It was raining when we started walking this morning, and it rained most of the day, although right now, at about 5 pm, there’s a bit of sun. It was cooler than the first 3 days. The rain ponchos came in real handy. 

The first small town we walked through is Burguete-Auritz. It seems to have a lot of dairy farms close. One cow was drinking rain water:

Just a bit later we saw a horse eating …. chocolate?

I was surprised that the landscape is so lush and green, lots of beautiful trees, lots of wildflowers, distant hills and housing groups, just really pleasant. 

We had lunch at La Taberna del Dragón Peregrino – delicious! I had tortilla de espinaca (spinach tortilla), a coffee, and shared a small round warm chocolate cake filled with tasty melted chocolate with my brother. 

Walking on, we heard a cuckoo. I was so surprised – somehow I had not put it together that cuckoos are real birds, not just clocks. The birds sound just like the clocks. 

The trail goes up and down and up and down until the last steep down (about 3k) into Zubirí. This was rather treacherous, with slate outcrops and loose rocks and lots of slippery mud, and so far the least enjoyable part of the Camino. I was worried I would slip and fall and break my arm (again!), but luckily nothing bad happened. 

Now we are in Zubirí at the Albergue El Palo de Avellano. Next … dinner, sleep, and tomorrow on to Pamplona.