getting up at 06.00, bad moods are pervasive. vero has not slept a wink, instead reading the gospel according to luc! 60 people snoring in unison failed to impress not just her! a fellow traveller promises himself a hotel and a real bed tonight. he hasnt spent 50 weeks working to spend his holidays in such conditions!

we leave on our way. a long days cycle ahead of us. we reach najera at 08.00 and stop for a <<cafe con leche>> in a small cafe. the river and colour of the red mountains provide a beautiful backdrop. tiredness dictates we travel most of the day on the n120 road, though we do go through santo domingo de la calzada and belorado. after belorado, we see the beautiful church an houses carved out of the mountain. the land is flat, but the heat is sapping and we are glad to know that the tented refugio is not so far away.

arriving in villafranca montes del oca, we find a friendly welcome in the tented village refuge. we pitch our tent safe in the knowledge that maurice is to be the only <<ronfleur>> to disrupt veronique's sleep tonight!