Day 7 was my first and hopefully last PSYCHO day and it started with only about 2 or 3 hours sleep in Monjardin due to 3 horrid snorers and no earplugs....
A beautiful morning leaving the Villa and brekky served and plentiful - a day "the group" decided on going all the way to Viana - which was approx 32km. The longest day yet and only in week 1 - feeling spritely and energised and ready for the challenge off we go. The day went through Los Arcos where we stopped for coffee and chocolate croissant (seriously YUM and not like the one´s in Aust) Jonas & David have powered ahead leaving Ed & myself in their hasty wake. The smell of peppers (capsicums) being roasted wafted through the town and was a sensational mouth watering smell. After that we hit the Irache Wine fountain - where (clever marketing) allows Pilgrims to fill a bottle with wine and a bottle with water...nice!!
We cruise through Torres del Rio where another of the Knights Templar churches are but it is closed and we´re not waiting for 2hrs for it to open...the day is getting hotter and not something we expected and we still have a long way to go....we bump into the Aussie group with the stray German - rest up a bit near an old shed in the shade unbeknowns that there is NO water or towns until Viana....this is about where the day turns pear shaped.
I had a small bottle of water which I thought would do me ok but not in 32C heat with no shade and horrid rocky track ALL the way and too many ups N downs and it was NOT flat, like the book advised....so there are NO more towns until Viana and I severely hit a wall when I was already out of water, hot, sunburnt and feet which wanted to disown me....I see a sign and it says 3.8km to Viana NOOOOOOO I was almost convinced I could not make it to Viana as by now I felt scorched, piercingly painful feet (the rocky tracks just pulverised or tenderised like a slab of raw meat) nerves shooting through my feet, sunburnt arms and NO WATER....
I blogged on my personal FB page during this time and thanks to all my wonderful family & friends and their support helped me drag my sorry ass into Viana like a disgarded old potato crisp - walking into the town there was a mirage....NO it was real...a water fountain - thank the walking gods for that - however the last 4kms in the parched dry Spanish countryside the red wine from the Irache fountain came in handy - it was liquid and I was that desperate - so red wine got me through in the end ;-)
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