Day 6 – Villatuerta to Villamayor de Monjardín

20.7 km ~ 29,210 steps

Song of the Day: No Song Today 
We have rebounded from the awful day that was yesterday. I think. For now. We’ll see.

For the first time, we set off in the morning with friends. Trish, Margie, and I walked kind of together kind of separate all the way to Estella. We grabbed a nice breakfast at a cute café together before I went my own way, off in search of dog food since Maverick was running out. Luckily enough, I found a pet store in this little city and they carried Eukanuba, which I had switched him to before leaving since I heard it was available in Spain. However, they only had giant bags for large breed or small bags for small breed. As I wasn’t exactly thrilled by the concept of getting a 40 pound bag of dog food, the store worker and I debated just how different small breed vs. large breed really was. It was the same ingredients in both, just small breed tends to pack more energy. Well, I thought, Maverick’s walking 20-30km a day now. Bring on the energy. So off we went with our small breed food (and a new ball of course since he lost the one I brought just outside of Roncesvalles).

Just outside of Estella, we met up with Margie again at a metal workers shop where he and his sons and his father and grandfather before him all worked iron into beautiful jewelry, charms, and so much more. And just on the other side of his shop was the famous Bodegas de Irache…known to almost everyone else as the Camino Wine Fountain. Here, pilgrims could sip wine from a fountain that had both water or red wine from the vineyards. I tried some simply from principle, but Maverick stuck to water.

The friendly metal-worker who has taken over from his father and now teaches his boys
Ah yes, the Camino wine fountain at last
Hey Mum, do I get wine?
Filling a shell with that sweet, free wine

From then on we walked with Marge and Trish, and a mother/daughter duo Trish had met up with who were from Denmark. The day was scorching hot so when we finally arrived at Fuente de Moros, it was a great sight. Unfortunately, despite my warnings, Maverick dropped his brand-spanking-new ball down the steps all the way into the bottom of the fountain. And being the great dog mom I am, despite warning him I wouldn’t be going to get it if he dropped it, I basically had to go swimming just to get his ball back from the bottom of the fountain.

I then convinced my new friends to all spend the night in Monjardín with me instead of continuing on in the heat. No albergues would allow Maverick, so we pitched a tent on the hard earth surrounding the church on this hilltop town and enjoyed a lovely home cooked meal at the albergue up the road.