakia. She entered the albergue limping and Juan Manuel asks her if she wants a leg massage. She quickly agrees. She tells us her name is Nina. Juan Manuel turns to me and asks me to ask her if he can ask her some questions while he massages her leg. When I translate, Nina gives us both a concerned look and Juan Manuel is quick to dispel any concern she has that he is going to inappropriate with her. Nina quickly relaxes and points to her knee and the arch of her foot when she is asked where she is experiencing pain. Juan Manuel starts with her foot and through me asks Nina if she is 24 years old. Nina looks surprised and then answers yes. He tells me to tell Nina that when she arrived she seemed bright and sunny but when Juan Manuel greeted her personally she seemed to withdraw her open disposition. Nina shakes her head in disagreement but then quickly changes her mind and says that is true. He then asks if this is normal and Nina says that she does seem to withdraw a bit from other people. Juan Manuel questions whether Nina brought her traveling companion with her on the camino or did her friend invite her. Nina says it is she who brought her friend along. At this point, Juan Manuel tells her that she will not find the answers she is looking for but rather, she will find more questions. Nina again looks surprised. They continue this back and forth with me as interpreter. Through his questions which are eerily accurate, we discover Nina has just finished her degree as a sports therapist, she used to be a tomboy and has a lot of injuries to her legs because she always plays and still plays soccer with boys and men. Then, Juan Manuel tells Nina that she believes she walks in her friend´s shadow, but he assures her that the reverse is actually true. Nina ponders this quietly but says nothing. Through this question and answer session, it is clear that Nina is on a journey that will take her in a different direction than she had originally thought when she started and she is intrigued. When Juan Manuel is done, Nina thanks Juan Manuel for both the massage and conversation and quietly goes off to join her friend. Later that evening, Maite and I are talking about the exchange between the two. She has overheard and comments on how intuitive Juan Manuel questions were and how Nina was guarded at first but became open to different possibilites facing her along her journey. Maite comments that she thought that Nina would rush to talk to her friend about the discussion, but instead Nina quietly lay down on her mattress and said nothing keeping the conversation to herself. For me, it is a very interesting and touching experience to be part of their interaction which is part mystical and part therapy and somewhat emotional for Nina. I am curious to know how her journey turns out and as we part in the morning, we agree to keep in touch via Facebook.

Roger, Denise and Tom decide to sleep outside on the lawn behind the church. Juan Manuel calls it the Albergue of a Million Stars. He is not too far off the point. The sky is brilliant and shimmering with the glow of stars. As I go to sleep, I drift off thinking that simplest of albergues is so far the one which I like and has touched me the most.