Trust in God and tether your camel ….

I’m guessing that you would like an explanation of this title ? “Not yet , thank you” I hear you reply ! Of course! because the first thing you want to know is how did we get on last night ?

Well reluctantly I will tell you … firstly I must talk about our 20€ vegan meal to be delivered to our door ( and perhaps more importantly the bottle of white vegan wine we were testing on your behalf 😉)

The wine, chilled to perfection and in an ice jacket, plus two generously sized glasses were delivered to our door . “ Gracias!” …then as the deliverer was retreating down the steps I realised we had no cork screw. Well that was no good …anyway she acknowledged the missing item , and in Spanish I told her not to come back specially, but to drop a cork screw off with our meal .

Clearly realising our need to enjoy a glass of the contents , a corkscrew was delivered to our door. 19.30 passed with no sign of our food …and then we realised our neighbours were tucking in to their already delivered meal . When Kathleen went to find out where our food was , there was no sign of anyone and they had clearly forgotten about us ! Slightly irate( that’s putting it mildly😡😡) we contacted the company who had arranged our trip and the girl set to work to help us.

Sure enough at 20.15 a brown paper bag containing our supper, was delivered to our door

Needless to say our representative was not happy …and they have refunded us . However look at the food….chickpeas, tomatoes, courgettes and rice warmed up and think 10 hours hence 🙈🙈🙈🙈

Neither of us ate much … though the wine disappeared ( what can we say about it … perfectly drinkable..what was it ? Apart from being vegan, white and Spanish I’m afraid we haven’t got a clue !!!

Breakfast wasn’t ideal for a pre Camino stage but it was a vast improvement on last night’s offering…although not a cup of coffee in sight 🙄🙄

So now to what you all really want to know – the compostable toilet . I am going to spare you the gory details …but I will say that Kathleen perfected her aim ! I on the other hand , did not ! Let’s just say you wouldn’t want me on your dart’s team 🎯

Overall neither of us were at all impressed with said toilet …and that is putting it mildly …however, today is another day and sometimes you have to be grateful for small mercies . Within a half hour period during today, we experienced sheer luxury …a flushable toilet and lovely cup of coffee!

We left our eco base as soon as we could …

So now let me explain the title of this blog . Do not be alarmed we have not collected a camel en route ! Our guide book warns us to watch our wallets and that petty theft has always been a problem in an unequal society and can be an issue in larger cities such as Pamplona . Medieval pilgrims Dear Reader, were sometimes murdered for their satchels and sandals. However we have so far been spared and “ Trust in God and tether your camel” is the balanced advice given by the guide book’s author .. he recommends repeating it frequently !!!

Our walk today was pleasant enough, the weather behaved itself and the smells of the forests were heightened by the warmth of the sun.

Finally at about 13.00 we began the long slow road into Pamplona…

We have a lovely room in a central hotel ( with a Michelin starred restaurant no less!!!) …rest assured, no wood chippings in sight in the bathroom …and we even have a bidet ..perfect for washing tired feet after a long day’s walk ( I can still remember my mother when we were abroad somewhere, getting on her high horse and telling me the bidet was not for feet at all ….)

Tomorrow we walk from Pamplona to Puente La Reina

This map might not look too imposing .. but look what we have to deal with in the middle !!!

Talking about going to Specsavers ( the DB will understand this, but to explain to you …whenever anyone calls me “ Young Lady” , he always says “ Someone else should’ve gone to Specsavers!”) both Kathleen and I feel very flattered as we’re walking …. we have been referred to as “ girls” on more than one occasion, and a young couple who we named the singing duo, told us we were doing “ amazing” !!!

Now we’re off out on the town .. though raín is on its way and tomorrow is likely to be a wet day ….

So take care all and hasta mañana !