Walking the Camino in the spring has its advantages. With the temperature in the 40’s, we didn’t need to start out in the dark, to avoid the Iberian sun. So today was the first time we have walked this section in the daylight.
We guessed what this area looked like, we but today we found out for sure.Another long stretch of pathSwitching to pavement as we approached SansolSansol (pop. 112) is always a disappointment as nothing is open, virtually no services and people not all that friendly. There used to be a welcoming Albergue with food and clean restrooms on the edge of town, but it was an apparent casualty of the pandemic and no observable efforts to revive it,Just over the hill from Sansol is Torres del Rio (pop. 136)Unusual octagonal church in Torres del Rio of unknown origin but thought to be associated with the Knights Templar
Torres del Rio, unlike Sansol, was a nice rest stop. There are several albergues here. We have stayed here at two different properties. However, in recent years we have taken the bus to Viana. The walk from Torres del Rio to Viana is very challenging…. over 7 miles of winding hills amply named “The knee wrecker” and no shade. The last couple of miles are close to the edge of a highway. And, the fare today for the 10 minute trip was 1.45€ each!
The bus that took us from Torres del Rio to Viana,
We walked a short distance to our apartment in Viana. We had checked in electronically yesterday. The proprietor met us at the property and showed us around. We stayed here last year and decided to try it again.
Our apartment is located on this square which is used as a bull ring during festivals.Linda rang the bell and Jim sent a WhatsApp message to the owner, who met us at the door less than 3 minutes later!
The apartment is a bit bizarre in a nice, clean, modern sort of way.
After climbing two levels we reached our first level- bathroom, living area and full kitchen.two flight of stairs to get to each levelour large bedroom Clothes drying on the roof… bone dry in less than an hourThe view from our bedroom.
After hanging out our wash, we walked to a nearby familiar restaurant and had our main meal for the day.
Tasty fresh ensalada mixta for first course.Ham, eggs and fries for second course.
Returning to our apartment we did our chores, read, blogged and napped. Then called it a day.
After walking downhill from Villamayor de Monjardin, the path leveled off and we began walking though the valley,
As you will see in the following photos, the path was long and straight.
A brief bend in the path then straight again Long straight stretch here …… then once we reached the top, the path continued straight ahead.one of the few bends in the path broke the monotony, sort of.we took a sharp left at the Camino marker. then went straight againanother sharp right , then straight againanother straight section before meandering for a short while in the woods in the distance.a short walk on the edge of the woods……then a short walk across a creek and wetlands.back on the semi-.straight road again… before reaching the edge of Los Arcos.Typical street in old Los Arcos.Pensión MAVI, our home for the nightLos Arcos’s goes back to Roman times. The Iglesia de Santa María de la Asunción dominates the old town square and has one of the most ornate retablo’s on the Camino,
Our walk today was long and tiring. The long straight pathways took us through a valley filled with beautiful green fields and vineyards.
We’re still acclimating to the daily walks and working out the sore muscles, which takes 10-14 days to work through, based on previous Caminos.
As we left our apartment at 8:30, it looked like we were gonna have another dry day.
To rejoin the Camino, we walked for about a 0.1 mile through town, crossed a bridge back over the Eba River then walked the sidewalk until reaching the suburbs.
Crossing the Rio Eba, still swollen from earlier rain.Estella Friday morning trafficPilgrims following the traditional route on the right as we continued on the sidewalk.
Rather than follow the Camino signs we continued on the sidewalk until it dovetailed with the official Camino before leaving the pavement and heading toward the Irache Monastery and Bodega (winery).
Leaving suburban Estella onto the dirt path once moreIrache Monastery on left, winery on the rightWe haven’t stopped at the “wine fountain” after tasting the wine several years ago.Jim decided to give it another chance today, but was disappointed once again. The wine is high in tannins, very acidic and not to our liking… maybe it’s the church’s form of penance for adult beverage consumers. We continued on, passing this pilgrim and his interesting walking gear.The Camino crossed the main highway leaving Estella and we walked on pavement through a large athletic campground complex, before returning to the dirt path again.returning to a familiar sceneThe path took us along a grain field with picturesque mountain and valley scenery.Beyond the fields was Monjardin with its commanding fortress, Castillo San Esteban.
The Castillo de San Esteban has a Roman foundation, but was repeatedly rebuilt over the centuries. It was one of the last fortresses of the Banu Qasi, the local Muslim dynasty, before it was taken by King Sancho I of Navarre in 914.
We stopped in Azqueta for breakfast then continued the remaining 0.9 mile into the village of Villamayor de Monjardin (pop 139).Climbing the initial elevation out of AzquetaAll uphill into Villamayorstill climbinga short flat part, castillo above usthe vineyards and valley belowVillamayor de Monjardin just ahead, revealed by the steeple of Iglesia de San Andres.Iglesia de San Andres (12 Century)
This is our fourth time to stay in apartment Markiola. The choices to stay in this small village are very limited and our experiences staying in the albergues have been disappointing. However, Markiola is special because it has a washing machine, large bedroom, nice bathroom with large walk-in shower and an excellent view of the Iglesia de San Andres and the valley below. It also has a full kitchen, stocked with food for lunch, dinner and breakfast, therefore not requiring us to struggle with the lack of restaurants, bars and other facilities in the village … and the proprietor has been very welcoming and the apt. has been well maintained.
Today, when we arrived, we were able to access the apt with a code on the door and we checked in electronically. The attached small store was closed and a for sale sign was attached to the store and the apartment.
Markiola
So, this will likely be our last encounter with Markiola should we be back this way in the future.
Once we checked in, we washed our dirty clothes and hung them out to dry. We prepared a sandwich for lunch, spent the afternoon doing our routine chores, napped, read and blogged, then had our “homemade” dinner of spaghetti and wine before calling it a day.
All was quiet when we departed this morning at 8:15. It rained most of night but the streets were already dry. The cloudy skies were a bit threatening with gusty winds, but no rain, yet.
We walked by the dominant 14th century Iglesía La Acunción as we exited the town and rejoined the dirt Camino. The “puddled” path with occasional muddy areas was not a hindrance to the walk.
Iglesía La AsunciónWe picked up the Camino dirt path as we left Villatuerta … Ermita del San Michel on the left (closed this morning, as usual).A pilgrim underpass to circumvent the sometimes busy local road.A typical look of most of the walk this morning… some uphill and some downhill but nothing to complain about. Still no rain, but threatening.We walked a short distance with this pilgrim from Japan. Today was his 40th day of walking, having started in Le Puy en Velay in southern France!As we neared Estella, we passed several industrial/chemical processing factories.The wide dirt path morphed into a wide paved path that took us the rest of the way into Estella.The Rio Ega looked angry from last night’s rain.At the edge of Estella we crossed the river and stopped for breakfast.Cafe con leche, tostadas con mantequilla y mermelada.“Estella la Bella” accurately describes the buildings throughout the city. As we walked toward our appartment, we passed this residence … a typical home with family crest and attractive painted exterior walls.We walked by the spectacular 12th century Iglesia de San Miguel.A typical street in Estella on our way to our apartment, located just off the Plaza de los Fueros.An interesting display of fresh fruits and vegetables outside a small grocery store.These fresh peas caught Linda’s eye, so we purchased a handful to shell and cook for dinner in our apartment kitchen.Estella is located on a hillside so many of the streets are narrow and steep.A Thursday morning market was underway in the Plaza de los Fueros. The Iglesia de San Juan Bautista is located on the edge of the plaza.
We decided to do some shopping among the locals to add to our peas and take advantage of our apartment offerings.
One section of the Plaza de los Fueros marketanother section of the market
Our apartment was still not ready for us, so we stopped at Bar Florida, on the plaza, and had some hot chocolate (cola cao).
Nice interior of Bar Florida
Our apartment was still not ready, so we moved to another bar/restaurant on the plaza (Monjardin) and had a nice lunch.
Goat cheese salad mixta for Linda and Assorted fried fish for Jim at Monjardin.
We got a message via “Whats-App” that our apartment was clean and ready for us, so we finished lunch and walked a half-block and checked-in.
living area and kitchen of our apartment Bedroom…… and spacious bathroom.
We took inventory of our shopping and made a short list of additional items we’d need for our evening meal and for tomorrow’s walk. So, Jim headed out to a nearby supermarket (Dia) and returned shortly and joined Linda to complete our routine chores.
Our purchases for the evening meal and tomorrow.Our evening meal. Fresh peas, fresh bread, ripe avocado and savory sliced tomato complemented by a very nice Mencia wine.
Tonight’s wine went very well with our vegetables. It’s a Mencia, from the Bierzo region of northwestern Spain. It had notes of plums and dark fruits. It was full bodied and smooth with a touch of acidity… totally enjoyable. We found it in a local supermarket for 4.59€ ( ~$5.00)!
Our Menci wine.
It was a relatively short walk today, but a full one, none the less, considering our creative methods to kill time, while waiting for our room to be ready and then creating a delicious, healthy meal before retiring for the evening.
We walked on a Roman road as we left Cirauqui this morning at 8:15.A few more steps took us across the ruins of a Roman bridge
For the first 2 miles of our walk this morning, Roman road remains were observed and walked on. In some cases, gravel had been added to smooth out the walking surface but still revealing the stone mosaic patterns placed there two thousand years ago to aid the transport of treasures collected in Northern Spain and carried back to Rome in carts and chariots.
Typical terrain and path between Cirauqui and Lorca.on the right is a Roman bridge and a section of roman road ruins paralleling the ” modern” deviation of the Camino.This part of the walk was much more narrow but still revealed the evidence of the Romans,Looking back at a less traveled section of Roman presence.Erosion of modern crushed rock overlay revealing the Roman road Stone patterns underneath.Walking into Lorca after avoiding a steep section of path by taking the more gradual inclining paved parallel option.Linda finding and taking possession of her Lorca bench for the 7th time.
After a brief breakfast and rest in Lorca, we continued on to Villatuerta, our destination for the day.
We left the paved road though Lorca, where we have stayed the previous 6 Caminos, and began walking through the fields… looking very different in May than our previous walks in the summertime.
Vineyards and a Bodega on the left.Villatuerta, Estella and Villamayor del Monjardin in the distance.
We reached Villatuerta too early for checkin, so we stopped for a drink and rest stop to kill some time at a favorite breakfast stop. We then proceeded to our destination, a first time visit. On previous Caminos we have stayed in Lorca, but chose an untried accommodation for Camino2025, as Lorca accommodations were not available.
Walking across the medieval bridge in the center of Villatuerta.
Juan, the manager of CR 643 km, checked us in as soon as he arrived, a few minutes before the usual time. Our transported backpacks had not yet arrived, so we decided to get lunch/dinner first. Juan graciously called and made a reservation at (according to Juan), the “better” one of the only two restaurants in this small town of 1122 persons.
We walked the half-mile to the restaurant (needing more exercise?), had an ok lunch, returned to our room. The skies began clouding up so we did our daily chores, blogged, read and stayed off our feet in the room the remainder of day while the heavens released their forecasted precipitation.
A view of our room in the rustic apartment house of Casa Rural 643 km.
It was cloudy, but not raining as we left Casa Raichu at 8:20 this morning.
The village square was quiet as we passed Iglesia de San Juan Bautista and the huge pelota court ( jai lai)
Iglesia de San Juan Bautista (shrine of San Guillén silver skull)Pelota court adjacent to the iglesia in The Obanos village square.The Arnotegui hermitage (San Guillén)the path from Obanos to Puente la Reina.entering the medieval streets of Puente de Reinacoming up on the 12th century Iglesia de Santiago.interior of Iglesia de Santiago11th century Puente de Reina (Queens Bridge)11th century Puente del Reina (Queen’s Bridge)
After crossing the Queen’s Bridge, the clouds began to make way for the sun and blue sky prompting an adjustment in outerwear,
pathway from Puente de Reina along the Rio Arga (hidden by trees on the left)… approaching the steep climb to Mañeru.Jim, contemplating the climb just aheadLinda beginning the uphill climbdoes sticking out your tongue?at the top … yea!!
Mañeru mural work in progressartist creating the new wall artExcept for the wall mural artist, no one around in the village, bars and albergue closed… only “rest” facilities available was Jim’s bench!Hark, an open door!
Jim spotted an open door on an apparent municipal building directly across the square from his bench. He quickly entered, climbed two flights of stairs ( in the dark) after hearing voices and discovered a bathroom available to complete our rest.
Leaving Mañeru on the path through vineyards and olive orchards on the way to Cirauqui.reemerging vineyards … too early for fruit formationCirauqui (Viper’s nest) in the distanceThe Camino took us on a winding journey through the grain fields, vineyards and orchards and wildflowers.the gradual incline into the medieval city of Cirauquithe Spanish and Basque names of the medieval city on the hillOur residence for this afternoon and tonightour room with a viewanother view of our attractive roomthe view from our roompilgrims dinner in the Maralotx Albergue (representing USA-NC, Germany and Brazil)
