The Way to Land's End



• Starting Point: Villatuerta
• Ending Point: Los Arcos
• Daily distance: 15.72 miles (25.3 km)
• Total distance: 85.85 miles  (138.16 km)

A long day is ahead of us so we wake up at o’dark thirty. The town is shrouded in darkness as we hike out. Our little flashlights illuminate the way as we transition onto the dirt trail. Unfortunately, while navigating around a mud puddle, I missed the yellow arrow and led us astray. When we ended up in an olive tree grove next to a little church, I knew something wasn’t right. Laura and I backtracked and found the missed arrow. 

The trail today wove us through olive tree groves and vineyards. A cloudy haze kept the sun off of us most of the day. 

We went through a few small towns and saw some beautiful architecture.

A wine fountain also crossed our path. The plaque next to the fountain said that we should toast to happiness. We didn’t think it wise to fill our water bottles with wine, so we filled the caps of our bottles and made our toast. 

The small encouragements on the trail mean so much. A couple played an accordion and violin at the bottom of one ascent. The music was an inspiration as we made our way up the hill.

We also ran into some friends we hadn’t seen since the day we hiked into Pamplona.  We thought we lagged behind them due to taking a couple of  short days. But it seems everyone did the same over the last few days in different cities. Many have been dealing with blisters. So far, Laura and I have been blister free. I credit this blessing to Laura’s research on Injinji toe socks. I believe they are the godsend that have kept us blister free. Our main complaint thus far has been achy knees. 

The last 3 miles of the hike were really hard. The clouds were gone and the sun beat down on us. Every part of me was aching again…feet, knees, hips, shoulders. I tried to focus on the beauty of the landscape. The wind was blowing and I imagined the rustling leaves were applause. White butterflies floated all around me in one section urging me on. The hum of the insects were cheers to continue putting one foot in front of the other.

We finally made it and checked into our albergue, Casa de Abuela (Grandma’s House). We are in a room with six bunk beds. We get settled in, shower, laundry, dinner. Dinner was a more typical pilgrim’s meal of fried pork, French fries, salad, bread, wine (as compared to last nights amazing dinner). It was not very satisfying, but it filled the belly. 

After dinner, we rested for a while and then went to Mass. The church, Iglesia de Santa Maria, is dedicated to Mary and has a special retablo honoring her. A bell rang, the lights on the retablo turned on and the shine from the gold lit up the room. It was breathtaking. 

Afterwards, it was off to bed. We are beginning to fall into the routine and pace of life on the Camino.