We left again at about 6:30am, and quickly left town and entered Ayegui. At the entrance to the town they had a sign saying 100 kilometers. Hmm, Im pretty sure its been more than 100. The towns are basically right next to each other. In 2015, we passed through Estella accidentally and stopped at the municipal albergue of Ayegui. Just like in 2015, the store on the corner where you turn to go uphill to the monastery was the only thing open. I dont remember then that they had coffee and a seating area, but now they did, so we quickly took advantage of it. Afterwards, we walked uphill to the famous Irache Monastery, stopping briefly at an iron workers shop. We then continued uphill to the wine fountain, where you can get a free sip of their wine. You are also on video, but youd need to coordinate with folks back home, and most folks dont want to be up at 2am just to see you drink wine.
After leaving the monastery, we walked past Camping Irache, then through fields, and of course up and down. We finally reached Azqueta around 8:30am. Azqueta is a small peaceful town, but
it did have a nice bar just inside of town. Being too early for lunch, we just stopped for a coffee and a break. After our break, we started the long climb to Villamajor de Montjardin, a town way up near the top of a .... hill? The hill was called Montjardin, which translates to Garden Mountain. On top of the hill was the remnants of Castillo de San Estaban. We didnt stop for a break here and plodded on, along with quite a few other pilgrims. At about 11:15, after numerous ups and downs, we stopped by a strange tree that had benches for a break, then continued on.
At about 12:30, we entered Los Arcos, our destination for the day. We passed through most of the medium sized town and located our albergue, Albergue Casa Alberdi. It is located almost next to the municipal albergue. This was not your usual albergue. It had a large ... garage, and a number of rooms scattered about, along with a patio, a yard, a kitchen, and laundry area. We got two bunks in a room with 8 or 10 bunks and a bed, but we shared it with only
2 other people. Manoli did laundry while I went looking for a store. I found a store, bought a couple of Cokes, and went back to the albergue. I made an instant cappuccino and sat on the patio writing the blog until dinner time. Around 6pm we went looking for someplace to eat. After strolling through the streets of Los Arcos, we found a decent looking place and had dinner. Afterwards, we returned to the albergue, took our showers and relaxed. It had been a long day.
