Category: Camino Our Way-2017

• Distance today:                      6.7 mi
• Distance Camino 2017:     105.6mi

When we left our penćion at 7:15 a.m., Linda smelled baking bread. We followed our noses in the opposite direction of the Camino until we came upon a bakery that was just opening for business, made an appropriate purchase, reversed direction and ate a light breakfast as we walked out of Viana.

After our rollercoaster walk yesterday, the rather flat, unremarkable section of Camino between Viana and Logroño was a welcome change. Most of the morning we walked on pavement or dirt paths with fist size embedded stones creating a nuisance rather than a major hazard.

We walked through a number of underpasses while weaving through the roads accessing Logroño, the capital of the wine making region of Rioja.

Graffiti is common on all underpasses on the Camino. They contain the usual religious, political, humor and maybe even gang territorial markings. But today, because we walked through so many, the artwork and writings made more of an impression.

After a moderately steep, paved descent, we continued through a nice park along the Rio Ebro before crossing the 19th century Puente de Piedra into Logroño (pop. 150,000).

The original bridge was built by Santo Domingo de la Calzada in the 11th century and rebuilt by his disciple, San Juan de Ortega.

On our way to finding our room for tonight, we stopped at a nice bar and had cafe con leche and a variation of our usual tostadas, with Jim having a small baguette with chorizo and egg.

We used the bar as a base camp as Jim ventured off, packless, to find our Pencion. Not an easy task, after 15-20 minutes and aid from two pedestrians, a shop worker and two policemen our obscure destination, Hostal La Numantina (60€) was located.

Our double room is spacious, new, clean and has a balcony with clothesline, wifi is strong and has the best shower we’ve experienced thus far… and therefore not too pricey considering its location in city center.

Chores completed, we had ensalada mixtas at one of hundreds of nearby bars for lunch, followed by a visit to Iglesia de Santiago en Real, a visit to a large fresh market, a walk and sitting in the shade at Espolón Square and nap (Jim) and reading (Linda) for the rest of the afternoon.

For supper, we had to wait until 8:00, since all eating establishments close at 4:00 and reopen at 8:00.  There are at least several 100 pintxos bars and restaurants within a three block radius of our hotel. All were standing room only at 8:00 and it’s a weekday evening!  I guess everyone gets hungry waiting for dinnertime.  We finally gave up and ordered at a bar where we stood up while splitting four pintxos with a glass of wine.

That wasn’t working so we moved on until finding another restaurant with a half empty table, sat down and sampled two more pintxos and two desserts, before walking back to our room at 9:30 to get some sleep before our hike early tomorrow morning.

• Distance today:                   6.6 mi
• Distance Camino 2017:     97.9mi

A few minutes after leaving Torres del Rio we began a rollercoaster ride. A 3 mile rollercoaster ride going up and down and up and down with very short intervals of flatness to recover. The good news was the mostly absent sun. Every time we reached a peak, the ever rising sun got stronger, but we then headed down again to a bottom then back up again, all the time shaded by the hills around us.

After about 3 miles we carefully maneuvered our way down a steep hill with over a dozen, steep switchbacks into an apparent valley and took advantage of the reprieve to munch a walking breakfast of a tortilla (frittata) in a baguette. We know, it doesn’t sound all that appetizing, but with growling stomachs, it was delicious and gave us a needed burst of energy for what came next.

Coincident with swallowing our last bites, the valley stroll changed into the steepest climb of the morning as we inched back up to the top into the sun and adjacent to a two lane highway that has shadowed the Camino since Roncesvalles.

The shade gone now, we put on our hats and walked the next mile or so either beside or on the asphalt pavement, which fortunately had scant auto/motorcycle traffic on this Sunday (Domingo) morning.

Just before we arrived at Viana, the Camino veered away from the highway and we followed a dirt path until entering the town limits at 9:45 am.

Viana is dominated by the Iglesia Santa María de la Asunción, a very large Gothic style church built between 1250-1312. It’s massive door was locked, unfortunately typical of many churches on the Camino ( go figure), so we took some outside photos of the impressive structure and moved on.

The Camino continued along Rua de Santa María through this delightful walled town with attractive cafes which specialize in pintxos. Our brunch, lunch and dinner consisted of a variety of pintxos sampled at cafes, mere steps from Pencion San Pedro, our Viana residence for the next 20 hours.

We had a brief panic when Linda’s backpack wasn’t included with those delivered to our hotel. The hotel manager got on the phone and tracked it down and arranged to have it expedited to our hotel, averting a potential issue. The pack was delivered a couple of hours after we checked in and Jim left Linda to catch up on her routine activities, while he ventured out into the town and began sampling pintxos and tinto (red Navarre wine). After verifying they we were indeed in a pintxos paradise, Jim returned to the room and with Linda sought out one of true delicacies of the Camino Frances.

An extraordinary Camino moment occurred while we were savoring our pintxos. First, a 70+ (young) something Spanish serenader began singing with a opera quality voice, personally serenading various people seated at tables lining the Rua Santa María outside the cafes. After several marvelous performances, a lady at one of the tables began singing with him, she with an equally professional voice. They appeared to be singling out people who they knew and making a personal tribute to them in the serenade.

This was all impromptu and just folks enjoying themselves and each other.  Several other male and females joined in and we sensed we were in the midst of an opera. We did not know any of the pieces they were singing, but we couldn’t help but become engaged as teary eyes appeared in several singers and listeners alike. It was a very moving experience and helped us appreciate the lifestyle and values of this community and others that have based their existence on supporting pilgrims on the Camino Frances for over 1000 years.

With smiles on our faces and our pintxo appetites sated (for today), we relaxed outside the Cafe la Rua in the warm, dry afternoon shade for just a while longer before retiring to our room for the day.

• Distance today:                      4.8 mi
• Distance Camino 2017:        91.3mi

We decided to take advantage of an open-at-6:30-bar just a few steps from our room and have a light breakfast before we walked, changing our routine. By the time we got back to our room, packed up and left, it was 7:30.

It’s 49 degrees but the sun is up and should warm the delightfully refreshing morning air pretty quickly.

Our walk today was pretty easy, just under 5 miles. We walked mostly through wheat fields and several vineyards and small olive orchards. The first village we passed was Sansol. It offered a picturesque setting, perched on a hill overlooking the surrounding farms. We stopped for a glass of orange juice after about 3 miles.

The next village, less than a mile away, was Torres del Rio, our destination for today. We’re giving ourselves an easy day today because tomorrow’s walk will be twice as long. We’re still babying our bodies a bit, while we tone our leg muscles, let our packs morph into our bodies and develop a good walking rhythm that’s knee and feet friendly.

We were able to check into our room at albergue Pata del Oca (50€) shortly after we arrived at around 10:30. Our room was apparently the only one not occupied last night but the albergue is “completo”, fully booked tonight.

The albergue’s exterior and interior is medieval in decor and construction but very clean and well maintained whether you are in a dorm/bunk bed type room (10€) or a double room with bathroom like ours. There is little to do or see in this small village (pop. 156), but we’ll be very comfortable just chillin’ in the albergue courtyard, checking out the Iglesia de Santo Sepulcro, or resting in our “habitacion “.

We made a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (1€) and found it to be interesting and mysterious.

The church was built in the 12th century and the Crucifix at the altar is from the 13th century. The master builder who designed it and the sculptors who adorned it were Mudejar working in the service of Christian employers. It’s construction and use are assumed, but not confirmed, to be Templar, because it does not have a typical floor. It is the only church that has a done over a single octagonal floor.

We skipped the pilgrim dinner and had a light snack then retired for the evening.  Today we passed the 100 mile mark… only 400 to go!

 

• Distance today: 8.5 mi
• Distance Camino 2017: 86.5mi

To begin our day, we needed to take a taxi from Estella to Villamayor de Monjardin to rejoin the Camino where we finished yesterday. However, at 7:15 a.m. there were no taxi’s to be found in the city of Estella!

We started out by walking to the bus station (estacion), where no one was to be found. We finally found a bus ticket clerk, who essentially said she didn’t do taxi’s, so it was apparent she wouldn’t help us. So we began walking, picking up the Camino through town, hoping to find some help. When we were on the edge of town, Linda stopped a lady and asked how we could get a taxi. The lady mentioned the bus station but Jim said there was nothing there. She then took out her cellphone and did searches and made at least 8 phone calls with no answers!! Finally she asked if we would walk with her and we said sure and Jim thanked her for being so nice.

We ended up walking back into town to a police station where the lady approached an officer at the desk and apparently complained about there being no taxi service for these poor pilgrims (Jim tried to look as helpless as possible to give credibility to our rescuer.) When the officer seemed clueless she confronted him again and apparently was given a number to call. We followed her out to the street as she made another call, hung up and then explained to us (very clearly, I’m sure, if we only knew more Spanish) that someone would be here to take us wherever we wanted. We thanked her and she wished us “buen Camino” as she walked away.

In less than 2 minutes a white van with some type of municipal logo on it pulled up to us on the curb, a driver got out, helped us put our packs into the vehicle and after we were in the van, asked if the charge of 13€ to Villamayor was ok. Jim enthusiastically said “si”, since our taxi drive from Villamayor to Estella yesterday was 25€!

Ten minutes later at 7:50 a.m., we were back on the Camino walking out of Villamayor de Monjardin.

The weather was kind to us again today. Even though we started an hour later with the sun already rising overhead, the heat was not a factor with a slight breeze in 60’s.

The Camino today was all dirt path, mostly flat with only a few gradual elevation changes.

We walked almost entirely along grain fields and vineyards. We’re a bit early for grape harvests and the blackberries are still bitter, so free morning fruit snacks are yet to come.

There were no bars or services between Villamayor and Los Arcos, so we ate a sandwich (purchased last night) for breakfast, as we walked. By 10:45 a.m., our legs and feet were letting us know that it was about time to stop for the day, as we entered the small town of Los Arcos (pop.1244) after walking 8 miles without a break.

 

Los Arcos occupies an ideal location by the Río Odrón and at the crossroads of two ancient trade routes, and was once a Roman city (Curnonium). The current name comes from a battle in 914 when three Sanchos (the kings of Navarra, Castilla and Aragon) fought over the town. The Navarran army won with the help of their excellent archers, therefore the coat of arms of the city contains bows (arcos) and arrows. In medieval times, the city was a place for toll collection and changing money. Los Arcos flourished as a market town, becoming quite wealthy with all this pilgrim commerce.

We found a table in the town Plaza next to the Iglesia de Santa María de la Asunción and had a belated cafe con leche and tostadas for breakfast while we waited for the albergue to open after 12:30.

Jim located our targeted albergue and it looked a bit too shabby, especially for 46€ with a shared showers and 🚽 and it was also located just outside the town and away from the Plaza, where all the “action” and services were. So he walked around the Plaza looking for an alternative and found Pencion Mavi only 20 steps from the Plaza, with a private bathroom for 50€… so we moved in at 12:10.

(“Reserving” a place in most accommodations along the Camino is not guaranteed by either party. Only a name is given and if the room is not claimed by noon or in some cases by 2 pm, it’s first come first served. So it is not necessary to cancel a “reservation” if plans change, consequently, no one will be deprived of a room if we don’t show)

We washed all our dirty clothes today and hopefully they will be dry in the morning, in spite of the lower temperature, less wind and limited direct sunshine on our room balcony.

At a little passed 5 pm and just prior to an evening service, we visited St Mary’s Church.  We gasped as we entered one of the largest and most beautiful churches on the Camino Frances. The wooden floors and multitude of wooden carvings created a warm and inviting ambiance in the midst of such extraordinary artwork.

Photos cannot begin to transmit what we saw, but here is an attempt at sharing it with you.

Clothing clean and dry, tummies full from tasty pilgrim’s dinner in the Plaza in the warm afternoon sun,

we retired to our room to conclude another wonderful day on the Camino Frances.

 

• Distance today:                  6.5 mi
• Distance Camino 2017:  78.0 mi

Today was perfect for walking: cool, with manageable ups and downs and varied walking surfaces and in the 6-7 mile range, but with one hitch: when we got to our destination, there was “no room in the inn”.

Yesterday, we called the 2 places with double rooms in Villamayor de Monjardin to reserve a place to stay tonight and found that everything was booked. We ruled out walking further, as the next village was an additional 7 miles… more than we were willing to take on. So yesterday we reserved our room in Estella for a second night.

Here is a pictorial account of our walk today:

After walking to Villamayor this morning and enjoying breakfast at the Bar Ilarria, we called a taxi to take us back to Estella.

One method for calling a taxi if you don’t speak Spanish is fairly easy. At most bars or any public place you can find a posting of local taxi numbers. If not you can ask a bartender for a taxi. This morning I told the bar tender I wanted a taxi to Estella. He pointed me to the taxi number, which I dialed on my cell phone. When the person on the other end said something, I said, ” Hola, uno momento por favor” and handed my phone to the bartender, who then the told taxi dispatcher what we wanted. The bartender hung up, handed me my phone and using fingers and Spanish indicated the taxi would be here in 5 minutes. 5 minutes later we had our taxi and were on our way back to our hotel in Estella. This morning’s taxi ride was 25€ for about a 10 mile/10 minute drive.

Since we were already installed in our room and had left many of the heavier items in the room (why carry any more than you need, when you get a chance to lighten your pack?), when we returned we got back into some non-routine items.

First, with the manager of the Cristina Hotel’s help, especially her phone and her Spanish, we reserved places to stay for the next three days, to prevent another potential double night stay and taxi fees.

Second, we tried to enjoy more of the Estella festival.

This included a procession and a later dance performance in the nearby square (Plaza de Los Fueros) of Spanish gigantes (giants).

We were also rewarded with more “bull running” in the street overlooked by our room balcony.

All in all, our slight adjustment in where we spent the night was a fortune rather than mis-fortune. The festival was unplanned and a unique experience. We continued our progress by walking 6.5 more miles and had what seemed to be a day off!

 

 

• Distance today: 5.9mi
• Distance Camino 2017: 71.5 mi

The walk this morning, starting at 6:45, was very pleasant… cool, partly cloudy, slight breeze… and it’s mid-August in Spain!!!

 

After 3 miles we stopped for cafe con leche and sweet rolls in Villatuerta (pop. 1122). A group of pilgrims from Italy also stopped for coffee. We chatted with a guy from the group, probably in his early 50’s and discovered that this was his 12th Camino! He said it gave him energy for life and it was a way to spiritually give thanks for his happy life. His wife was walking with him but it wasn’t clear if she had walked with him on all 12. He had also visited the USA in 2010 to run the New York marathon.

 

Continuing on, we walked across another Roman bridge in the town, passed the Iglesia de la Asunción then left the paved streets and rejoined the dirt path of the Camino. A few hundred yards out of town, we passed Ermita de San Miguel, took some photos and moved on.

 

About a mile from Estella, we passed a small farm and a cute pony came over to the fence to greet us so we returned the favor with a photo for all you horse 🐴 lovers.

A short while later we began sharing the Camino with some other pilgrims and some local dog walkers, not unlike our morning walks back in South Carolina.

As we walked into old Estella we stopped at the Iglesia de Santiago Sepulcro for photos, then crossed the bridge known in the Middle Ages as “Berçes Bridge” into the burgh of San Miguel.

 

A Spanish lady asked Jim if he was lost (he was wandering aimlessly, waiting for Linda to catch up) and he assured her in his best Spanish that he was merely waiting for “mi esposa”. She asked where we were from and when Jim said USA, she immediately began speaking good English, explaining that this week was the big annual festival celebration in Estella.

This festiveness was confirmed as we walked further and noticed that most of the people we saw of all ages were in costume consisting of white top, white pants, red bandana and an occasional red sash tied around the waist and hanging down one leg.

We stopped for a quick photo of Iglesia de San Miguel, a fortress-like 12th century church with a spectacular north portal.

On we walked to Pencion Cristina, located on Iglesia San Juan Bautista Square, which just happened to be the center of the festival activities!

Our room wasn’t ready until 11:00 so we killed an hour, pilgrim style by stopping at the nearby sweets shop and bought some sweets and got chocolate to break the chill in the air.

The rest of the day was spent with chores, mixing with the Estellians as they enjoyed the festivities, eating and still finding time for a short nap.

 

We also observed the Estella “running of the bulls” from our room balcony.

Nothing short of an incredible day on the Camino.