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Tuesday 3 January 2012

zariquiegui to Puente la reine, 18500 stepometer

Zariquiegui to Puente la reine
Woke up today at 6:30 and the rain is still chucking it out of the sky,had a lovely breakfast of coffee and toast with homemade gooseberry jam,mmm tasty!
It was still raining but not as hard as earlier,I filled my water container in the village outside the church and headed out and up.the path is very steep up to the ridge from here and very loose stones I seemed to go one step forward two steps backwards,and the rain got worse,the ridge has many wind turbines ontop and the strange sound was beconing ne on,I asked the universe to please stop raining at the top so I could photograph the metal pilgrims,and just as I was at the top it did!! Just enough time to take a few pictures.then the heavens seemed to open into heavy rain again.I wrapped my poncho around my rucksack adjusted my jackets hood and ploughed on down the slippery slope on the other side.all around me I could see snow on the other hills and the temperature dropped,at one point the rain was coming at me sideways.
I was loving the fact I had good waterproofs and Puente la reine was a welcome sight when I came into the town too.the hostel soon filled up with many lovely pilgrims and that night we all.put money in together and had a great meal after working out how to use the touch control cooker.many stories were shared and I retired to bed late.it wouldn't have mattered as I didn't get much sleep that night as the man on the bunk above me was coughing all night and my bed was shaking everything he did,he seemed to be having a competition with another man who was snooring really loud too at the other end of the room,and I had my earplugs in (good gel ones).I even got up in the night and gave the poor guy above me a glass of water because I felt so sorry for him.

1 comment:

  1. Zariquiegui to Puente la Reine.
    Woke up today and checked the weather outside and it's dark still as it's still 6:30 and throwing rain out of the sky.
    I was given a good breakfast of dried toasts with home made gooseberry jam (yummy) and by the time I had left the albergie the rain had almost stopped.I filled my waterbottle at the village tap and carried on towards the ridge I had almost made it too yesterday the last part was very steep with loose rocks on the path I ended up slipping down more than I was climbing but the draw of the ridge ahead of me is big and all the way up Im getting closer to the huge wind generators and their eary sound.I really wanted to get a few pictures of the art installation of pilgrimage characters made of metal on the top of the ridge and I asked the universe for a break in the weather so I could take a few photos,and,as I got closer the rain stopped and it got a lot clearer in the skies just enough for me to take a few snaps (thankyou)
    The view from the top of the ridge is fantastic I could see for many miles in all directions,I didn't hang around for too long as it was very cold and I could see it raining not far away and coming my way too.
    I passed some Spaniards heading in the direction of Pamplona just as the weather turned really nasty the rain was coming at me sideways and my hands froze.
    The albergie in Puente la reine is run by the church and only 6 euros a night I was the only one there,I had a shower and went upstairs to use the internet and when I came downstairs the room and it's beds,were full with pilgrims they were all soaked through almost like I was and by the time they had all showered the place was as wet as it was outside.
    We all decided to chip in for some supplies and a great meal was soon counjered up.had some amazing stories told and shared that night and I went to bed late with a full stomach and brain.i was kept up all night by the poor guy above me in the bunk bed coughing badly and every time he did the whole bed shook,I even got up once and got him a glass of water,their must have been an unconscious competition going on tonight because one other pilgrim was snooring very loud and even though I had good ear plugs they didn't block out the vibrations either.

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