Day 7 – Azqueta to Torres del Rio

Today started with a communal breakfast with 6 of us who had shared dinner the night before. Two Brits, one American, 1 German and a Czech couple. It was nice to share with the familiarity of the night before.

As I came into the village the night before, I was hailed by an old gentleman who was sitting on a chair in the main square. He had a walking frame in order to get about. He called me over, babbling in Spanish, none of which I could understand. He ferreted in his bag and eventually pulled out a stamp, for stamping my Camino passport. I duly handed him my passport for him to stamp and thanked him for his kindness. It was only later at dinner that I learned that the guy was quite a celebrity and had been on TV in the past for his works. He used to make walking poles to give to the pilgrims but had to give this up as he got older.

I later looked up th information on this man, Pablito Sanz Zudaire (https://callemayordeeuropa.com/almas-legendarias/pablito-sanz-zudaire/), who passed away in 2022.

The first page of my Camino log has now been completed. Once, and if, I get to Santiago (not a foregone conclusion), I will be able present my credential to the Camino office and get my Compostella. I keep the log too. 😁

Today's walk was relatively flat, so starting after breakfast (eating as much as was socially acceptable), I set out and soon caught up with Steve (from London) who I had met two days ago. We chatted a bit and then I pushed on. It was a really lovely walk, just watching the landscape change around me as my legs did all the work without complaining. I walked through the lovely town of Los Arcos but didn’t stop, I just kept walking.

I made the albergue at 12:00 and I was first to arrive. I was amazed to see that it had a swimming pool. In about 15 minutes, I had the pool all to myself! What a lovely destination. The albergue charges 12 Euros a night for the pilgrims (you need to have the pilgrim credential log) and you can have a 3-course dinner for 13 Euros. But the costs generally vary quite a lot. Last night I had half board and it cost 45 Euros. The standards vary quite a lot as well.