A Swimming Pool?

We have a nice snooze outside the cemetery, but soon we repack and make our way up the hill into Obanos. As we come into the plaza as seen above, there is a small alimentacion just to the left where the tiny corner of the shadow starts. We are just in time to buy a few items for lunch before they close for siesta. I have become hooked on an orange soda called Kas. It's just sweet enough, just fizzy enough, and it's one canned drink I seem to be able to drink from the can without getting hiccups. I have to have that and some lemon yogurt, which is fast becoming my staple as a travel through Spain. We sit on some stone benches outside the doorway of the little store and eat our quick lunch. There are a few kids playing around the plaza on skateboards, but for the most part, once again it feels as if we are in a ghost town. Soon, we finsh, fill up our water bottles, and head out of town, under a large medieval type archway:

Then we are on the way to Puente la Reina. The walking is not bad, but because we got a late start due to having Ingeborg's jacket locked away, it's gotten hot and muggy. I can't wait to get to the alburgue, even though I have no idea what it is going to be like. Also, I am running short of cash money, and need to find an ATM. I'm sure there will be one in Puente la Reina, and look forward to that. We walk on, through sunny countryside, past strange little outbuildings, separated by enough distance between us that we are each left with our own thoughts in our own silence. After a bit, the town comes in sight, and then we are in Puente la Reina. Now, to find the Puente (bridge) and our place to stay. For some reason, none of us are all that eager to find the church, see the town, etc. Maybe it's a bit of overload. Even though the streets are cool and narrow, like the old part of Pamplona, again, it's quiet, almost deserted. We do encounter a few people walking and I confirm that the bridge is "todo recto"--straight ahead. And sure enough, as we come out of the narrow warren of streets and buildings, there is the river, and the large bridge crossing.

According to Ingeborg, our place (where I have called ahead, and been told there are plenty of beds) is across the bridge and up the road to the right. Well. Once again, I learn the meaning of UP. Fortunately, it's nowhere near as long as the road from St. Jean, but it is as steep. All three of us end up "tacking" back and forth across the road. It is hot, dry, and dusty. I did not find an ATM and now I realize that I better have enough cash for my bed and dinner because I am NOT climbing back down this hill and up again for any amount of money today! Although I have to admit, the view is incredible.

Onward we slog, packs getting heavier by the moment, till at last we seem to reach the summit, the path levels out, and we seem to be at the top of a mesa-like hill, very flat on top, and the alburgue is right here. And....there is a swimming pool!

It looks like a very large, very modern rec center or senior center. There is the pool, off to the right, and to the left are picnic tables and clothes dryers. We enter in the center of the building, and are in a large, high-ceilinged dining area, with the obiquitous coffee bar. There's one attendant, a large black guy who I find out later is from the Caribbean. We go through the check-in routine, get our credencials stamped, pay for room and dinner (I have 3 Euros to spare!), and then he motions us towards the sleeping area.

This is like a gym. There's about 100 beds, all placed around a huge room. As promised, they are currently mostly empty, so we snag 3 bottom places in a row. Then we all decide to share the cost of washing our clothes, and that takes a while to sort out, as we have to pay the attendant, who then comes with a missing piece to the washer and turns it on for us. That done, we have a coffee, and I am in envy of Ingeborg who decides to take advantage of the swimming pool in her quick-dry undies. I try to use the pay phone to call home, but it will not accept my PennyTalk code, so I opt for using 1 of my remaining Euros to check e-mail and update everyone on my whereabouts. Then we get our clean clothes out of the washer, and get them hung up in the afternoon sun. It's hot enough to hope they will actually be dry before we go to bed.

After a shower in the very nice, modern bathroom, and a short rest, we all gather for dinner. Seats are assigned, and we chat with a Canadian couple about what we've seen, people we've met, etc. It's nice for me, as I'm speaking English for a change. The sun is going down, and the room is getting very hot. Oh, the first thing I noticed when I came in here, was that there was a big FAN in this room, actually going! A FAN!!! This is the first fan I have seen in Europe! Then, after I find out our host is from the Caribbean, it does not surprise me. Either no one gets hot in Europe, or they just don't like air circulating around them, as fans, room ventilation, open windows at night, etc. seem to be very troubling to most of the people I met there. But, even with the big fan running, the sun plus having everyone in the room togther, is making it almost unbearable for everyone. Finally, one of the servers goes to the big windows on the east side of the building and with a long pole, begins to open up the transom-like windows from the top. The entire crowd bursts into applause! It's a genial group this afternoon and there are quite a few cyclists. The seem to be mostly Italian, and for a moment, I'm reminded of the movie "Breaking Away". The foood is simple, but good and satisfying, and after we eat, Ingeborg goes to check her Internet news, and Rita and I go outside to a picnic table under a shade shelter made of twigs and small tree branches--very rustic. It's beautiful up here on the top of this hill--to the west is pastureland, and we can hear the bells of the sheep as they come home for the night. The sun is mostly down, the clouds are coming 'round for the night and it's getting cooler fast, but still very comfortable to sit out in shirt sleeves. It's quiet and peaceful, and other folks are all around the grounds in various clumps, some by the pool, others near the laundry area, some just walking around chatting. It's almost like some big summer camp. Since we don't speak much of the same language, Rita and I can't have very "wordy" conversations, but there is a deep communication between us. I'm not sure if it's because we are both on this same Camino path, if we just have compatible personalities, or if, despite having met only days before, we simply understand one another. Perhaps it's a bit of all three. Nevertheless, I feel quite comfortable sitting with her and not talking much, and I believe she feels the same.

Eventually it gets too cool to stay out. Taking one last look around in the approaching dark, we head into the gym to get ready for bed. More folks have arrived since dinner was over, and all around us, the beds are being filled up by male cyclists in their tight, shiny, spandex costumes. Their cycling shoes click across the floors, but thankfully, the beds are springs and not "clicker" beds!! I think briefly that I would like to have seen the church here, to see a bit more of the town. Had I not agreed to walk with the ladies, I might have decided to stay another day, but I want to go on, too. It's the dilemma of the Camino--the Journey is the destination, but also, in our time-constrained world, we must always be aware of "the destination" and the time it takes to get there. Therefore, we go forward in the morning.

It takes a while, but the cyclists finally get settled, and then someone turns out the lights, and the room soon comes alive with the evening symphony. I seem to be getting used to it, because this is one night I have no trouble falling asleep, thinking of what is ahead, and what amazing memories I already have.