Saturday, 16th September.
The forks

Things that happened during this morning's walk:

1 We nearly got lost in a construction site. We weren't alone; as we entered the construction site a familiar voice greeted us: "The beautiful girls from Canadia! And the boy kangaroo from Australia!" Yes, the Brazilians were lost too. After a few minutes of wandering around the big sandpit we blundered our way out.

2 Some dogs were barking at us from behind a high fence. "C'mon, jump the fence!" I bravely taunted. I started telling the girls one of my dull stories, in this case the one where I give a dog "the forks". Well would you believe it they didn't know what the forks are. So I demonstrated, and they were all mocking-like. I tried to explain it, but they didn't get it. So if anyone is travelling to Canada, feel free to give everyone the forks, they won't know what you're doing.

3 We saw a peahen. Ok, it's not that exciting.

All three of us were suffering from sore feet as we entered Najera. We'd been walking on hard ground and sealed roads all day. After we checked in at the refugio, Dave the Australian turned up, sans Isabel. Her knees had finally given up.

After siesta, we ventured out into the streets of Najera. The city was half-closed, many shops don't re-open after siesta. The heladeria was open, and we all bought ice creams! Not as nice as the ones we bought in Logrono, but what the hey. Then we tried to find an open supermarket. (Finding a closed one was too easy.) We walked right to the edge of town, without success. "We need Marcello!" As if divinely ordered, Marcello appeared. Sure enough Marcello knew where there was an open supermarket. He took us there and collected his usual commission from the shopkeeper.

That night there was a fiesta in Najera. But we were three weary pilgrims. The fireworks of the fiesta filled my dreams with gunfire and explosions.