Published on Behalf of Donna Blackstock – Donna is walking the Camino Frances  – a 5 weeks and 800 km journey that attracts over 250,000 participants.

Hola,

I am now in a beautiful hilltop village called Cirauqui and I am approximately 45k further down the road since my last check in. We were all a bit sad to leave the comforts of San Nicolas in Larassoana and as they did not offer a breakfast we stopped at a coffee shop La Prada after walking 4K. The weather is fine but cooler than normal.

On Thursday I walked with Maggie from Sydney Australia. We both enjoyed the old town of Pamplona. Maggie will easily have 1,000 photos by the time she reaches Santiago! She also likes her coffee so we sat on high stools in a plaza and sipped on cafe con leche and had some fortification; mine was filled with chocolate!

After a steep climb I ended up in Zariquiegui and Albergue San Andres. The town is 2 blocks and has two albergues. My albergue has two sleeping rooms and a bar where you can order your Pilgrim Meal. Two people do everything and work very hard at it. The woman was even up at 5:30 at the espresso machine for those who head off before daylight. (not me!)

From the Big Z is was a short climb to the top of Alto Perdon where a set of figurines are located. If you saw Martin Sheen in The Way you saw where I was this morning by 8:00 am. There was also a lady with a food truck already set up for the day.

Puente La Reine was a highlight along the way, with its many shops and the stone bridge (puente) across the river. Then in the distance, with the sun shining on it, was a small village. Again after a bit of a climb it was Cirauqui where I had arranged to stay the night.

There is a festival in Cirauqui at the moment. The music started at 2:00 PM, the women are already dancing, tables are set up for a feast and the kids are hovering around some tables filled with toys to buy.

Donna