Part nine: Questa to Costilla
In the morning, we set off on our way passing a sign with blessing for the road. (Vaya con Dios.) The area has a very religious feel because even the Adopt-A-Highway signs may have prayers on them!
After we left Questa, there were farms and houses scattered thickly along the highway but these grew more and more scattered after a while. Soon the scene began to grow monotonous. The hills loomed on the horizon. Mount Blanca far ahead looked like a distant mirage and the highway was so straight that with my binoculars I could stand at one mile marker and see the next one! The day was cloudy and windy which was lucky because there was shade. There were large flocks of bluebirds migrating through the valley and I also saw mountain chickadees and other small songbirds. They helped relieve the monotony. Most of the day I walked alone.
In the evening, we arrived in the little town of Costilla. We gathered in the parish hall and ordered dinner from a local restaurant. The owner drove the food over to us and promised to open early to get us breakfast!
After supper, the deacon came over and toured us around the church. We were rewarded for our day’s march with a splendid sunset and some very atmospheric pictures of the church in the half-light of evening. The deacon was disappointed that his parish could not provide us with dinner. To make up for this, he brought us pastries for breakfast in the morning. The entire area is full of picturesque buildings but I decided not to take photos of them until the morning and went to sleep on eight chairs in the parish hall. The next day would be our final grueling day. Wild Horse Mountain had looked down on us all day. In the morning, we would climb it.
Other Posts in this series
