Month: April 2019

Our first sunrise hike, leaving Ciruena, was spectacular! As we left the village, the sun first broke with a ray that illuminated the bell tower in the church. As we walked and the sun cleared the horizon, it produced vivid green and gold hues that flooded the fields on both sides of our path as we walked 3.5 miles to Santo Domingo de la Calzada. Santo Domingo de la Calzada was the first of four towns we would see today, and perhaps the most interesting and beautiful. By Camino standards, with a population of 6,500, a nice size village, with every imaginable service. Included in those services was an ATM – a necessity on the Camino since the EURO is typically the exclusive form of payment. No EURO – NO BED! Four miles later we climbed a long steep incline to the town of Granon. Not much to see, except the Iglesia San Juan Bautista, a 15th century church. From there we passed through four more small towns, Redecillla de Camino, Castildegado, Viloria de Rioja, and Villamayor del Rio on the way to our final destination of Belorado. Counting our short walk around Belorado, we walked a total of 20 miles today! Everyone seems to be in good shape and even better spirits. Buen Camino!

Greetings from Ciruena, Espana! Long day today as we are trying to get back on track to be in Leon by May 11, when our daughter Alecia will join us. We left Ventosa before 8:00am and fairly quickly walked six miles to the city of Najera, where we had breakfast overlooking a rapidly running river. We were able to take almost one hour to eat and visit with some pilgrims we know from England. Our next leg was just shy of four miles, and brought us to the small town of Azofra, were we ate lunch and again visited with other pilgrims that we have met over the past 11 days. Our final leg was six miles and a continuous – and sometimes steep – climb through beautiful vineyards with snow- capped mountains to the south. The heat did become a factor, and there was little relief from trees, which were few and far between. We finally arrived in Ciruena, which was unlike any town we had seen thus far. Entering from the east, we saw numerous real estate developments -mostly empty. They all appeared to be 10 years old and clear!y part of a real estate boom gone bad. There was also the first golf club on our route – very new building as well. Steve and I remarked that we hoped that BBVA has not been involved in the financing! Our albugue was on the west side of town, clearly much older. Very nice private rooms and a wonderful pilgrims dinner, tonight. PS Our Spanish is getting a little better, as many of the alburgues, particularly in small towns, are run by families with little understanding of English.

Left Logrono at 8:00 AM and again headed west. An easy hike through the western end of the city – almost totally through beautiful parks. Had lunch in Navarete (8 miles away) and toured still another incredible cathedral – Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion. The pictures don’t begin to begin to do it justice! Between Navarrete and Ventosa, about 4.2 miles, the trail followed a long straight road, all uphill. It seemed longer than the morning stretch simply because of the monotony of walking a straight concrete road for several miles. Still in Rioja Wine country, and we have clearly noticed that the vineyards as we progress are becoming more and more in bloom. Still a long way from grapes, Arrived at a private alburgue, San Saturnino, in Vintosa about 2:00pm. We are in a top floor room, with five beds – all for our group. We all showered and washed our clothes immediately – a Camino rirual. Had the bonus perk of a large group of clothes lines in the garden behind our rooms. Our clothes dried quickly, as we drank wine and talked with fellow pilgrims from all over the world. Camino life Is very SIMPLE , but incredibly fulfilling!

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It is becoming clear, after 9 days that this trek across northern Spain is beginning to take some degree of physical toll on us. Whether it is sore feet and blisters, occasional signs of shin splints, tightening of an old IT band injury, or recurrence of knee problems, pushing ourselves up and down steep rocky paths day after day definitely has consequences Today, we left Torres del Rios, climbed steep hills for 7.5 miles to the beautiful town of Viana. We stopped and took a break at a restaurant right across from the incredible 13th century cathedral- Iglesia de Santa Maria. Marched in to our Day 9 destination of Logrono, in the absolute heart of Rioja Wine Country! Gorgeous hillsides of vineyards -just beginning to bud – lined our entire path today. We have all fallen absolutely in love with Logrono! Didn’t hurt that when we bought a hamburger for lunch today – the WINE WAS FREE! Really a fun city.

Left our rural house in Villamayor de Monjardín at 8:00 a.m., after making our delicious breakfast in our well equipped kitchen. From a topography standpoint, this was the easiest day so far. We began with a 7.5 mike stretch to Los Arcos, with (once again) breathtaking views!

Highlight of this town was the Iglesia de Santa Maria de Los Arcos, a 12th century Romanesque structure, with Gothic and Barouque architecture added over the years. After a leisurely lunch the five pilgrims headed west to Sansol and Torres de Rios, some 5 miles away. We enjoyed drinking wine and talking to dozen of other pilgrims from France, Africa, and England. We ended the night with a wonderful pilgrims meal outside the Casa Mariela albergue.