Walking down the hill from our room to rejoin the camino.Walking out into the fields and vineyards as we left the paved road through Azofra.This is a medieval boundary marker from the 15th century.At the foot of this hill the camino began to run parallel to the Auto Via.After crossing this small road we moved away from the autovía and back into the fields.More pilgrims were out today, compared to previous days.Up to now, the walking was relatively flat, but up ahead, we could see ” trouble”.The path was about to become quite steep.We chatted with Karen from Holland on the way up the steep hillside. Here we are just about to the top.Karen offered to take our photo, and we accepted.
After reaching the top of the steep hill we said our goodbyes to Karen and stopped at the Rioja Alto golf course restaurant for cafe con leche and croissants, as there were no tostadas to be found.
After a longer than usual breakfast rest, we continued walking another mile to Cirueña. This will be our 8th visit to Casa Victoria.
This is the exterior of Casa Victoria. The owners live on the first level and rent out rooms on the 2nd and 3rd levels.Our double room on the 3rd floor. We’ve stayed in this room 7 of the 8 visits.Our room has an ensuite bathroom. The ceilings are quite low, creating a hazard for Jim, especially when getting up to use the restroom in the dark. Thus far, no major injuries have resulted.After checking in and getting off our feet in our room for some brief recovery time, we walked a few steps to the only restaurant in this village of 131 persons. We both had pizzas for this designated main meal.
We got showers, rinsed out clothing by hand and then hung them outside to dry in the warm afternoon sun.
Reading, napping, blogging and a game of Hand & Foot filled the remaining hours of another day on Camino 2026.
Jimandi 