24 Sept 2006 Puente la Reina to Estella

Dear Aymery

Said ´goodbye´to my Canadian friends as they set off on other parts of their trip. Left the albergue and followed a generally uphill track. The weather is cool and cloudy but so far the rain has held off. A generally pretty route past olive groves. Near Cirauqui, it began to rain and out came the poncho. It never rained hard but the constant drizzle was enough to turn the Camino into a very slick track. Entered Cirauqui and ground my way up nearly vertical streets to a small self-serve ´selló´or stamp for my credential. Just past that covered archway, my right knee gave out. I went down like a sack of potatoes. The pain was something memorable, believe me! I struggled over to a bench in the square and more or less pulled myself together. Dug out a knee brace that I had packed just in case and hoped it would work. After about 1/2 hour of sitting in the rain, alternatively hurting and feeling sorry for myself, I decided to move on. It is Sunday and nothing is open. Soooo, not much choice.

For 15 km, I moved at an absolute snail´s pace. As long as I moved slowly and kept little pressure on it, I was OK. Alter that, and I´m sure you could have heard me in Toronto. That plus the drizzling rain made for a glum day. The bright spot was a person I had met at an albergue the other day. Bernadette is an Irish immigration lawyer and she decided to slow her pace and keep me company. Between many pauses, halts, etc, we passed the rest of the day talking and debating everything from law through philosophy, politics, etc. The time passed and eventually, after 15 very difficult km, we reached Estella. I got a bed in the albergue and simply dropped onto it and fell asleep.

A couple hours later, I was woken up to the sound of people talking about me - it was my Swedish and Irish friend come to get me for dinner. A long shower and change of clothes (plus Dr. G.´s prescription) and I felt good enough to go out for dinner. The evening was pleasant and the swelling in my knee went down. Who knows what tomorrow will bring but I will NOT forget today!

Ultreya