LogroñoWe had a day off in Logroño. Although we feel pretty good, it was nice to have a repair day. We slept in until 8:00 am, which felt fantastic! We had breakfast in the hotel and then took a walk to a lavanderia to do laundry. We went through our bags and identified items that we were not using and then found a Mailbox Etc. International to send them home. It was a very productive day! At the end of the blog, we will post what equipment and personal items we brought and what we identified we did not need. As I’ve mentioned, the Spanish eat dinner late. Restaurants did not start serving dinner last night until 9:00 pm. That is a bit problematic when you need to get up around 5:00 am to start the Camino. I inquired with the hotel about restaurants that serve food all day. There was one not too far away. Here it is, 6:30 pm on a Friday night, and we have already had dinner and are sitting in our room drinking wine. Tomorrow’s leg of the Camino is over 18 miles, so we bought some things for breakfast so we can get an early start. We head to Najera tomorrow. Here is where we did laundry with a pic of Greg waiting patiently with a beer.
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Los Arcos to Logroño
Today promised to be a longer day as we journeyed to Logroño. The distance was 17.4 miles, which is the longest leg of the Camino we have done thus far. Prior to heading out, we had breakfast which is included with our accommodations. Typically you get a pastry like a croissant, orange juice, and coffee. Some places have Tortilla Española, which is essentially an egg and potato frittata - and one of my favorite tapas. We left Los Arcos at 7 am. There was a drizzle, so we put on our ponchos and headed out.
Today’s leg was also the flattest we have experienced. The elevation gain was only 938 feet. The hike took five hours and 33 minutes. We are grateful that neither of us has any blisters and our aches and pains have been minimal. We are also thankful that we have a real hotel in Logroño. Most of the rooms we have been staying in have been small and modest by U.S. standards. This room is quite spacious with all the amenities one would hope for. This is nice since we have a day of rest tomorrow. We are looking forward to exploring Logroño. After hiking 15 or more miles each day, I have been enjoying seeing in the distance the village we will be staying in that night. Weary from hiking, I imagine being welcomed into the city with this song. It plays in my head each time we enter the final city for the day.
And now back to our regularly scheduled program…
Estella to Los Arcos
Remember how I said in yesterday’s post that it was going to rain today? This is what we woke up to:
I had my alarm wake me up at 5:00 am, but I heard pouring rain and saw flashes of light followed by thunder. I decided to change my alarm to wake us up at 6:00 am. Conditions weren’t any better.
Jim and I contemplated a course of action. If we walked in the rain there were some risks: 1) We could be hit by lightening; 2) Walking in wet shoes could cause blisters which would impact upcoming legs of the Camino; and 3) We could slip and injure ourselves. As we had a hotel reservation in Los Arcos, we had to get there somehow. One option was to take an alternate mode of transportation, like Uber. This bummed Jim out as it felt like cheating, although, I countered that we were mitigating risks that could impact the trip. Ubers aren’t available in this part of Spain, so we decided we would take a bus. It would be 1.85 EUR each and take 18 minutes. I repeat: it would take 18 minutes. We walked to the bus station and bought our tickets. Jim decided he would go to the Orange store, to discuss getting a SIM card for Spain. While he was gone, the rain stopped and the skies revealed breaks in the clouds with patches of blue sky. I looked at the local weather radar, and it was pretty clear in the surrounding area. I called Jim and said, “If you want to hike, return now!” And at 10:25 AM, off we went - hoping that because we were on a pilgrimage, the skies would remain clear. Jim uses his phone and an app called Gia to help guide us along the Camino. About 45 minutes into the hike, he said, “We just need to go over this ridge and connect with the trail.” Greg looked around and pointed at the sign in front of him that said the Camino was right here - we only need to veer to the right. As you might expect from a married couple, there was a bit of a debate. He let me have my way and off we went. One of the famous stops along the Camino is the Monastery Irache which has a wine fountain. It’s kind of like a water fountain, but with wine. Greg’s selected path was bypassing the wine fountain. Jim was right once again! Damn. We backtracked a bit and made it to the monastery. Because we got a late start, there were no pilgrims around to ask where the wine fountain was. Jim went into a little chapel: No. Greg went down a hill toward a parking lot: No. There was a small museum on the grounds and we went in to ask for help. As an example of my skills communicating in the Spanish language, I asked, “Donde esta el vino fountain.” Basically, the answer was, “Around the back.” It was cool to see it, but the wine was meh. What do you expect? It’s a free wine that comes out of a spigot. We made it to Los Arcos with just a 10 minute episode of light rain. Our prayers had been answered and we were spared thunderstorms. This leg of the Camino was 14.8 miles (because of Greg’s decision to decide a route for us, it added about a mile), had a 1,729 foot elevation gain, and took us four hours and 40 minutes. Remember - the bus would have taken 18 minutes. Ugh. Tomorrow we head toward Logrono. Total Camino Miles to Date: 86.6 Puente la Reina to Estella
We got a late start leaving Puente la Reina. The hotel did not start serving breakfast until 7:30 am, so we did not hit the Camino until 8:00 am. That’s two hours later than the day before, and the latest we have left in the morning. This leg was 14 miles, had a 1,085 foot elevation gain, and the total time was four hours and 37 minutes. We got into our destination, Estella, close to 1:00 pm. That is a late arrival for us, and with no clouds, the sun was really beating down on us. Lesson learned: If it will be a warm day, skip breakfast at the hotel and take a break to eat breakfast along the Camino.
Today we are staying at the Albergue Alda Estella Hostel in a private room. Breakfast starts at 7:30 am, so we will probably skip it (given conditions which I will explain below). They start serving dinner tonight at 8:00 pm, which is typical in Spain. Given we would like to get an early start tomorrow, an earlier dinner would be more convenient. But when in Spain… Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow. It looks like it will start overnight, and thunderstorms are likely. We have our rooms booked for every leg of the Camino, so we need to be in Los Arcos tomorrow evening. It’s 13 miles away. At this stage of the game we are just going for it and hoping for the best. But we are developing a backup plan in case it gets nasty. Total Camino Mileage To Date: 71.8 Pamplona to Puente la Reina
Today’s hike was a little easier than anticipated. This leg was 15.8 miles with an elevation gain of 1,761 feet. We had been warned there is less shade on this section of the Camino. With the weather promising to be 81 degrees, we left our hotel in Pamplona at 6:00 am, hoping to get off the trail before it got too warm. But we lucked out. The skies were partly cloudy, and at 2:00 pm, it’s currently only 73 degrees. We completed the hike in 5 hours, 19 min.
Since we left so early, breakfast was not available at the hotel, which also means no coffee! Nothing was open as we walked through Pamplona. When we got to a suburb called Cizur Menor, we noticed a sign for a panaderia. It was just a short jog off the Camino and we got some coffee and croissants. Back on the trail, the sun was starting to rise and we could see that the landscape was much drier than what we experienced prior to Pamplona. There were rolling hills with dried grass and occasional stands of shrubs and trees. This part of Spain looks like California! 
The climb started gently and then got a little more steep prior to reaching Alto de Perdon. At the top of the ridge are steel cutouts depicting pilgrims walking the Camino. If you saw the Martin Sheen movie, The Way, you may recognize them. I call this photo the money shot.
The trail coming down the other side of the ridge was very rocky. I’ve already described how the Spanish are not big fans of switchbacks, so the trail was pretty steep. With the loose rocks, it was a bit treacherous, but we made it down without incident.
Around 10:30 am we came across another town called Uterga, which had a restaurant where we stopped and had breakfast. We had fried eggs, ham, and potatoes. We also had a beer, so that is what I call “the breakfast of champions.” There were three Spanish guys doing the Camino on bikes. They had passed us on the trail, and they were already having breakfast when we arrived. They were also doing shots, which takes the breakfast of champions to a whole new level. 
We are now sitting in a cafe in Puente la Reina. It is on a small, cobblestoned street with occasional locals and pilgrims passing by. There are baskets of fresh vegetables for sale: tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers which are all locally grown. The sky has grown cloudy and I heard someone say we could be getting some rain. We are prepared for rain, but would prefer partly cloudy skies with moderate temperatures. A light breeze would be nice. And maybe a sangria. And a foot massage.
Tomorrow we head to Estella. Total Camino Mileage To Date: 57.8 PamplonaToday was a day off from the Camino. We hung out in Pamplona and did some laundry. Pamplona is a beautiful city, and I am posting pictures including Jim having some Sangria at lunch. This restaurant is one of many on the Plaza del Castillo, which is the main plaza in the city. Yesterday, all of the restaurants were packed. It could be because it’s Sunday, but it was a little quieter today. It could also be because it’s fairly early in the day and time for Siesta. We walked a bit around town and came a cross a large art piece made of multiple bronze statues representing the running of the bulls. It’s quite striking. Speaking of bulls, there is also a picture of Greg at the Plaza de Toros de Pamplona. It’s their bull fighting ring and also the end point for the running of the bulls. Tomorrow promises to be a longer and more challenging day as we head to Puente la Reina. Zubiri to Pamplona
No bull - we are in Pamplona! It was a pretty easy hike today with a modest incline. I say that, but my Apple Watch indicates we climbed 1,200 feet. The walk was 12.8 miles and it took four hours and 21 minutes to complete. We left the hotel in Zubiri around 7:30 am, and it was quite cool on the trail. Even now, sitting in our hotel room in Pamplona at 3:00 pm, the windows are open and it’s a beautiful 73 degrees with a nice breeze.
The beginning of the trail was wooded and followed a fairly large stream for a good part of the way. There were damp leaves covering the path and with the coolness in the air, it reminded us that fall is not too far away. One of our observations is that the Spanish are not big fans of switchbacks. They’re common on U.S. trails so they are not too steep. Steep trails are more of an issue for us going downhill, as it is easy to slip or injure your knees. Well switchbacks, apparently, are for wussies, and the Spanish won’t stand for it. They have some steep trails! The last part of the hike was walking through a city called Burlada. It was a striking contrast to the wooded trail. For the most part we just walked a straight line through the city. At one point, we crossed an intersection and continued forward. A guy on a bike stared at us, whistled, and pointed to my right. I was like, “What?” He waived his arm some more and continued to whistle. Duh. We missed a turn, and he was just being helpful. We quickly got back on track and made it to Pamplona in time for lunch. It might be because it’s Saturday, but Pamplona is hopping! There are tons of people around, the bars and restaurants are full, and the energy is high. We have a day off tomorrow, so have the opportunity to really explore the city. Roncesvalles to Zubiri
Today’s hike was a breeze compared to yesterday’s. We walked a total of 13.55 miles in four hours and 47 minutes. There was a relatively gentle incline and decline. Now it’s time to recline! Mas cervesas, por favor!
The trail was quite beautiful. It weaved in and out of a dense forest, so it was mostly shady, and a lovely pine fragrance welcomed us forward. The downside of today’s hike was that parts of the trail were very rocky, and our feet our tired and a little sore. But so far, still no blisters (I say as I knock on wood). It is interesting that when hiking this kind of distance and hearing the repetitive crunch of gravel under your feet, you really notice your surroundings. There were a couple of people hiking in front of us, and Jim and observed and mentioned how when the woman walked, she kicked her feet and out and then landed on them. “Oh yeah,” I said. “Kinda like Woody in Toy Story.” We find entertainment where we can when on the Camino. About three quarters of the way through the hike, we came upon a flat area called Alto de Orro. There was a food truck parked in a gravel area with Astro turf laid in front of it. There were a few tables with some pilgrims enjoying a break of fruit juice or coffee. We had a beer (duh) and took a 20 minute break before descending down to Zuburi - our destination for the day. Our hotel in Zuburi is beautiful. The room is on the smaller side, but it’s as if the building was an old winery. It has stone walls and heavy planked floors. It smells like wine. Tomorrow we head to Pamplona. Saint Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles
Good Lord. We made it over the Pyrenees. We left St. Jean at 6:22 am and used our headlamps as the sun did not rise until 7:23 am. The hike was 15.4 miles in length, had a 4,839 foot elevation gain, and then a healthy drop of around 1,000 to get to Roncesvalles, our destination for today. With breaks it took us six hours and 45 minutes. Our Camino book says the hike takes seven to nine hours, so we feel good about it. Thankfully we have no blisters or big aches and pains, but we’ll see how we feel tomorrow!
There were a lot of pilgrims on the trail. They were mostly from France, Spain, and a few from the UK. We didn’t meet anyone else from the U.S. On the way down from the summit, we came across two Spanish police officers/rangers. They simply inquired where we were headed and where we came from. They made sure we knew what to do in case of an emergency, but then continued on their way. They didn’t ask for passports or Covid vaccination status. They were quite nice and just wanted to be helpful. There’s not a lot to see in Roncesvalles, but our needs are pretty simple today: food, beer/wine, and sleep. My rudimentary Spanish barely has us squeaking by, but I got to use a world I learned on Rosetta Stone: bocadillos (sandwich). Yes, that was worth the $100 cost of that language app. Tomorrow we head to Zubiri. Saint Jean Pied de PortWe had a relatively quiet day today. We went to the Pilgrim’s office, checked in, and got our Pilgrim’s Credential stamped. We also shared with the office staff that we have had issues with our AntiCovid QR code. She stated that we needed a PCR test. A little surprised as that was counter to what we heard before, but desperate to get the issue resolved, we went to get the test. She gave us some vague directions and off we went. If my sinus cavity is the world, the swab made it to the arctic circle. Holy cow that was uncomfortable, and deeper than yesterday’s test. We won’t get the results for at least 24 hours. Update: We got the results and the QR code (for seven days). Wanting to let the Pilgrim’s office know the specific location so they can let other folks know, we went back. The same person was not in the office, but we chatted with someone else. She knew exactly where the office was and told us we did not need a PCR test because we are vaccinated. Merde. And now a little background on the Camino: As you probably know, St. James was one of Jesus’s disciples. He was beheaded, and his remains are buried at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. The Camino is the ancient trail that pilgrims have traveled for centuries to arrive at the Cathedral to visit St. James’ tomb. In another post I’ll talk about our own personal reasons for hiking the Camino, but that is the historical reason the Camino exists. Our packs are mostly ready. We both have scallop shells hanging from our packs. This is a symbol of direction along the Camino. They are on walls, signposts, and on churches. Pilgrims commonly wear the symbol to build camaraderie along the trail. It’s a symbol of being on the right track. We leave tomorrow at 6 am.  |
AuthorsGreg and James live in Pleasanton in Northern California and are on a pilgrimage on the Camino De Santiago in Spain. Their adventures are captured in this blog. Archives
October 2021
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