Ascent today = 984 feet
Cumulative distance = 69.8
Today we walked from Puente La Reina to Estella. The trail masters must have heard me yesterday, because there were at least 4 tunnels for pilgrims today. No they did not go through the mountains, but they took us safely under A-12. Ahhh, the ugly truth about "The Way" is that we are never very far from the highway.
I'll show you more truths in a future post.
We left Puente la Reina via the puente medieval (medieval bridge). It's six majestic arches over the Arga River were built to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims.
The weather today was just about perfect -slightly overcast, cool and breezy. We climbed in some beautiful scenery...
And some not so beautiful.
We crossed over several other old bridges:
This old bridge and path here dates back to roman times. We are walking where the Romans once walked.
About mid morning we went through a really neat medieval village of Cirauqui. Built on top of a hill, the roads were narrow and steep, but well maintained.
Lunch was in Lorca, where they had an interesting way to cut pizza.
It was a long day of hiking through vineyards, olive trees, and old churches. The oldest, Ermita de San Miguel dates back to 1062.
We finally arrived in Estella via another medieval bridge.
Our hotel, Hospederia Chapitel is right across the street from an old cathedral. I climbed the steps, but bars prevented me getting near the church doors. I did get a picture of our hotel though.
But before I leave this post, I want to share a very special pilgrim fountain we found today.
Looks like Ronald McDonald is on pilgrimage.
mmmmmm pizza -- was it ham and cheese? Love the world map and can't wait for more "ugly truths"!!
ReplyDeleteugh, please don't come home with ANOTHER ugly statue from your travels! =P
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