THE PILGRIMAGE - DAY 14

19 May
Prior to commencing the events of today, I have to return to the photographs of yesterday. Photograph No 1 was NOT taken in the monastery. Paul informed me, tonight, that he slotted his camera through a small hole in the wall of the Chapel (closed at the moment) which is situated at the highest point of the Pilgrims' route through the Pyrenees. Hoping for the best, he clicked and produced the rather lovely photograph below. All around the exterior of the Chapel are hundreds of Crosses which Pilgrims leave/have left on their journey towards Santiago de Compostela.
They found a 'restaurant' last night that served the traditional Pilgrims' 'cena' and, inclusive of as much red wine as one could consume (Dios Mio, Benjamin!), the cuenta was 13 Euros. Fortunately, for the economy of the 'restaurant', Paul limits his intake of vino to the occasional odd glass or two. Many visits from Ben and the place would be financially broke.
It transpired that the wine in this area is supplied by the local bodega at Irache. For a long, long while Ben has been singing the praises of this place called Irache because, in the town, there is a very old fountain which produces a constant supply of ........ not water, BUT FREE red wine. Now, THAT was one place where he was determined to quench his thirst. Que lastima! (what a shame!) Ben and Paul were 3 km further down the road when they realised that they had inadvertently missed the turning (maybe Paul had very sensibly opted for a spot of bad map reading at that particular junction). The one rule laid down by the pedallers, and to which they are rigidly adhering, is that YOU NEVER TURN BACK. Shame, Ben!
The bodegas in the area, through which they are cycling, are plentiful - as are the olive groves and the yellow broom (which is in full flower, very prolific and emanates a very pungent perfume/odour. Ben's snout maintains that it is perfume and Paul's sensitive snout is not happy with the odour).
Today our pedalling pair arrived, suffering from the very hot cycling weather, at Navarette. Arrival time was 5 pm and they had pedalled 47.3 miles. They confirmed that, upon waking this morning and inspecting their anatomies, they were delighted that there was not a single bed bug bite to be seen. No breakfast at the Inn either - fear not, their stomachs found food in a cafe on the edge of Estella's picturesque park! Back on the saddle again and heading for Logrono which was a town that they were keen to bypass. Their map reading skills were confused by a mass of different roads and, as a consequence, they took the wrong road into the town and the wrong road out of the town. Quote: ' we were .......' (a lesser word would be 'agotado' i.e. worn out) - not only by the road system but also by the rapidly rising temperature - 30C and increasing. It was gratifying for them to realise that their pals - the Dutchmen (see earlier post) - were also hopelessly lost in Logrono. It appears that Ben and Paul are making some extremely good mates on their Pilgrimage who all tend to arrive at the same watering holes and overnight stops as our pedalling pair.
Although suntanned already, Ben has a face like the rising sun tonight and Paul's face is sporting a very enviable deep colour of brown.

Hasta luego -

Jenny