Los Arcos to Torres del Rio

A perfect day for walking on the Camino! It was still and sunny, no mud underfoot and a nice wide track. I even took off my jacket for the first time. Let’s hope the rainy spell has come to an end.

As I only had a very short day (less than 10 km) I took my time and the walk was very pleasant: no stress! We passed between long fields of wheat and also some pea crops, which really smelled of peas. I might have picked a few, but there was a ditch in between.

Sansol in the distance.


Wheat crop.

At Sansol I stopped for a coffee. There was a lovely view down to Torres del Rio:

Flowers on the way.

My accommodation in Torres: Casa Rural San Andres, the building above the arch.

Octagonal Church at Torres del Rio.


Same spot 8 May 2013:

At 6.30 pm, someone came to open the Church; it is an unexpectedly small octagon once you are inside. I took the following pics:

People enjoying themselves outside the Hostal:

This is a lovely new Hostal, perfect apart from one thing. There is a DOG in the next room!

Dinner was fun. I sat next to a Scotsman and opposite three Korean girls. This was their dinner, pork knuckle;

Estella to Los Arcos

A sunny morning, so I began the day with a bit of sightseeing. The leading Romanesque church in Estella is the Church of  San Pedro de la Rua, approached by a long flight of steps. Those in the know can take a lift from 100m down the street.

Cloister seen from above. It’s a very challenging site.

Nearby is another interesting building: the Palace of the Kings of  Navarre, a rare example of domestic Romanesque architecture:

I sat down for a while in the main square and a group of school kids arrived with their teacher for some PE. The girls were playing badminton, but they were incredibly bad. They asked me to play (I used to play for my college at uni and haven’t played for 50 years!). They kept missing the shuttle and became discouraged.
They preferred to practice their English on me and couldn’t believe I was doing the Camino on my own at my age and had come from Australia to do it. They were 14.

It’s turned out to be a lovely sunny day. I took the bus (18 kms) to Los Arcos. I remembered the square outside the Church where they serve Sangria: perfecto!

Pension Mavi is just round the corner.

Lorca to Estella

No end to this rain (and a very muddy Camino underfoot). We slip and slide along: walking poles are essential.

Poppies beside the way.

I was glad to reach Villatuerte where a newish Sports Centre had a nice warm cafe/bar: a welcome sight for peregrinos needing a hot drink and a sit down. 

The Church at Villatuerte in the rain.

Thursday is market day in Estella. The central square is packed with stalls selling fresh veggies of all kinds:

Artichokes.

On the way into town I passed the Albergue Curtidores, where I stayed previously; then the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, dating back to the 12th century. I walked along the Calle del Rua and nearly missed my Hostal as there were so many in this part of town. I had to wait till 3.00 pm to check in so I thought about finding a restaurant in the town centre to have lunch.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre.


I had asparagus for lunch, but for my taste it was rather overcooked and underwhelming. I’d passed fields of it growing under black plastic, in rows carefully banked up like potatoes.

When I returned to find Hostal la Rua, a couple from Brisbane with identical backpacks to mine were trying to get in. They were phoning the Senora for an entry code. Quite a coincidence: the first Australians I’ve met on this Camino. This Hostal is absolutely brand new. It’s right on the river, overlooking the water as if in Venice:

View from my window.

It’s quite mesmerising to watch the river flowing by at speed.

Puente to Lorca

Raining again this morning and the Hostal was not serving breakfast. I had to go along the street to find some; I was in luck as it included a big glass of freshly squeezed OJ.

I knew I had 14 kms to walk, which is just about my limit these days. I’m fact, this was a normal day’s walk for medieval pilgrims and there was always a monastery to look after them every night (so I read).

Along the track, the first stop, Cirauqui, appeared in the distance: a typically picturesque small Spanish town. We met a Guarda Civil 4WD coming back, presumably checking that the Camino was passable with all the rain. On one side was a broad bean crop as far as the eye could see and on the other rows of vines just starting to shoot after the winter.

Roman bridge on the far side of Cirauqui.

Between Cirauqui and Lorca, someone had set up one of the typical “donativo” stalls, offering a variety of snacks, fruits and drinks in return for a donation. This one was operated by Ivan from Pamplona. I sat there for a while in spite of the wet conditions and ate some nuts and a cake:

It was after 2.00 pm when I finally arrived in Lorca. I must have been the last person to make it from Puente. The bar had run out of food, even though there were tempting signs for lentil soup and tortilla. The only thing on offer was a mixed salad, not really what I fancied! I had a shandy and the last of Ivan’s nuts.

Never mind: in my emergency rations was a packet of miso soup which I concocted in my small private room across the road:

Dinner time.

Pamplona to Puente la Reina

Today is a beautiful day to be walking the Camino. It’s also not bad on the bus! I’ve done the stiff climb up to the Alto de Perdon and the even worse descent to Uterga in the past (twice) so I’m taking it easy this time. Thirty minutes on La Estellesa bus and I’m sitting in the sun in Puente la Reina drinking a shandy.

This is the famous much-photographed bridge.

Church of the Cruxificion


This is the first church on the right as you enter the town. There is an extremely long and narrow main street , at least a kilometre:

I am staying half way along at Hostal Bidean. It was all closed up when I arrived, but a woman living opposite told me to go round the side and enter through the kitchen. I deposited my backpack and went to explore the rest of the little town.

Church of Santiago



It’s asparagus season. Here they grow the fat white kind:

6.30 pm and it’s started to rain; not looking good for tomorrow!

Pamplona Rest Day

It’s really important to have a rest day on the Camino! Today, in Pamplona, the sun smiled on pilgrims. There are numerous sights to see, museums and churches to visit - but I’ve done all that. All I wanted was to sit in the Plaza del Castillo soaking up the sun. It was a cold start (2 degrees in Trinidad de Arre) but by lunchtime it had warmed up to 20. What a change. This is more like Spain!

Looking across the square to Cafe Iruna where I eventually had lunch.

Lunch was baked fish, salad and a glass of white wine.

Earlier, I had the idea to pop into a hairdresser to get them to cut my fringe. While I was there, a film crew entered the shop and asked if they could take a few shots to accompany a segment about the new no mask wearing rule. So I’m probably on Spanish TV tonight!

Pamplona City Hall in the sun.

While I was enjoying my lunch at an outside table at Cafe Iruna, a familiar face appeared: another guest from Casa Tau. He is an American priest who mentors new Deacons, now on sabbatical from his home in Boston. He told me that his Bishop had granted him $5000 to pay all his expenses on the Camino. Wow! I’m in the wrong job!

Before I conclude this post, I must just say something about the albergue at T de A. The guy who was managing the place on behalf of the owner, the one who never stopped talking, became more and more of a pest. He would not take the hint to leave us alone and insisted on telling us his life story, where he had visited in the USA, where to shop in Pamplona and all the unusual idioms in the English language that he could think of. At 9.15 pm, I was in bed trying to read, the Canadian woman of my age was trying to get to sleep and the two younger girls (Chinese American and Danish) were in the kitchen next door and couldn’t get rid of him. He was so loud and words were spewing out of his mouth non-stop. Eventually I got up in a fury and told him to be quiet and leave us alone immediately. The others were a bit taken aback, but it did the trick! We didn’t see him this morning.

PS. Later in the day, near the Cathedral, I chanced upon Chris, the American priest. He was sitting on a park bench playing medieval tunes on the recorder: very beautifully all from memory. He told me I had paid for his lunch along with my own. What a joke! I suppose the waiter thought he was my toy boy.

Some photos near the Cathedral:

Larrasoana to Trinidad de Arre

Today was not a long walk, but there was simply too much mud!  It was the very squelchy kind, reminiscent of First World War trenches that my Grandad had to suffer. His feet never dried out, so he ended up with “trench foot”.

Last night it seemed to be raining non stop. Casa Tao was right next to the river and I kept thinking about all those people around the world who woke up to find their house under rapidly rising floodwater. When I set off on the Camino it was apparent that the raging torrent was going safely on its way and there would only be a problem if there was a blockage downstream.

The first thing of note was the village of Akereta. There is a lovely hotel there,  used for filming a scene in the Martin Sheen film The Way. I stayed there once, but it was fully booked last night. The track followed the river, getting ever more soggy, until the first refreshment stop of the day at Zurain. Because of my early start I was there before the crowds and could order a coffee and a banana without having to queue.

Akereta Hotel.

River rushing down.





There is a 12th century church at Zabaldika with an albergue next door which was supposed to be open in mid April, but isn’t. I toiled up the steep hill to see it anyway:

Looking towards Pamplona from Zabaldika.

Orchid.

On arriving at Trinidad de Arre, I found that the albergue did not open till 3.00 pm, so I went into town to look for some lunch. This albergue is one of the oldest on the Camino and used to be the domain of the Marist Brothers. They have now all died off. Instead it is being run privately by a family. They employ a man who literally never ever stops talking. The other news is that the monastery roof has caved in with all the rain, so they can only accommodate six pilgrims in a separate building. This is my good fortune, since it is easier to heat and the radiators and the hot water are all really hot. It’s about 10 degrees at the moment (4.40 pm) and fine. I am in a dorm with 4 women, next to a small kitchen and other facilities. In busy periods it is the Hospitaleros quarters.

Medieval Bridge and Albergue.