Viana

Well-heeled Pilgrims can stay in a palace if they want to. See:

http://palaciodepujadas.com

I woke up early today and left Los Arcos at 7.00 am in the dark. There were 2 people ahead of me with torches and one behind with a headlight, so I was OK. The track was wide and straight and the sky began to lighten after half an hour, with sunrise at 8.00 am.

It was quite overcast all morning: 14 degrees on leaving Los Arcos and 21 degrees entering Viana at 1.00 pm. Without my backpack I could achieve a reasonable pace, with fewer stops and fewer people asking if I was OK.

At Sansol a new Albergue was serving breakfast and doing a roaring trade. Then it was Torres del Rio, famous for its hexagonal church. I got someone to take my photo outside; I was there 4 years ago. Some people were phoning up the person with the key, but I didn't want to get chilled waiting around.  

Finally, Viana came in sight. Four American women were coming in the wrong direction. They told me they had met on the Camino ten years ago and were walking backwards from Burgos to Pamplona to celebrate the anniversary.

I stopped for a beer and a piece of tortilla on the outskirts of town, but I was keen to reach the Palace, my destination! It is a lovely hotel, done up in traditional style throughout like a mini Parador. Every day on the Camino should end like this!

On the road to Sansol

Torres del Rio

Outside the church of San Sepulchro 

Pilgrims love to construct piles of stones 

Alto del Virgen del Poyo

Looking out to Logrono

Los Arcos

The weather in Estella was very cold when I left the Albergue: only 9 degrees. By lunchtime it had warmed up to 22. For me this was a "rest day", but I still managed to do more than 10,000 steps just walking around. 

The bus to Los Arcos took less than half an hour to do the 18 kms, which would have taken me all day. When I arrived at Pension Mavi it was closed up, but someone in the nearby bar was kind enough to call up the owner to let me in.

After a siesta and shower, I went along to the main square for a beer and a visit to the Church of Santa Maria. This is an overly decorated Baroque Church, not to my taste at all, but I was there at exactly the right time of day to see the minor miracle! At 6.45 pm, a beam of sunlight comes through a west window and shines on the Virgin Mary above the altar.

I had a Pilgrims Dinner at Restaurant Mavi: mixed salad, chicken w chips and dessert for €12.  Early to bed in preparation for long walk to Viana tomorrow.

Church of Santa Maria in Los Arcos

Santa Maria in the evening sun

More

Estella cont.

I decided to send my backpack on to Los Arcos with Jacotrans, which enabled me to spend the morning sightseeing in Estella. First, I went to the bus station to book the 2.30 pm bus to Los Arcos. Unfortunately this means I miss the Irache wine fountain, where free wine trickles out of a tap to help pilgrims on their way!

I was keen to visit the Palacio of the  kings of Navarre, a rare example of 12th century domestic architecture.   Inside was a bit disappointing, since it has been converted into an art gallery. Most of what there is to see is evident from the outside.

Across the road is the Church of San Pedro de la Rua, an unusual 11th century fortified church, with a striking bell tower. The Cloister is one of the best examples of Romanesque sculpture in Navarre dating from 1170. It has a set of twisted columns, the same as in the cloister of Santo Domingo de Silos which I will be visiting later I hope.

The lady in Tourist Information advised me to go up to the old Jewish area, next to the Castle which was blown up in 1572 and some of the debris fell down and damaged part of the cloister of San Pedro. The former synagogue was converted to a church which became Sants Maria Jus del Castillo. It now contains a Romanesque interpretation centre with a model of the town before the destruction of the castle.

Estella

Portal of San Sepulchro church in Estella

Albergue Maralotx proved to be perfect in every way, except there was no Breakfast! However the Pilgrims Dinner last night was superb. We had spinach soup, salad, spaghetti and meatballs and a pot of set custard: the chef was Italian! Ten of us dined well.

We had to leave by 8.00 am, but this enabled me to see a lovely sunrise. We finally hit ion a breakfast spot after 1.25 hours, near an ancient bridge where the water was said to be poisonous to horses in the Middle Ages. A Japanese guy was cooling off his feet in the water.

At first there was a lot of cloud cover, ideal for walking, but the sun came out and it was another hot day: about 22 degrees. I got to Villatuerte for lunch (beer and a piece of tortilla), then walked very slowly for the last 4 kms into Estella.

I had booked a private room on the newly opened Albergue Curtidores, a converted tannery on the riverside. Everything was pristine, and the hospitalera helped me book a  room at Pension Mave in Los Arcos for tomorrow. Apparently, Estella was a big centre for the production of leather, and there had been several tanneries on the area.

I walked into town in search of a restaurant, as the Albergue didn't serve dinner, past the Church of Santa Sepulchro, with its magnificent carved portal. I ended up at a restaurant in the main square which did a Pilgrims Menu for € 16 (Cafe Astarriaga). I had mixed salad, grilled salmon w potatoes and Santiago Tart.

Looking back to a beautiful sunrise over Cirauqui at 8.00 am

Stretch of Roman Road between Cirauqui and Lorca

Long shadows in the early morning

View of the weir from Albergue Curtidores

Tapas

Church of Santa Sepulchro 

Cirauqui

I managed to sleep till 7.30 am, thanks to some new earplugs (French) which completely cut out the noise of the church bells chiming the hour and the sound of other pilgrims departing early.

The climb out of Puente up to Maneru was pretty steep but it's going to be the last one for a while.  Looking back, it seemed that we were as high up as the line of wind turbines on the Alto.

Maneru, where I stopped for coffee and an orange, was pretty quiet on a Monday morning. There was a small baby with pierced ears sporting the Basque emblem like mine!

Approaching Cirauqui, the vineyards and olive groves started to appear. The olives were small and green, and nowhere near ready.  A cyclist who had sped past me stopped to help himself to grapes. He gave me a bunch. They were black, small but juicy and sweet.

In Cirauqui, a typical hill town with a maze of streets winding up to the Church, my first priority was to find the Albergue. I had booked a private room. It was upstairs and had a stunning view over the surrounding countryside. I went out to look for some lunch.  The bar was closed so I had to settle for some bread and cheese from the supermercado!

Beautiful bridge leaving Puente la Reina

Looking back to the windmills of Alta del Perdon

Approaching Maneru

Maneru has lots of coats of arms

Cirauqui in the distance

Picking grapes

Climbing up into Cirauqui 

Church door in Cirauqui 

Church door back in Puente

View from my window in Cirauqui: worth the climb 

Bulls

At 5.30, I was sitting outside my hotel having a drink when they suddenly started clearing away the tables and chairs. Neighbours were boarding up their doorways. I was told to get inside quick as it was "Muy peligroso" on the street. A mini Running of the Bulls was about to take place. As my room was at the back, I wouldn't see anything, but a woman next door invited me into her house to watch from an upstairs balcony. Down below the only people on the street were young lads pretending to be bullfighters; when bulls ran past they quickly ran behind temporary barricades. The bulls were running in dribs and drabs, three at a time and I realised I was a prisoner till it was all over!

After an hour I enlisted the help of some guys downstairs who dared to go out, knock on the door of my hotel which was firmly closed, and then signal to me to hurry inside before the next wave of bulls arrived!

I had dinner with a merry group of pilgrims from Ireland.  See photo!

Puente

As I stepped out from the Albergue in Muruzabal, I asked an Irishman to take my photo. At 8.00am, it promised to be another perfect day for walking on the Camino. Temperatures of 27 degrees were forecast for the afternoon. With only about 5 kms to Puente, I could afford to take my time in the cool of the morning.

I arrived before 10.00 am and stopped for a coffee at the bar of Hotel Jakue. There is an Albergue in the basement, where I stayed last time. Today, I am booked into Casa Rural Bidean, right in the centre of town on Calle Mayor.

Today, Sunday, there is a fiesta going on, with market stalls all the way along the street. In the main square, they are raising money for something in Ecuador. By donation, you can help yourself to a glass of wine and all sorts of tapas. A lot of these feature very mild red chillies preserved in olive oil. Delicious! On the way into town, I passed through all the vegetable gardens (huertas) where they were growing in abundance but still green.

Fortunately my little room in the hotel is on the 3rd floor and at the back, so I won't here any noise no matter how long the celebrations go on for.

Leaving the Albergue 

Coats of arms in Muruzabel

Wild fennel

Rose hips

Elderberries 

Street market in Puente

Cheese stall

Bread stall

Wine and tapas by donation

Statue of Santiago in the church

https://structurae.net/structures/puente-de-los-peregrinos/photos

(Lovely pics of the famous bridge)