Day: May 30, 2026

Day 4 – Lorca to Estella

Walked today: 8.0mi. Camino’26: 32mi.

Leaving Casa Nahia this morning at 6:40.
Just leaving Lorca
Walking along the fields of wheat, oats and sunflowers (not yet blooming).

After walking an hour we reached Villatuerta, a favorite stopping place for breakfast.

Taking a short cut across park with water sprinklers for the kids.
We waited 15 minutes for the bakery/cafe to open then ordered our usual.
This beautiful dog watched us throughout breakfast and we reciprocated.
Climbing the steep grade past Iglesia la Asuncíon on our way out of Villatuerta.
Iglesia la Asunción.

Leaving Villatuerta we rejoined the dirt path toward Estella. After passing through a small park and some water diverting/locks used for flood control, we continued on a rather boring stretch of dirt road that winds through some chemical factories and other industrial buildings hidden in part by trees and undergrowth.

Beginning the ” boring” section of path leading to Estella.

Just after a hundred yards of walking, a local guy emerged, having climbed from another path feeding into ours from below. He greeted us and although we didn’t understand a word he was saying, his gestures seemed to indicate that the path he had come from was better and encouraged us to take it.

After walking this way previously, 7 times over the past 12 years, we thanked the gentleman, looked at each other, threw caution to the wind and headed down to the path from whence our benefactor had emerged.

Joining a new route for Camino2026.

Soon after joining the new path, we encountered an occasional jogger, 2 dog walking couples and one cyclist. The tree canopied trail was shaded, unlike the path above. There was also a prevalent, refreshing breeze augmented by the river which became visible to us occasionally as we walked.

A brief view of the Río Ega as we walked.
As we entered Estella, we passed a picturesque type of waterwork.
Getting ready to cross the Río Ega and enter the city of Estella.
A tasty “zuma naranja” (fresh squeezed orange juice) break.
A typical scene in old Estella.
Typical “hard-to-walk-by-without-buying” fruit/veggie shop.
San Juan Bautista Plaza
Iglesia de San Juan Bautista
Interior of Iglesia de San Juan Bautista.
While Jim photographed the Iglesia, our lunch at a favorite restaurant, Monjardin, delivered to our table on terrace.
Our main meal for the day was shared. A plate of roasted veggies, an assortment of fried seafood, (not shown): fried potatoes, chicken with béchamel sauce, padrón peppers and lava cake/choc ice cream for dessert and vino tinto wine.
Our view of San Juan Bautista Plaza

After our leisure meal, it was getting close to checkin at our hostel which is on the outskirts of Estella in the direction of tomorrow’s destination.

We walked past the Estella bus station on our way from lunch to our Hostal.

We normally stay near the San Juan Bautista Plaza but we were unable to reserve a preferred accommodation. So we opted to find a place on the way out of Estella to shorten our walk the following day.

Unfortunately, on our way to the new location, we walked past it, due to the notoriously inaccurate Booking.com directions, and added an extra mile to today’s walking, eventually making our way back to our hostal.

One of the reasons for picking the hostal was its proximity to a Lidl grocery store and a Decathlon sporting goods store… in the event that we might need some unforeseen provisions for Camino2026.

As it turns out… other than bottled water and a few drinks and snacks were all that we needed.

A late checkin, a visit to Lidl and routine chores filled the rest of our day.

Today’s walk (with the exception the miscue searching for our hostal) seemed easier and more enjoyable, than on past Caminos, perhaps due to the discovery of the “river walk”.