20-05-2018
Walked 32.4 km, 8 hours 25 minutes
Ascent: 450 meters
Descend: 550 meters
Kilometers to be traveled: 707.8
Photos / Video
The second Sunday during my camino starts for me at half past six, normally I turn around again, but not now. The pilgrim who walks acquires a scheme and tries to hold it (my humble opinion). The alberge was full, no more empty beds available, it is slowly getting busier, I approach ‘The Highway to SdC’. I put everything back in place, do many things before I go to sleep, so that I have many things close together in the morning.
So it’s Sunday in a village where there is almost no cafe, so take care of your breakfast from the things you still have with you. We exchange some things between the pilgrims. When breakfast was eaten, it was also useful because with an empty stomach and not knowing when you could eat something, you won’t get far. Certainly if the day distance goes towards 30 kilometers. My final goal today is Obanos for 2 reasons, Valeria and Jean-Pierre.
In Obanos, Jean-Pierre will say goodbye to us, because he will then take the Frances heading north, me and Valeria will then follow the Frances further west. But before the time comes, we first have to walk a bit and sleep a night. The weather forecast is favorable, no rain and no sun. And just as the roads were until now, so are our hiking trails this day.
The landscape keeps rolling, so up and down, along many paths where an elephant can walk, to roads where trucks can drive. Today we also partially walk with a German from Bavaria who also walked with us a few times yesterday. Each runs at his or her own pace, sometimes waiting for the other, usually when a break might be inserted.
Today we stop in Tiebas for a snack, orange juice, café con leche and tortilla. We have to wait here for a while because he is not ready yet, that tortilla. If Jean-Pierre wants to pay, he will not find his wallet. This is not stored in the usual place, so just empty the backpack completely and see if it has fallen into it. Still not found after 5 minutes of searching. Then he still has to be in the alberge, thinks JP. He always puts the wallet under his pillow and cannot remember whether or not he has taken it with him.
I pay what he ate and the German suggests that he should go back by taxi and see if the wallet is still there. He also wants to give JP € 50.00 for the expenses. JP can then transfer this to him at a later time. He gives JP his bank account number. The German decides not to walk further, but to stay in Tiebas, he thinks it is enough for today, he wants to rest a little and strengthen. It is Pentecost after all. JP has a taxi called to go back to Monreal. Me and Valeria continue walking and agree with JP that we keep a bed free in Obanos in the alberge where we find a place to sleep.
Here in Spain you can hardly go wrong, the route is well marked with the shell and yellow arrows. If there are no possibilities for these signs, you sometimes see arrows made of stones, probably made by pilgrims who once missed a turn. The road continues, the view remains beautiful. Spring is already well advanced here, sometimes it looks like summer already. Some cornfields are already golden yellow in color, with the red dots of the poppy in between.
When we get to Obanos, we have to pass the 8-cornered church of Santa Maria de Eunate. This is extensively described in my Rother booklet and I remember seeing this from the English documentary about 8 “well-known” Englishmen who walked the Camino at the BBC earlier this year. As I approach the church, I see a few buses in a parking lot and quite a few cars, so it’s a special place, as described in the guide.
The church is unfortunately closed for the siesta, but we can get a stamp in the “restaurant” annex store. The crowds outside in the parking lot are caused by pilgrims-de-luxe. My own expression too. They pilgrim on a bus, head for the sights on Frances via the bus and sleep in hotels. Sometimes they walk a few hundred meters to reach the monument to be visited. Take photo and get back in.
Too bad that the church only opens again at 3 o’clock, I would have liked to walk around it, barefoot. Between the fence and the church is a path with brickwork stones that could serve as a kind of massage. The inside of this church should also be exceptional. What I find beautiful is the ignorance of historians about the history and origins of this church. As you can read on the internet.
It is time to continue walking, we are already (almost) walking on the Camino Frances and actually not. It is at least the last kilometers on the camino Aragonese. In Obanos, the Frances and Aragonese come together, but here at this church you will already find pilgrims of the Frances walking a “compliment”, especially to visit this church, so a detour for the church.
Upon entering Obanos it is searching for the inn. If we continue to follow the arrows and signs we are actually going straight ahead through Obanos, through the gate where the connection to the Frances is and then straight out of Obanos. But that is not the intention, after Obanos, Puenta la Reine is the next city. A kind of party town on the Camino Frances, and not the only party town. So turn around before we go under the gate and search for the alberge.
And then you suddenly see an image of a pilgrim standing on the corner of a building. If you then walk around the corner, you will also see the alberge sign, so found. If you were coming from Pamplona, the Frances route, you almost walked into this alberge, but not me, who came from another direction and walked another way through Obanos. I check in at the inn, take shoes off and place them on the rack. It is a municipal alberge where you can also have breakfast in the morning at a normal rate, so do it again, worry less and more certainty.
There is still plenty of room in the alberge, I am looking for a nice place on an underbed. Install everything again and send a message home. Also just as first do the laundry, so that it can dry in the sun, now that it still shines in the courtyard. Then suddenly Jean-Pierre comes in too. He has his wallet back, with all the cards and ID cards in it. He was still lying under the pillow of his bed. They were already cleaning the alberge, but had not yet arrived at his bed.
After briefly catching up, taking a shower and hoping for hot water, YES. It is time for a beer, so go outside and settle on a terrace at the first opportunity, not coincidentally opposite the alberge. There are already 2 pilgrims, girlfriends from Canada, Quebec to be exact. They don’t speak English, but they do speak French.
Pilgrims also have a magnet with them, so it seems, because where there is 1 pilgrim, more are approaching. Soon we are chatting with a group of 10 people: 1 Dutchman, 1 Swiss, 1 Korean, 1 Spaniard, 2 Germans, 2 Canadians and 2 French. We exchange experiences and other stories. We also have a view of the street from which the pilgrims from the north enter Obanos. Most walk on, only a few go to the alberge.
After 2 beers back to the alberge, making contact with the home front and blog blogging, always trying to write everything down and edit it. If the Wi-Fi is OK, then immediately post the video on YouTube, also rest before we go with a large group to see if there is still a possibility to eat somewhere. We can go to 1 of the restaurants. 1 large table for 14 pilgrims. The menu is listed and everyone orders something different, so remember what you ordered.
The restaurant is more of a sports cafe than a restaurant, because there are 4 televisions on with the sports channel on. The wine is put on the table, the bread is added and then the first course, soup. But which one did I order now? It makes a difference, no, so give which one has not yet been claimed by someone else. This is how it goes with the secundo. If this is cleared later, we can still choose from the dessert. Now I can eat what I order. After paying a short walk to the alberge and then prepare for the night’s rest.
Tomorrow the first day of a new camino is ready for me, the Camino Frances who takes over from the Aragonese. On to Santiago, the crowds, because it will be over with the rest. The busiest Camino takes over from one of the quietest. I take my things from the drying rack, organize my things as much as possible. Fortunately, the alberge is only half full, all upper beds are not occupied, which also means less chance of snoring.
Sleep well and see you tomorrow.
Accommodation: Albergue USDA
