Puente la Reina to Estella plus . . .

. . . the pilgrims travel in packs, flocks, shoals . . . since the norm is every day around 25km . . . the same group plus or minus a few turn up at the main albergues each afternoon . . . on the Aragon route it was two or three . . . at Puente la Reina the first night, twenty, the second night a new group from Pamplona . . . including a gregarious Italian who played his national stereotype perfectly . . . passionate, ebullient . . . after my early bedtime, loudly singing opera, the Beatles . . . drumming on the table . . . Camino party time . . . great practice for equanimity . . . impossible to sleep . . . decided to dodge the group today somehow . . . guessing they would stay in Estelle after 22km, I considered stopping before or after . . .

. . . set off at 6.15 in the dark . . . the way clear and fast with my newly superlight pack . . . like clockwork . . . an hour to Maneru . . . an hour to Cirauqui (a drink from the church fountain and lost for a while looking for signs) . . . a photo opportunity as the sun rose behind the hill town . . . Lorca at 9.15 . . . two Albuergues, both closed . . . a short rest . . . Villatuerta at 10.15 . . . a busy cafe, cafe con leche, water refill . . . a brief stop at the Hermitage of San Miguel (of which more later) and in Estella by 11.15 . . . to the tourist information centre and a friendly young woman with excellent English . . . Noelia . . . she worked in Canada for a while . . . visited Cambridge . . . I explain my options . . . the Albergue in town not being one of them . . . there is one a kilometre further on at Ayegue . . another small one at Azqueta, 7km . . . we have to phone first . . . and Los Arcos? . . . another 20 km . . . I can do it, but do I want to? . . . only two sides to a coin, so my choices are Ayegue . . . or Azqueta . . . I toss a coin . . . one kilometre, then maybe stroll back for a look at Estella . . . weather permitting . . . rain was forecast and I have dodged it so far . . . now, at 2.15, it has arrived . . .
. . . the albergue is a little surreal . . . owned by Patxi, a bloke with a very warm smile . . . he has walked the camino . . . there is a pelota court, a bar, dormitory, kitchen, showers . . . 70 beds, but recently only one or two pilgrims at a time . . . full in the summer . . . his record, including folks sleeping on the pelota court, was in 2008 . . . 250 people . . . one of the Koreans arrives . . . the Italian singer? . . . took a bus further on . . . his leg is injured . . . the other two Koreans likely to arrive . . . they have things planned . . . as for the others . . . let's see . . .