Day 4, Sep 14, 2017, Puente La Reina to Estella 14.9 miles

We started at 8 and headed out of Puenta la Reina. Crossed the bridge and continued on. It was a blustery day like in Winnie the Pooh and cloudy, which was perfect for walking. It seemed mild and flat and then suddenly we had a fairly stiff climb ahead of us. Made it to the top, huffing and puffing like the wolf in Three Little Pigs and were rewarded with a lovely view.

From there to the first village, Maneru, was not long. All the towns that we passed today were really small and very picturesque.

Lovely squares, churches and fountains. We continued on to Cirauqui and then on to Lorca. It was a lovely walk filled with olive groves and vineyards. In the middle of one such grove, an enterprising young man, Ivan, had set up a little rest area.

He had benches under the trees, a small table with fruits, fresh juices, cookies and other light snacks, and a cooler with water and some soft drinks. He said it was a voluntary pay thing. If you could afford to pay, go for it and if not, that was okay too. He rents that land from an older couple and has been clearing it and setting up the rest area. He works on the farm to help the couple out. He hopes to have a flower patch and better facilites by next year. He also has a small collection of books if you want to sit and read while you rest. Youngsters these days have very different and far more altruistic values than generations before them, I think.
Just before we hit Lorca, we came across a small cafe in the middle of nowhere. We stopped to use the facilities and also rested our feet while drinking the best coffee yet! Chatted with some other peregrinos and went on refreshed. We did rest as often as we could and in Villatuerta I even took of my shoes and rolled my feet on the massage balls that we are carrying. Got to Estella and discovered, rather to our dismay, that we had nearly a mile and a half to walk, all uphill to our hotel!! We soldiered on and found that the hotel was lovely. Huge room and an upstairs loft, right by the river, but completely out of town - Hotel Tximista (Tsimista).

We were happy to relax there and enjoy the facilities and not worry about heading to town. Tomorrow is an early start and a 13.54 mile walk to Los Arcos.