Jimandi

Walked today: 7.3 miles

Walked Camino 2019: 95.0 miles

By first light we were on our way to Logroño. The temperature was a delightfully cool 61F.

We passed through a community garden area, then on a paved road through vineyards before joining a dirt path that continued to the outskirts of Logroño, just before sunrise.

We crossed a main highway via an overpass/footbridge then walked through a small forrested area.

After about 4 miles we passed the sign showing we were leaving Navarre and entered the region of Ríoja.

… then back onto a paved walkway up a gradual incline through an industrial section. then steeper, then back down again.

As we walked the final mile to Logroño, we chatted with a nice lady from Denmark who was on her 6th Camino. She lives on a small island with only 150 inhabitants. She appeared remarkably fit, especially so when she revealed she was 85 years old! We’ve hop-scotched with she and her companion the past several days and will probably encounter them again.

The final few yards were through a park along the Ebro Río then across the Puente la Piedra into Logroño.

The Puente la Piedra was originally built by Santo Domingo de la Calzada, in the 11th century then rebuilt by his disciple, San Juan de Ortega.

Logroño is the capital of the region of Riója, and has one of the highest per capita income of all Spain regions due to its wine industry. It has produced wines for over 2000 years, mostly reds from the Tempranilla grape.

The Pilgrim’s office is located next to the bridge, but didn’t open until 9 a.m., which wasn’t very useful for us at 8:20, so we continued across the bridge and found our own directions to the “estacíon bus” on a city map as we exited the bridge.

We skipped the old city section and headed uphill toward the bus station and arrived some 7.3 miles into our walk. After a little bit of struggling with the language to figure out what bus we needed to get back to Viana and where to buy the ticket, we succeeded in purchasing two bus tickets(1.30€) to Viana, departing at 10:00 a.m. There was a bar in the bus station where we bought breakfast and waited to board the correct bus. At 10:00 we boarded our bus and made the brief 15 minute trip to Viana.

We’ve had several meals at Mesón Kiko, a restaurant/bar just two doors down from Pencion San Pedro on Calle Medio San Pedro, #9. Unlike many of the other places we have visited in Viana, they are very customer oriented, especially for non-locals.

The owner is the chef and his 22 year old son runs the restaurant and doesn’t hesitate to try and communicate in French, English or Italian (tonight), making it easier for ordering, and flexible in offering what the customer wants. Their menu is varied, inexpensive, tasty and its available nearly all day long, unusual for Spain. If you are visiting Viana on the Camino or otherwise, we would highly recommend it.

For lunch today we had pintxos at two different restaurants. You get a pintxo and a glass of wine typically for about 2-3€. On Fridays and special days, in Viana, you get it for 1.5€!

Linda shared two pintxos with Jim and then opted for a nice plate of melon, pineapple and jamon (ham) and decided not to indulge in Jim’s second set of pintxos, baby eel on salmon and pickled olives/hot peppers.

We napped much of the afternoon and had supper at Mesón Kiko, bidding our farewells to the staff.

Walked today: 4.9 miles

Walked Camino 2019: 87.8 miles

We’ll start off with an update on the dangling-in-limbo-photo of the Croatian couple, which was thwarted from its intended recipients and abruptly returned to us from cyberspace. While waiting to get into our room yesterday morning, Jim re-looked at the rejected email address which appeared to be missing the @xxxxx.com. So, he took a wild guess that the couple might use Google like the rest of the planet and maybe even gmail, and attached @gmail.com to the original e-mail address and pressed send. Unlike the first e-mail, we didn’t get a rude message about invalid e-mail. Consequently, we figured it must be someone’s e-mail address, but was it our fellow pilgrims from Croatia? At 9:30 last night, we received a reply from the couple, thanking us for sending the photo. Incredible, huh?

We left Los Arcos at daybreak this morning to beat the 90F+ forecast for today. It was a short walk, so Linda decided to carry her full pack.

On the outskirts of the village we passed a cemetery with a strange inscription over the gateway.

Translated it reads, “

“I once was what you are, you will be what I am”

We scurried by the cemetery, quickly, and entered the fields again on a nice, flat, straight, dirt, farm road which lasted for about 3 miles.

we left the dirt road for a paved one just outside Sansol

We stopped for a break at a modern albergue/bar in Sansol then walked on to Torres del Río.

walk up the hill into

Torres del Río

We stopped by the unusual 12th century Church of the Holy Sepulchre, with its octagonal floor and eight sided architecture including an octagonal lantern on top of the dome… the only structure of its kind. Its sculptors were Mudejar (Muslims) working in the service of a Christian master builder. Its construction and initial use are assumed to be the Templar.

Our walk for today concluded, we then worked out plan B.

We originally planned to stay in Torres del Río tonight, but everything was booked. Sansol also was booked. So we called ahead and found a place in Viana. We arranged for a taxi to take us to Viana (35€!) and decided to skip the section from Torres to Viana, which is a pretty difficult walk, having walked it twice already. We’ll booked San Pedro(50€) for two nights to use as a base for our walk to Logroño tomorrow, then return via bus from Logroño (~2€) then get a cheaper taxi to Logroño the following day to continue on. We’ve booked places to stay for the following 4 days to prevent another plan B adjustment.

Our original choice to stay tonight:

Soon after we arrived, we walked along main street in Viana at lunchtime. Iglesia de Santa María de Asuncíon to the left, is known for being the burial place of Cesare Borgia (1475-1507), a Navarran military hero. It also is supposed to have a beautiful Santiago retablo, but until tiday, we had never seen it because the church is closed except for mass.

But tonight at 7:30, after pintxos for supper,

we noticed the church doors were open so finally we got to see inside.

At 8:00 we called it a day and headed back to our room.

Walked today: 7.8 miles

Walked Camino 2019: 82.9 miles

What a nice walk we had today. First if all, we beat the heat by starting early. Second, it was mostly flat on smooth farm roads. Third, it was just long enough to push us just to the point of building stamina without approaching exhaustion.

And while some may suggest it was monotonous, we thought it was beautiful and interesting.

About a mile after leaving Monjardin we stopped to capture a sunrise. A minute later a young couple was attempting to do the same with a selfie and we offered to take their picture. Their camera wasn’t getting a good image so Jim took a photo of them with his camera which turned out much better and attempted to airdrop it to their phone. They also took a photo if us. When the airdrop didn’t work, we attempted to email it to then, also without success.

The couple was from Croatia and was walking 25 miles a day to get to Santiago in 20 days, so they hurried off.

Here is their photo.

And our photos, showing the first sunrise shot of Linda and the dramatic change in the colors in just a couple of minutes.

The scenery today was mostly recently harvested fields of hay, with an occasional vineyard, olive orchard and white asparagus fields.

Hugh stacks of hay seen frequently

We reached Los Arcos at 9:30 and chilled in the plaza de Iglesia de Santa María de Asuncíon until out room was ready at noon. We chatted with a man from Hungary who was taking a break before continuing another 12 miles before stopping for the day.

Just before noon, the church doors were unlocked so we took a peak.

In addition to seeing this beautifully ornate 12th century church, the organist was rehearsing his music for the upcoming service which we recorded.

Our room was ready at a few minutes after noon and we were pleasantly surprised.

Compared to last night’s albergue at 40€, this place was a real bargain at 55€!

We had a late lunch at the nearby Restaurant Mavi, recommended by the Hostal Suetxe owner, and enjoyed a delicious salmon filet dinner with fresh vegetables, wine and dessert for 12€ each.

We spent the rest if the afternoon enjoying our spacious room, resting and doing chores.

Walked today: 5.9 miles

Walked Camino 2019: 75.1 miles

We walked less than 6 miles today to avoid a 14 mile walk. There are no places to stop between “Monjardin” and Los Arcos.

The first mile and a half out of Estella was on steep concrete surfaces through surburban residential areas. Crossing the highway out of town we continued upward passed the Irache Monastery, which dates back to the year 958… and the Irache Winery with its famous wine fountain, yes, 🍷 fountain.

The plaque on the wall next to the fountain reads:

“Pilgrim, if you wish to arrive at Santiago full of strength and vitality, have a drink of this great wine and make a toast to happiness.”

The rest of our morning walk was uneventful… not overly strenuous, varied scenery, a rest stop halfway up Monjardin in the village of Azqueta, and a final steep climb to our destination for the day.

We entered the village of Villamayor de Monjardin at 9:15, earlier than normal due to our early start (6:10) and the shorter distance to walk.

Villamayor de Monjardin (pop 139), derives from the Latin for “Mount García” for Sancho Garcés, first King of Pamplona (905-925AD), whose remains are interred in the Castle atop Monjardin.

King Sancho I and Iglesia de San Andrés in background

The castle of Monjardín is the very origin of the kingdom of Navarre. The takeover of the castle of Monjardín is the first remarkable conquest that Navarre achieved over the Muslims in the area of the Reconquest. As a result, Navarre rulers were no longer treated as lords or barons, subordinate to the Mohammedan invaders rather than true kings. Sancho Garcés I (905 – 925) was the first to break this relationship of submission and the first to be recognized by the other Christian kings as one of their peers.

We’ve been very fortunate during our first 9 days to have access to our room very early in the day. But our luck ran out today. It’s the earliest we’ve arrived at our destination and the latest access so far… 2:00 p.m.!!

So, we had 4 1/2 hours to wait before getting showers, starting our chores, etc. And tomorrow we’ll need an early start for a much longer walk before it gets too hot.

Linda found a comfortable bench in the shade in the tiny village square, where we took in all the action of pilgrim after pilgrim passing through and continuing onward. Removing our walking footwear, at least, gave our feet a start on cooling down and recovery time.

We visited the small 12th century Iglesia de San Andrés on the square and finagled the camera through a metal grated encasement to capture an image of the silver processional crucifix from the year 1200, which is displayed proudly on the sanctuary wall. We also had our credentials stamped by the attending priest.

Next we walked down the hillside for a half mile to visit a local bodega but were thwarted by the manager who said we would need to make a reservation for a wine tasting/tour and that it open from 2-4 only! We did negotiate a visit to their nice restrooms before climbing back up to the village square.

It being noon, by now, we continued further up the hillside to the only bar in town and ordered chicken nuggets for Jim’s birthday lunch a la Camino.

We stretched lunch until 1:30, then headed back down to village square and were delightfully surprised to find an open sign on our Albergue’s window.

We checked in and began our routines at about 1:45.

Our private room consists of a bunk bed, a bathroom with sink, toilet and shower, a cabinet to hang clothes and minimal floor space. We were each supplied with a fitted sheet, top sheet, and pillowcase and bath towel. No toiletries are included except a roll of toilet paper. Mattress is foam rubber and pillow is kingsize. While we have more personal space than a dormitory type arrangement with 4,6 or greater beds per room, we keep tripping on our stuff and each other. We have AC but no individual control… fixed at 25C(77F) day, 22.5C(72F) night. The room and bathroom have a floor to ceiling window that can be opened for circulation. (40€).

We have stayed in albergues with the bunk bed arrangement before, but only do it if other options are not available. Normally we stay in a double room with ensuite bathroom, like a typical hotel room. Sharing a bathroom/shower with others is not a problem, only a little inconvenient. Double rooms with bath ( habitacion doble con baño) can be found in pencions, casa rurals, hostals and even most albergues at a cost slightly more than two single bunk beds in a dorm arrangement. Consequently, whenever available, we opt for the double room with bath. For example, we described above our accommodations for tonight which is 40€. Last night in Estella we stayed at ground zero for the biggest festival of the year, watched festivities from our room balcony, amenities like extra towels, soap, shampoo, drinking glasses, chairs to sit in, plenty of room at 45€.

A pilgrims dinner was available in the village bar at 7:00 tonight. We were hungry at 5:30 and the bar kitchen was closed until 7:00. So we went to a small grocery store, assisted by the consumer oriented owner, bought a half baguette, some mayo and mustard packets, a pre-packed ham slices (5) and a bottle of local Chardonnay (from the closed bodega we couldn’t access today). The store owner sliced the bread to our sizes, cut open the blister pack of ham, opened the bottle of wine and loaned us two wine glasses.

We had our ” birthday” dinner at a table outside the store in the cool breeze, wine was excellent (8€) and we shared the last third of the bottle with the surprised but grateful store owner. Jim says it was the best birthday dinner he’s had in a year!

Another great day doing the Camino “our way”.

Walked today: 6.1 miles

Walked Camino 2019: 69.2 miles

Our walk began at 6:45 and continued for nearly 3 miles until we stopped for breakfast in Villatuerta at 8:00.

Leaving Villatuerta we crossed over a medieval bridge

and walked another 3.2 miles, arriving at Estella (pop. 14,250) just before 9:30.

Estella has become one of our favorite Camino towns. Founded in the early 11th century by King Sancho Ramírez, the town flourished with a vibrant pilgrim business, agriculture, textile and leather industries. It became wealthy and important religious and civic institutions were built. It’s was nicknamed “Estella the beautiful”.

It has survived the Black Plague of the 14th century which killed half its population and the religious persecution of the 15th century Inquisition.

In 2017 we spent two nights here in Hostal Cristina, located in the center of the town on San Juan Bautista Plaza, only by chance, since all rooms in the destination for our next day’s walk were full. Also by coincidence, the town was in the final day of its annual festival… which further enriched the charm it had for us already.

Once again, we are staying in Hostal Cristina (45€) during festival week with a room and balcony overlooking much of the festivities.

Shortly after attending to our daily chores we heard music outside our room and from our balcony observed this:

Jim was quickly overcome by the emotion of the festivities and decided to join in:

It was time for lunch so we ventured out onto the plaza, found a strategic location and sat down for lunch and the entertainment that followed:

All around us locals, multi-generation families were all dressed in versions of white garments, red bandannas and sashes. People were spontaneously bursting out in song, bands were meandering among the crowds, everyone was happy and festive.

Do you recognize the last member of the band waving to Linda?