Villamayor de Monjardin

Yesterday's potential for blue skies seemed to carry over into today, but the black clouds soon won out. Cool and overcast the rest of the day. Even now at 3:30 it's almost too cool to go out exploring this little village. They've even lit a fire in the common room.
I left Lorca by 8am. It was a pretty easy walk to Estella, one of the larger towns on the way, and I wanted a little time to explore. Entered across a medieval bridge, of course. The first church I found was locked, but had an impressive exterior. The next church, San Pedro, was atop a hill, so had an impressive set of stairs to climb, nice interior, and an impressive cloister, or the part that remained, as half had been destroyed.
Across the street was the palace of the Kings of Navarre, now an art museum. Free admission, but I wasn't impressed, guess I don't know Spanish paintings.
Up the road is the monastery of Irache with its famous wine fountain. Yes, there is a fountain that provides wine (or water) for the thirsty pilgrim. Even to my uncultured tastes, it wasn't of the finest quality, but it was nice none the less. The monastery church and cloister was very austere, yet impressive.
So after all that sightseeing, there were still a few kilometers to go before finding a place to stay here in Villamayor de Monjardin. Maybe I'll go see if it's warmed up any.
Anyway, I always planned on being on / ending this pilgrimage on my birthday. However, I never give much thought to my ordination anniversary. Today is my 34th anniversary of being ordained as a deacon. For Priests, deaconate is seen as transitional, and so somehow less important or even temporary. I always appreciated the fact of being ordained a deacon; of being ordained to serve. So today I have walked in Thanksgiving for my ministry of service, and prayed for all the deacons who so faithfully serve the church.
5:15 pm and it's finally raining a bit. Guess it's a good time for it sitting warm around a fire. Maybe it will empty the heavens for tomorrow. But I can't get down to the bar for a WiFi spot and send this. It will go when it goes.