Obanos to Estella, May 25

The walk from Obanos to Estella as our first along the Camino Frances, and what a difference.  Because the Camino Frances is so heavily traveled, there is lots of pilgrim infrastructure: places to stop for food or drink, shops selling walking sticks and the like, and multiple albergues.  And, of course, we are now seeing lots of other pilgrims.

Just a few km from Obanos we passed through Puente de la Reina.  The town has a lovely bridge over the Arga river, and grew up around pilgrim traffic  almost a millenium ago.  There were other villages every 5 km or so along this stage: handy for a cool drink stop on what was a hot day.

walking through Cirauqui

Past the village of Cirauqui, we walked for a while through farmland on one of the original Roman roads. Although there is still a lot of grain farming here, we are seeing increasing numbers of vineyards as we work our way into wine country.

We arrived in the small city of Estella late in the afternoon.  This is a very pretty spot, built around a river and climbing the hills on either side.  We'd learned from another pilgrim along the way that the town was celebrating a local festival, the Virgen del Puy, this day.  After locating a hotel and washing up, we headed out into the party.  One plaza had a rock band playing; another a block away had what appeared to be a Mexican group.  A third was running children's games.

 

 

In the early evening we sat outside a bar to eat.  We had lively conversation with the people sitting next to us, and we all squeezed together under the awning when a brief but strong thunderstorm passed over.  At about 10, a wheeled artificial bull loaded with fireworks was brought out, and children ran before it as the fireworks went off and it was pulled around and around the plaza.

Between enjoying the town's fiesta, and getting very little sleep that night due to the street noise, we decided to spend another day in town.  More pics to follow.

Estella, day two: the fiesta continues, May 26

After listening to noise from the street below our room all night (partiers heading home til about 4, the street sweeper around 5), we had a hard time dragging ourselves out of bed in the morning.  After a light breakfast we went in search of quieter lodging, and found a great hotel a little bit away from the centro.  Even though it wasn't quite noon, there was a room ready so we could drop our packs before heading back into town.

The fiesta continued on several fronts.  All the youth in town were out, mostly wearing  white with red bandanas and belts.  A band led them through the town, and the whole group cruised from plaza to bar, to another plaza to another bar, drinking as they went.

 

During the mid day, we walked around to see some of the many historic buildings and churches in town.  Before the late 15th century, there was a sizable Jewish community in the city, and one of the churches was built on the site formerly occupied by a synagogue.

Late in the afternoon there was a procession through town followed by performance of regional music and dance.  The dancers ranged from very young to adult, and gave a long performance in the main plaza.

The musical accompaniment was on drums and small instruments we didn't recognize.  They appeared to have reeds like an oboe, attached to a body more like an overgrown recorder.

 

 

We enjoyed the fiesta and food as long as we could hold out, then dragged our tired bodies back to the hotel to sleep.

Estella to Torres del Rio, May 27

After a good night's sleep, we were ready to head out of town on our next stage.  We walked through mostly agricultural areas, with great vistas of rocky bluffs to our north.   The terrain is rolling, but the path tends to be very steep when climbing or descending.  Once again, there were small villages where we could stop for a snack or cool drink at decent intervals.

We walked for a while in the morning with a Dutch gentleman in his mid 60s, who had started on the camino from his home in the Netherlands at the beginning of March; he had covered about 2000 km already.  A retired lawyer, he lost his wife of 45 years last September, and was worried that he'd end up just sitting around.  So, at her funeral, he announced to all that he would be walking the camino; that way he wouldn't be able to back out.  In the intervening months, while training for the walk, he found a new love, and was looking forward to returning to his village and his new life.

We are still trying to adjust to the number of pilgrims on this camino, after the relative solitude of our first weeks.  At almost any point along the way, we can see other pilgrims ahead of us and behind.  It's not as crowded as this picture would suggest: we were walking that day along with a large group of Irish high school kids.  

During the afternoon we walked for a while with a couple from Australia and their four year old daughter (who alternated between walking and riding in a stroller).  Last year they sold their house and set off to experience other parts of the world.  They had been living in Barcelona for about six months before starting the walk, and were not sure where they'd go after they finished the camino.

As we've been walking through Navarra and toward La Rioja, we are seeing increasing numbers of vineyards and wineries.   Meals usually include a bottle of wine, and we've been enjoying them all.

Almost all of our fellow pilgrims stopped for the day in the town of Los Arcos (a usual end of stage spot).  We decided to keep going to the next town to find a somewhat quieter experience and less crowded albergue.  This made for a long day of 29 km, but the small village of Torres del Rio was very pleasant.  We had a room to ourselves in the albergue (pic below is from our room's window).  We enjoyed a great dinner with two other pilgrims: a man from Mallorca, and a young woman from Quebec who is cycling the route in reverse (from Santiago back to France, where she will explore her family's roots).

The local bar where we had a beer before dinner had an autographed photo of Indurain on the wall.  He's from not far away.

After dinner we met our first other American pilgrim: a young man from New Jersey who just graduated college and had some time before starting his job in NY.  We asked him what prompted him to take this journey.  He said he was Googling the Chevy El Camino (a car of some years back), and came across the Camino de Santiago by chance.  Life is a funny and random thing.

Torres del Rio to Logrono, May 28

We set out from Torres del Rio under clear skies and joined the stream of pilgrims working westward.  We'd heard that some set off very early, and this certainly seems to be the case.  When I woke at 6:45, I looked out the window and saw a group heading up the hill into Torres; they'd already covered about 8 km that morning.

Although we are accustomed to seeing grape vines growing along supporting wires, some of the older vineyards here have individual plants, like small shrubs.

Around 11 am we stopped in the town of Viana for a snack and cool drink.  The church there (Santa Maria), from the 13th century, is truly amazing and beautifully decorated with gilded sculpture.

There was also a small statue of Saint James (below).

 

street in Viana

Today was a short day (only about 21 km), so we crossed the Ebro River and rolled into the large city of Logrono by mid-afternoon.  Given the number of pilgrims we knew would be stopping here, and not relishing the thought of sharing a room with 40 or 50 others, we looked for alternate lodging.  We found a great pension for only a little more than two beds in the albergue.  We scored a corner room with beautiful glass-enclosed balconies (the one in the pic below with the open window).

We went out for some tapas before dinner, and met Javier (below) in the bar we stopped at.  He gave us some pointers about which ones to try, we had a couple of beers together, and he invited himself to come visit us in the US.  We're laughing because he thought I reminded him of Chuck Norris; I'll bet that made you smile too.

 

Detour off the Camino, to Laguardia, May 29

We've been off the e-highway for a bit now, so lots of catching up to do.  I've got a few posts for tonight, and more will follow.

After Logrono, we decided to take a detour off the camino to celebrate our anniversary.  We were near the town of Laguardia, a lovely medieval walled city in the La Rioja wine growing region we'd visited with Mom and Dad in 2009.  A 15 km bus ride from Logrono, and there we were once again.

The town was every bit as charming as we remembered.  It's a major tourist destination, with wine shops and fancy bars and restaurants all around, but the tourist presence is not overpowering.

We walked straight to the place we'd stayed last time: a genuine castle built into the city wall (now functioning as a small hotel).  That's it in the pic below.  The proprietor is like a man out of time.  The castle has been in his family for five centuries, and he truly makes one feel like a guest in his home.  We talked about our previous visit, and showed him a couple of pictures of Mom and Dad, and he remembered the four of us.

We climbed up the stairs to the turret to take in the view.

In the morning, Javier (our host) insisted on laying out a beautiful breakfast for us.  And before we left, he gave us a very nice bottle of wine as a gift (with apologies for adding so much weight to Dan's pack).

Around noon we caught a bus back to Logrono.  Because we'd read that the next couple of stages on the camino are not nice ones (mostly following paths right alongside a major highway), we decided to skip them by taking another short bus ride to Belorado.  By mid-afternoon we were off the bus there and back walking.

Back on the Camino: Belorado to Villambistia, May 30

Because we were starting out from Belorado in mid-afternoon, we were only able to walk about 7 km to the small village of Villambistia.  There is a small albergue there, and not much else.  The albergue also functions as the town's bar and social center, and serves a communal meal to pilgrims in the evening.

 

This sign is taped on a door in the albergue.  It speaks volumes to the pilgrim experience.

Villambistia marked 500 km for us on the camino.

The next day, after passing through the village of Villafranca Montes to Oca, our path headed up a fairly steep grade for a couple of km.  I walked alongside a local man, 81 years old, who walks up the hill most days for exercise and to chat with pilgrims.  He was full of stories, including one from a couple of years ago about a pilgrim who dropped with a heart attack on the same hill.  He insisted we stop at the spring near the top of the hill for a drink,  pointed out with pride that it was the best water on the whole camino.

The scallop shell is one of the symbols of Saint James (Santiago).  Many pilgrims wear them on their clothing or packs, and they are commonly used as route markers.  This one was hanging from a fence at the side of the path.

 

Villambistia to Atapuerca, then to Burgos, May 31 & June 1

This section of the camino is mostly rolling terrain through wheat fields.

This mural on a wall captures another facet of the pilgrim experience.

From Villambistia we walked 23 hot km to the village of Atapuerca.  Like many of the small villages along this section of the Camino Frances, this one seems to depend heavily on pilgrim traffic for economic support.  There are a couple of albergues, plus a few small restaurants.

We are seeing more and more storks in this section of the camino.

From Atapuerca to the large city of Burgos is only 20 km, but it was quite hot and much was along roadways.  Fortunately we'd learned from other pilgrims about a new, alternate, route into Burgos following the river.  Much more pleasant than several km of walking along roads through the industrial outskirts of town.

One of the main attractions in Burgos is the cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site.  It's magnificent; we could have spent a whole day trying to take it all in.  Pictures can't capture the majesty of the artwork.

Here are few small details.

 

This is from a large (almost life size) sculpture of Saint James.  Many of his miracles were performed during the reconquest of the Iberian peninsula from Moorish domination (about 800 years after his death).  One of his nicknames is Matamoros, which translates as Moor-killer.

 

Burgos to Hontanas, then to Itero de la Vega, June 2 & 3

From Burgos we'd planned to walk to Hornillos del Camino.  This is where the camino heads up into the meseta region of Spain, flat-topped hills, barren or with wheat fields.  It is open terrain, with few trees for shade and few water stops.

 

We were surprised when we arrived in Hornillos a little before 3 to discover that the albergue and all other accommodations (a couple of guest houses) were filled.  We could have slept on the floor in the village school, but decided instead to head on to the next village.  We called ahead to reserve a room, grabbed a quick snack, and covered the next 10 km of rolling terrain to Hontanas in a little over two hours.

It was with great relief that we dropped off a hill into the village: 30 km is a long day for us.  Even though there were still plenty of other pilgrims, the scene was much quieter than in Hornillos.  We scored a great private room in a small hostal.  After showers, we were walking around before dinner and ran into some folks we'd met a few days back in Villambistia: an Englishman and two Brazilians.  We all had dinner together, and then we shared the bottle of wine I'd been carrying since Laguardia.  It was a truly outstanding 2008 Crianza, of Tempranillo grapes (thanks, Javier).

The next morning we headed out under cloudy skies.  We encountered a first: two pilgrims traveling with donkeys to carry their gear,

By late morning we'd passed the town of Castrojeriz, and shortly after were climbing the 12 percent grade to the next meseta.

The descent on the other side was 18 percent (but only for a little while).  The rest of the day was rolling terrain to the small village of Itero de la Vega.