Wildflowers of the Camino

Today was a full day of hiking and sightseeing and we need to leave early tomorrow.  So, there's just not enough time to finish today's blog. So please enjoy a pre-prepared entry 

The flowers along the way are beautiful.

Estella to Los Arcos

Total distance today = 13.7 miles

Total ascent today = 1,148 feet

Cumulative distance = 83.5 miles

After a so so breakfast in our hotel we left Estella via a couple of old town gates and emerged onto the bustling city streets outside the old walls.  

A short walk brought us to a different kind of fountain. A wine fountain?!  Did we die and go to heaven? No, the Bodegas Irache provides pilgrims with free wine tasting.  Since they don't provide any sipping vessels, most of us made good use of our shells. To deter drunkenness, the fountain only provides a spurt of wine each time the faucet is turned. It really frustrated a pair of young German lads who tried to fill their water bottle. 

Today's hike didn't go through many villages.  The morning walk had us on a ridge above the valley walking by fields of wheat. We picked up another traveler, Janet from Santa Barbara, on our way. She's here until the second week of July and will do as much of the Camino as she can. Towards lunchtime we approached the village of Villamayor de Monjardin and their  vineyards and olive tree groves. 

The  Castillo de San Estaban forms the backdrop to the village high atop the mountain. We were walking towards it all morning.  

We also passed another water fountain - the 13thC Fuentes de Los Moros (fountain of the Moors). 

We had lunch above the village square looking at the church.  Lunch pickings can be few around here. Dave had bacon, eggs and fries. I had an omelet on bread.  Janet and I treated ourselves to ice cream afterwards. 

The afternoon grew a bit hot, and our destination seemed elusive. Several landmarks failed to appear in the anticipated locations. I began to fear that we had inadvertently strayed off the Camino. Then in the distance we saw an oasis -and he served cerveza - quite odd to see a food trailer out in the middle of nowhere. 

Since we still had a ways to go we opted for a soft drink.  A few minutes rest in the shade and we were once again plodding along the path.  It seemed like forever, but we finally arrived at Los Arcos. It's not much of a town, pretty run down, but the hotel is nice enough and the shower was hot!  

Dave took a nap while I posted yesterday's notes and started on today's. Before we arrived in Spain, I wondered what we would do after the days hiking. REST. it feels like pure luxury to put our feet up on the bed and be still for a couple of hours. After a shower, and clothes washing, we catch up on emails and news from home, read the paper and nap until dinner. 

  We both are having issues with our feet.  The blister on my big toe popped up again. Not too bad, but I want to get it under control now. David's boots are feeling too snug, even though they are a half size larger than he usually wears. It's especially painful when going downhill  He ordered a new pair from Zappos, to be delivered to our daughter, Jen. She will overnight them to a future hotel. Hope the logistics work out.

Pilgrims' Tunnel

Distance today= 14.3 miles

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. 

Why do the cars get a tunnel?

Total distance today = 12.5 miles

Total ascent today = 1,181 ft

Cumulative distance traveled on the Camino = 55.5 miles

Another mountaintop climb today.  But it was a beautiful day, after the morning fog burned off.  We left Pamplona following the silver markers in the sidewalk

and were soon in the Cizur Menor suburb. A quick stop in a small grocery and we had the makings for our lunch - you guessed it - ham and cheese.

Soon we were walking up the hillside towards a huge windmill farm. As you can see the path went through farm fields almost all the way up. 

And where there are windmills there is wind. It was very breezy all day.  About halfway up we had a great view looking back to Pamplona over the fields of wheat and wildflowers. 

Looking the other way, we see that the cars get to go through a tunnel. "NO FAIR", we cry "where is the pilgrim's tunnel."

At the top of the mountain is a sculpture to honor the pilgrims. It's quite striking with the sky as a backdrop. 

But we couldn't help getting into the picture. 

At the top of Alto de Perdon, we are at the halfway mark for the day, and it's mostly downhill...steeply downhill for the first 2 km. 

It soon levels out and we have nice walking through fields and three villages. In the town of Obana, the trail markers were bronze shells laid in the walkway. 

It's amazing all the different ways the path is marked. It's up to the local confraternities to maintain and mark the way in their area. So some are quite fine while others are just painted yellow arrows on a wall or sign post. 

Puente La Reina, "Where all roads become one" is our destination for tonight. This is the place where the routes from all over Europe unite to a single path to Santiago de Compestela. 

Lee-Ann has her first blister tonight but is drowning it in a local cabernet (Dave's edit).  Tomorrow is another early day, headed west...