Day 2 We go UP and We go DOWN

After paying 10 eurosWe settled last night into our bedrooms and then headed to our 8:30pm dinner appt.  Many of the restaurants offer a Pelegrino dinner (for pilgrims/hikers only) which is a set menu of maybe 2 choices at a discounted rate. You have to choose a time--either 7:30pm or 8:30pm.  And they seat you at a large table or assign you to sit with people who speak the same language.  We were assigned to sit with two young (25 yr olds) from Ireland.  Boy they had thick accents!!  One was named Kevin and was his first time to try to Camino and the other was Frigra and it was his second.  We had great conversation and they were very interested about Arizona.  Their was only once choice for dinner--trout.  Everyone except Kevin was not excited.  We asked if there were any other choices.  The waitress brought us 2 eggs over easy, 2 slices of cheese and french fries.  Oh ya, we also had soup.  The meals are very simple and very small.  It reminds me of how much we over eat in the states!

We had a good night´s sleep and headed out at 7:30am--with no breakfast.  We made our way to a small town called Biergetz where we had a nice little breakfast made up of thinly sliced ham, cheese, orange cake and Cola Coa (hot chocolate). We headed out the door and planned to walked to Lorasona.

I don´t think we walked more than a mile on flat road today.  We went UP and we went Down.  The hills are VERY steep.  We were HOT and then we were COLD.  We stopped several times to put on and take off our jackets and long sleeve shirts.  It never rained, but the wind what icy.  Several times along the road we could see our breath.  I didn´t have any gloves to wear because they were soaked from yesterday´s rain.

Anyway, after 8 long hours and 15 miles, we finally made it to Zubiri.  We did not go to Larasona because we were exhausted and our legs were giving out.  My knees are really aching and I hate going downhill.  We decided to find a place to stay and rest for the day.

We found another beautiful albergue--actually quite fancy.  For 27 euros they include breakfast and dinner.  It´s a little pricey, but by this time we didn´t care.  We just wanted a hot shower and clean bed :)

After a 3 hour nap, we had a wonderful dinner with some great company.  Everyone spoke a different language, but we seemed to overcome that.  There was a couple from Argentina, who spoke 4 languages!!  They helped alot with translation.  There were 2 American ladies besides us.  A french couple.  A man from Austria, who served in the military with Arnold Swartzeneggar!  A man from spain and a man from Germany.  We laughed and had a great time!

We finally got to bed about 10pm.  We shared a room with 8 other people.  Normally, everyone is up early but our group seems to be lazy this morning.  I couldn´t sleep so I got up at 6:30 and came down to use the FREE computer.  I am going to have breakfast now.

We are going to follow the river to Larasona today, but then will go on to the next town.  Not sure how far it is, but it should be shorter.  Possible only 13 miles.

That´s it for now!  Adios!