Allison Cowie

Estella to Los Arcos / 13.58 miles

Estella was an A+ stop. Beautiful town, great albergue, plenty of rest time. It was also a big milestone to reach, because a mile out of town lies the famous wine fountain of the Camino! I reached the fuente del vino around 8:15am and there were already a dozen pilgrims ahead of me in line for a sip of wine and a selfie. I’d left town with an empty Gatorade bottle for the express purpose of having a wine goblet ready — everyone else was pouring the wine straight into their hands, making a big mess. Gulping a few ounces of wine so early in the morning was quite invigorating. I see why pilgrims relied on bread and wine to get them to Santiago 900 years ago.

As I approached my midmorning town and breakpoint, I fell in walking with a group of Spanish dads from Huesca, in Aragon. They were a walking group back home and were spending a week on the Camino together. Together we found a tiny minimart with a bathroom, cake and coffee (aka all you ever need). From there, I was off to Los Arcos, 12.5km ahead with nothing, including no water, in between. All of the guidebooks were quick to warn about the long unsupported stretch, but the walking itself was pretty easy — flat, sunny, steady.

I found a private albergue in Los Arcos when I arrived. The albergue was full of people from all over the world — I was the only American at a table of Australians, Filipinos, Italians, French and Dutch people. We had a communal dinner of salad and lentil soup, and I sent a few postcards back home. A good day!