Two New Hampshire girls hike the 500-mile Camino de Santiago to raise money for women around the world.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Day Seven: Puenta La Reina to Estella. March 19, 2013

Total distance: 13.6 miles with about 1000 feet of elevation gain (21.9 kilometers with 300 meters of elevation gain).

We had our first major snorer last night. My, what a noise! Luckily for the girls, they slept through most of the racket. I used earplugs but the vibrations seeped through the foam and entered my brain regardless.

In spite of the lack of sleep, I felt rarin' to go when we left Puenta La Reina this morning.

Looking back at our showerless hostel (the showers will be up and running again soon)...






Walking through Puenta La Reina, on the way out of town...















Looking back at Puenta La Reina after crossing the bridge...




Onward, through farmland and vineyards, toward Estella...
























The remains of a Roman bridge...







The remains of a Roman road...





A medieval bridge crossing a river of salt-water -- 11th century poets warned pilgrims not to drink from this river...


Alex took a video while she walked across...


Onward...toward Estella...



We are staying the night at the only albergue that is open this time of year, the Hospital de Peregrinos. Cost is six Euros per person and there is heat, blankets, a large kitchen, showers, and drying racks for clothes.

We are all holding up fine with the day after day hiking. Sage's feet look perfect. Alex had a hot spot a few days ago so I put some duct tape on it...she says it feels okay so I don't think it has progressed to a blister. My feet are fine except for one toenail that looks like it's about to abandon ship.

Someone asked what we're eating...we purchase a block of cheese, a large bar of chocolate, a bunch of nuts, and a large package of cookies, then we share all of that throughout the walking day. At night, the girls eat the pilgrim's menu (three course meal) and they have large croissants with juice in the mornings.

One more note - please forgive any mistakes in grammar on this blog - I often type fast because my time is limited. There's no opportunity to edit.

Today's thanks goes to Sandra Heaney of the award-winning and beautiful Henry Whipple House B&B in Bristol, NH. Sandra donated a free night's stay for two as a raffle prize last December. Thank you, Sandra! We love your B&B! Also..Sandra...I hope to post a special picture just for you on my Facebook Page tomorrow. :)

We have another 13 mile day tomorrow, then we will slow it down a bit. I don't want the girls to do too much too fast. Alex and I feel fine, but Sage started complaining of a sore leg just before we got to Estella today. Best to play it safe and do fewer daily miles this week. We don't have much of a choice tomorrow, but we will walk slower and take breaks. We've been going at our normal speed and finishing by 2pm each day - we can take longer and stretch here and there as needed and finish our days in the late afternoon from here on out. There are many pilgrims out here - many more than I expected! - bit I don't think we'll ever have trouble finding a place to sleep.

Will write again from around Lorca tomorrow.

Thanks again for all the comments and messages, folks. :)

--Trish

--using BlogPress from my iPad

7 comments:

Unknown said...

You are doing great girls! Fran and I are reading the blog every day. The ancient bridges are wonderful to see. K. Maineri

Anonymous said...

~ I recently "liked" your page on FB; read the introduction of "UP" (your book) and now I am following your Camino posts on FB. I never get tired of seeing pictures or reading post from fellow pilgrims.
Thank you for taking the time to post and don't worry about correcting the grammatical errors. English is my second language so I make those mistakes all the time! :-)

I send you and the girls hugs from Washington, DC.

Buen Camino peregrinas!

Veronica

Jennifer said...

How cool that must be to see all the bits of history showing through. Going to Europe in high school and college made history come alive for me. Traces of civilizations going back centuries - that's something we don't get much of here in the Pacific Northwest (the Native American artifacts seem much less permanent.)

We use duct tape as a blister preventative, too. It works great as long as we get it on at the first sign of hot spots, or before we even start walking.

Unknown said...

It looks like you guys are holding up great. I look forward to reading your posts and looking at the pics everyday. Adelante!!!

Paul aka The Big Green Egg said...

Howdy !

Did I pass "THE girls" today!?! I met an Irish father/son who spoke kindly of you!

I don't know how to post a pic, but I saw your writing on the trail and took a pic !!

We made it to Los Arcos! You?

Cheers!

Paul aka The Big Green Egg!

Paul aka The Big Green Egg said...

Hah!

I think I passed you at some point today! I saw your writing on the trail! Did you make it to Los Arcos ?

Say "Hi!" If you see "The big green egg!"

Cheers!

Buen Camino!

Paul aka the big green egg!

Cejanus said...

I just love your blog. I will be two weeks behind you and I am from Australia. I like your comments about where you stay each night. They will certainly help me decided on places to stay. Blessings to the four of you. Blessings to you all.