Puente la Reine – Estella
14.49 | 60.44 miles
+ 1,957 | -1,710 feet
The morning began crossing the bridge at Puente la Reina.
My favorite part of today was the town of Cirauqui, which was beautiful. It was visible for a while up on a hill. I’ve now learned that as beautiful as a town on a hill is, I will need to climb up to it then walk right back down again.
Leaving Cirauqui, we walked down a Roman road and across a Roman bridge. These were built in the 11th century. Not as old as the Via Appia I walked in Rome, they are still impressive.
I think my mileage is higher than expected because I tend to walk out of my way to get a good picture.
Continuing after Cirauqui, I saw a woman sitting beside the trail with her shoes off. This is not uncommon as people change their socks midday; however this looked like more than that. I asked her if she had blisters, and she said, “Yes.” I asked her if she had mole skin, and she said, “No.” I stopped and unpacked my bag because my first aid kit was at the bottom (maybe it’s not extra baggage after all). As I pulled it out, she asked if I was a nurse and I said, “No, I just came prepared.”
She had two huge blisters on the inside of her big toe and heel on both feet. I cut some mole skin “donuts” and gave her some tape to try to keep the ones near her toes in place as she continued to walk. She put on dry socks, and I showed her how I tie my shoes to keep my heel tight. I had to deliver bad news when she thought we were almost done because we weren’t: we still had 6 miles to go. I packed up and wished her well. I think this is going to be a long day for her.
I wrote about my own Good Samaritan moment in Passing By – although it was more about not being a Good Samaritan. Instead, I was the levite or the priest. I was on my way to Bible study and saw a woman by the side of the road with a flat tire. I thought about stopping; however, I was late and figured she probably has cell phone and already called someone. I thought about it the entire way to Bible study (and I still do). The primary reason I didn’t stop was because of my religious obligations – rather than feeling a religious obligation to stop. So, today, I stopped.
Again, I don’t tell this story to my own credit but that we’re all on the Camino together. People help one another. I was thinking how we are all traveling the same road together regardless of our nationality, faith, or economic differences. Although some have heavier packs to sustain them the full distance to Santiago and others have a day pack until they get to their lodging where their suitcase awaits, we all need to put one foot in front of the other, time and time again on our Camino. We do the Camino together. The world might be a better place if we lived as we are always on the Camino together.
Buen Camino.
