Huesca to Bolea, May 14

Our extra-long day into Huesca threw off the schedule a bit.  We'd planned to spend our rest day taking care of some business, but because it came on a Sunday there wasn't much we could do; pretty much everything (even grocery stores) is closed. Still, we were able to walk around and enjoy the city.

Monday we were up early, and at the post office as soon as they opened at 8:30 to mail Dan's original hiking shoes, plus the dead camera back home. 4.2 kilos out of the pack!  Next stop was a camera store to replace the dead Lumix with a spiffy new Nikon. By the time we made a stop for a few groceries, it was 11 by the time we were back on the camino.

We walked through farmland for quite a while, then through a forested area of scrub oak, and dropped down to the beautiful Castillo de Castejon.  It's now a private residence, but we parked ourselves in the shade to eat a little lunch and take a break from the heat.

After climbing up over another low hill, we could see our destination of Bolea in the distance.  It's a lovely hill town dating to the Moorish occupation.  We climbed up to the town and headed toward the central plaza.  Before we even had a chance to ask for directions to the albergue, a man sitting outside the bar recognized us as pilgrims, and offered to show us the way.  First we stopped at the other bar to pick up the keys, then down through the town to the school.  The albergue is upstairs from the school gym.  Nothing fancy, but home for the night and quiet once the kids left in the evening.  Along the way we met the bar owner's wife, and our friend told her to put on some extra food because we'd be coming up to eat (in common with many small towns, the bar is the only place to get a meal).

After washing up we walked around the town, and eventually found our way to the bar for a dinner of multiple sandwiches and a bottle of the local wine.  The local residents in the bar were all very welcoming and friendly to us as visiting pilgrims.  

The evening light was truly magical as we explored the village's small streets.