The day started early, maybe a bit too early. I headed out of town while it was still dark. There was a group of Spaniards in front of me, so I followed them, thinking that if any one could read the waymarkers in the dark, it would be Spaniards. This was not a logical decision. This was not correct. This was, in fact, wrong. We, the Spaniards, myself, and a few other groups (around 15 in total) had missed the turn off to the Camino, and were about a kilometer in the wrong direction. By the time we got back to the Camino, we had lost a fair bit of time and the later-risers were ahead of us. So the first (and second) lessons of the day were: don’t get up early if you are just going to get lost in the dark; and never trust a Spaniard with directions

Still a long way to go: a waymarker in the dark.

After the sun had risen, the terrain had changed a bit from previous days. The vineyards and olive groves had been replaced by rolling hills and hay fields. The path was longer today, but not particularly hard. There were small towns about every 5km, so it was easy to stop and rest or have a drink. I stopped in Grañon and met Randy and Cyrilla from Colorado. The previous night, my friends from Uterga and Los Arcos, stayed at the church in Grañon, in the choir loft on little mats. ( I heard two days later that there was a bed bud infestation there and the whole church had to be fumigated. people may scoff at my luxury choices for accommodations -yes, Deb, I am talking about you – but I prefer not to take any bedbugs home with me.)

After Grañon I moved on to Redecilla del Camino, where I stopped and had my new favorite drink, Aqurius. It is like a watered down Gatorade. I am a bit addicted right now, but as the temperatures cool, I should be able to kick the habit.

I quickly made it to Villoria de Rioja, where upon entering the town I was greeted with the smell of roasting bell peppers. I came past a little alcove and found a group of Spanish women peeling and cleaning the peppers. Some other pilgrims had joined in to help. I stopped and had some lunch enjoying the quiet little town and its goings on.

Roasting peppers

Busy day

I walked with two young German women for the last stretch from Villamayor del Rio into Belorado. They were continuing on to Tsantos, so we said out good-bye’s, but I am sure I will see them again.

Once in Belorado, I checked into the albergue and did the day’s chores: showering and laundry. After that I rested a bit, and headed over to the town square. I met up with the three Canadian guys again and had a couple drinks. They told me that there was a pilgrim’s mass at 7:00. I went to the supermercado (like a 7-11 in Spanish) and bought a few supplies for the next day. I ran into Randy and Cyrilla again and told them about the mass and invited them to dinner.

Mass was preceded by a rosary. I tried to keep up, but my Spanish is just not that good. Mass was also in Spanish, obviously, and I sort of kept up with what was happening. I did figure out that it was the feast day for San Francisco, and when to say the Our Father. After mass there was a Pilgrim’s blessing in all languages and then we headed out for dinner.

Dinner turned out to be the three Canadian guys, one Australian, Randy and Cyrilla, a woman from South Africa, and myself. It was a fun crowd and the wine was plentiful. It was a good end to a long day.

The dinner crew

The day on the whole was “walk hard, play hard.”

FitBit Stats:

Kilometers walked: 27.39
Steps taken: 37,315
Floors climbed: 99

I woke up at 6 AM this morning to the sound of rain. I decided to delay my departure. I ended up leaving the hotel at 8:00. By that time the rain had subsided. I was treated to the most beautiful sunrise and a rainbow.

The path was mostly farm roads through vineyards this morning. There was one small incline that lead over the ridge to the next valley. The Way led down to Najera. The way into town was not the most scenic. It was industrial and a little downtrodden. Once in Najera, my impression did not improve.

My knee was / is still on the mend, so I took the bus from Najera to Santo Domingo de Calzada. Santo Domingo is a larger town and much nicer. There I met up with Marla and Ruth for lunch. They were heading onto Grannon to sleep in a church. I went back towards my hotel and met up with Kay. We toured the cathedral together. This is the one with the chicken and the rooster in it. (Story on this later)

After that I checked into my hotel. I was pleased to find comforts of home that I had been missing. Conditioner, Q-tips, ahhhh such luxury!

I met up with Margarite in the plaza and had a nice early dinner. Did a little grocery shopping for trail snacks and went to bed early. Tomorrow is going to be a long day…over 25 km.

FitBit Stats:

Kilometers walked: 18.03
Steps taken: 24,577
Floors climbed: 18

Today’s walk was not the prettiest, but it was easy on my knee. The day began with leaving Logroño. There was about an hour of walking through suburbs ( mostly on paved paths through parks.) The Way went by a reservoir which had a little cafe, so I stopped for hot chocolate.

The path continued through vineyards (in the middle of harvest) and the over a ridge. On the other side of the ridge I met Peter from Tuscany, who was walking back to Logroño. He had made it into Naverette late yesterday and could not find a room, so he camped. He was heading back to Logroño to volunteer at an Albergue as a hospitaliero (sp?) for a couple days.

I continued down the ridge and passed some pretty industrial areas. At one point I passed a wood mill. I picked up some wood chips and added my cross to the chain link fence as so many other pilgrims ahead done before me.

I continued on into Naverette, which had to be on the top of a hill. I stopped in at the church, which was breath taking. I think that Spain could solve a lot of their fiscal problems with gold from just this church.

After a quick snack, I was back on the road-literally. The Way from Naverette to Ventosa was on a road and then next to a freeway. The next 10 km were not pretty, but they were quick. They did not hurt my knee, and the rain was minimal. So I cannot complain.

Ventosa is a pretty small town, no store and only one bar(cafe.) My hotel was sweet, but very quiet. I had dinner with three other pilgrims; a mother-daughter pair from New York, and a nurse from Tipperary(the Camino must be very popular in Tipperary.)
The mother had hurt her knees the first day out on the Pyrenees, and she and her daughter were going to leave theWay the next day and head to Portugal for a rest. This reaffirmed my decision to begin in Pamplona.

A quiet afternoon and night in Ventosa.

FitBit Stats:

Kilometers walked: 23.57
Steps taken: 32,111
Floors climbed: 87

A day of rest. I rested my knee and the rest of my body. I walked around the town, and found that despite the fact that I felt all of my new friends had moved on, there still remained a number of pilgrims that I knew. It was refreshing to see that I was not the only one taking a day of rest.

I was able to catch up on my blog posts and even post photos..as I am sure you can tell. I enjoyed having a room to myself and the fast wi-fi that the hotel had. Ironically, my room had a black and white photo of the California street hill in SF. It was shot in about 1950, judging by the cars on the street. The buildings and the cars may change, but that hill will remain the same. It was kind of eery to see the view from my walk to work, welcome to my room in such a strange place as this.

I spent some time in the cathedral, seeing if God had any idea of what I was doing here. No luck, but it was calming.

Had a quick dinner and off to bed

FitBit Stats:

Kilometers walked: 9.77
Steps taken: 13,309
Floors climbed: 3

(With stats this low it may be difficult to sleep tonight)

Here are some of the photos I hadn’t published with my posts.

Pamplona Cathedral
This is one of the few photos I took of Pamplona. Since my phone was dead all day, and I was busy with errands, the first time I was able to take pictures was around 6:30. That was perfect timing because the light is great at that time of day.

My backpack
Here it is, fully packed and with a scallop shell signifying that I am a pilgrim.

Alta de Perdon
At the summit of Alta de Perdon, with the sculptures of Pilgrims in the foreground and wind mills in the background.

Sunrise
This is one of many sunrise pictures I have taken. It’s pretty easy to be up and on the road before this early, because the sun doesn’t rise until 8:00.

Puente la Reina
This is the pilgrims bridge for which the town of Puenta la Reina is named.

Cirauquai
These are the church bells that rang every 15 minutes in Cirauquai. Yes they were right across the (small) square from my room. I slept well nonetheless!

Roman Road
In need of a little maintenance, but still going strong after 2,000 years.

More photos later.

The day began quietly. Quietly waking up in a room of 12 strangers, and trying to get ready in the dark. Ever tried to take care of a blister with moleskin and duct tape in the dark? How about quietly stuffing you sleeping bag back into its sack? Not very easy. This polite gesture on my side did come back to haunt me later in the day.

I had a quick breakfast at the albergue, because the first town was not for at least 11 km. The first 4km were steep incline and tiring. The descent was even steeper. On one part of the descent I felt my right knee pop. It just sort of buckled underneath me. It seemed to be OK while walking on flat terrain, but was aggravated on uphills and downhills. Uh-oh.

And the the day got better. It began to rain. This is where my quiet packing of the morning came back to haunt me. As it started to rain, I had to drop my pack in the middle of the path and pull out my rain gear…which was at the bottom of my bag. Everything had to come out. Rookie mistake. By the time I had dressed and reloaded my pack, I was soaking, and the rain had subsided. Just my luck.

As I approached Viana, I met up with Marla and Ruth. We went into town to have lunch. And I began to consider my options. With my knee in the state that it was, I opted to take a taxi to Logroño to rest. While having lunch, we were joined by two young German girls, Janine and Ann. Janine had hurt her foot, so I offered to share my taxi to Logroño with them. After a while they agreed.

As most conversations go, we began talking about why each of us were walking the Camino. Ann said that she was walking to keep Janine company. Janine was walking because her father had always wanted to walk the Camino. Her father had died this year. I almost began to cry. I told her that I too had lost my Father this year. I then said her father must have been very young. She said “Yes, 46. Cancer.” It struck me down.

Even when you are taking a taxi on the Camino, you meet the people you need to meet.

I got to my hotel in Logroño and promptly took a bath and a three hour nap. A about 6:30, I decided to wander down to the plaza to see if I knew anyone. I did. I saw a number of fellow pilgrims, and met some new ones.

I had a nice pilgrims menu at a local restaurant and then went back to the hotel to sleep, not sure of what I was going to do tomorrow, and felling a little bit alone.

FitBit Stats:

Kilometers walked: 16.16
Steps taken: 22,011
Floors climbed: 74

The walk was a fast one for the first 10k. The path was wide and smooth through hayfields. There were no small towns or even fountains so it was a long stretch. The first part or the trek I walked with Veronica (from Mexico/Maryland). Then I walked alone and found my own pace. It was a peaceful walk, with a few other pilgrims here and there. About a half an hour before I got into Los Arcos, the path ran next to a ridge. From over the ridge I could hear a race track. (Like listening to Laguna Seca). Cars or motorcycles, I am not sure, but they were going fast. I thought it was ironic that here I was choosing the slowest form of transportation (walking) listening to speed racers. Just before Los Arocos I came across a goatherder and then a man on an off-road Segway. Quite a mix of people on the Camino. Once I made it to Los Arcos, I met up with Veronica again. She was going to take a bus up to Logroño, so we said our good byes and wished each other “Buen Camino.”

In the main square at Los Arcos I stopped for a rest and some lunch. Met up with the rest of the gang from Villamayor de Monjardin. They were planning to go to Torres del Rio, so I opted to join them, despite how tired I was.

I began walking in the afternoon with Kay, a caregiver from Australia. As she told me of what she did for families, I was quite moved. She then told me not to worry about being tired, we all have guardian angels watching over us right now. It almost made me cry.

I rested a while and began to walk alone. I saw Pedro and Ruth from the night before, and got a call from Germany to cheer me up. I made it to Torres del Rio and went to the second Albergue (because it looked nicer than the first.) It was full so I headed back down to the first albergue. Just as I stepped outside, it began to rain. I had to walk a total of 50 meters in the rain today.

Confession: I have been staying in private rooms and hotels so far. I have not stayed in “a typical albergue” yet. Tonight was the first. I was in a room of 12 people. My roommates ranged from four young German students to a lone Japanese pilgrim to two older Dutch women and a few others that I didn’t meet.

The good thing about this albergue is that it had a washer and a dryer. Yeah! Laundry time! It’s the little things. While waiting for my laundry, Marla from SF and Gabriel from BC joined me. We ate chips and just hung out.

After laundry, I had dinner with the two Dutch women and a young man from Tipperary.
The Dutch women had begun their Camino in Amsterdam. They had already walked over 1700 km. Amazing. Tom, from Tipperary, had been walking from Lorca today. That was over 38 km in one day. Also amazing.

It was a dinner with long distance and speed walkers. I was neither, but happy to be in their company.

After dinner it was straight to bed. The room was not too noisy, so I was able to sleep fairly well (thanks to ear plugs.)

Another good thing about today: I am finally using some of the gear in my pack. Things used for the first time today: raincoat, sleeping bag, sleep sack, ear plugs, even the travel towels. Glad to know I’m not just lugging all this stuff across Spain.

FitBit Stats:

Kilometers walked: 26.31
Steps taken: 35,845
Floors climbed: 61

The hotel was an extra 2-3km off the Camino, so it was going to make the day a little bit longer than the guide books said. I wanted to have a short day so was only going to walk to 9.5 km on the Camino to Villmayor de Monjardin. There was a pretty steep incline, and since the weather was predicted for the 90’s again I thought it wise to take it slow. This was a good decision.

Leaving Estella was a series of climbs through residential neighborhoods, which then dropped right back down to the level of the town. It was a frustrating way to begin the day. But, I was then rewarded with the wine fountain. (Just to explain, there are fountains all along the Camino for pilgrims to fill their water bottles. The water is good and usually pretty cold). In the town of Irache, there is a fountain that gives you the choice of either vino tinto (red wine) or water. All for free. It was only 8:30, so I only tasted the wine…it was pretty good. There is a webcam of this fountain: www.irache.com

It was a series of tough climbs and a couple of rest stops, but I was glad to be ending the day in Villmayor de Monjardin at 11:30. As I came into town I met the German couple again, they were going onto Los Arcos in the heat. I wished them well.

The town was small, so there were no hotel options. I chose to stay in a casa rural. Think of it as the pilgrim’s Air BnB. It is a three bedroom house, with kitchen and living area. There were three Spaniards and my new friend from Mexico staying in the house.

In the afternoon I explored the town, and went to the winery. Met up with friends from previous towns and just sat around and talked about the Camino and other fun stuff.

Dinner was a light meal, back at the house, and off to finishing up my long over due blog posts. Now, I have to update my even longer over due photos.

Thought for the day: I had toyed with the idea of taking a bus for this part of the Camino saying “It’s just vineyards and olive trees, and I’ve already seen my share of those.” But today I met someone, who I didn’t particularly like. I won’t go into details, but I think that you meet these people to learn something about yourself. I am still trying to figure exactly what I was supposed to learn, but what I do know is that the Camino is not only the vineyards and olive trees, it’s the people you meet.

FitBit Stats:

Kilometers walked: 16.2
Steps taken: 22,467
Floors climbed: 106

The walk began very peacefully as I watched the sunrise. I quickly made it to Muruzabel and Obanos. The path was smooth, and the weather was cool. I had only seen a handful of pilgrims for a couple hours. Since it was still early (by Spanish standards) no shops were open. I stopped at the edge of town in Obanos and had a makeshift breakfast of almonds raisins and a biscuit.

By 11:30, I had made it to Puenta la Reina, the next big town on the Camino(I hesitate to call it a city). The town was on the river Arga, and was named for the bridge that was built by Doña Mayor (wife of Sancho III). The bridge was built for pilgrims to safely cross the river.

Since ‘I thought’ it was still early, I decided to press on. For the next two an a half hours I regretted this decision. The temperature rose up to about 93 degrees and the path became very steep and rocky. I made it to the next village, Mañeru, and had to stop for 45 minutes to rest. There was a shaded town square with a fountain and benches. A few other pilgrim stragglers joined me with exhausted expressions.

I pressed on to Cirauqui ( which fortunately was on the top of a hill.). In the town square there was a small albergue. I got a room facing the square and the church. This was a wonderful albergue run by a family. Dinner was down stairs in the wine cellar and I dined with Swedes, Germans, Italians and Americans. It was a simple yet delicious meal topped off with the wonderful company. At one point during the meal an older woman, who had walked the Camino last year, said that the one hill going into Mañeru was called “the hill from hell.” I laughed and agreed.

Later after the long day I reflected. It had been a mainly solitary day of walking. I had a few conversations here and there, but for the most part I was alone. After a day of solitude, the welcoming dinner and conversation was just what I needed. And when I thought further about it, we we all suffering with “the hill from hell.” Even if we were alone while we climbed we had all done it together. It was a good thought to end the day.

One last thought for the day: the albergue was right across from the church, whose bells rang every fifteen minutes. It was quaint during the day, but when it got later I thought that they must stop ringing at 10:00. At 10:15, I thought, well maybe they will stop at midnight. I was fast asleep at midnight, but did notice them once at about 2:30. I guess you get used to all things.

FitBit Stats:

Kilometers walked: 18.4
Steps taken: 25,051
Floors climbed: 52

The first part of the day was on parts of a Roman road. It it mind boggling to think that they have survived this long, but the road was also very difficult to walk upon. I’d like to see if Caesar could send out a crew to get these roads fixed. The first town that I came to was Lorca. It had a couple of bars, so I stopped and had some breakfast–a tortilla (like a frittata) and some fresh squeezed orange juice. While having breakfast in came the friends I had made the first night in Uterga- the German couple and a woman fromSan Francisco. It was a happy reunion.

Leaving Lorca I intended to go on to Estella to find a nice hotel, or albergue with wi-fi. I left my friend from San Francisco at an albergue in Villatuerta. On the way from Villatuerta to Estella I met a woman from Mexico who had a list of nice hotels all along the Camino. My new best friend. (I have a feeling i will be making a lot of “new best friends” on the camino). We walked to Estella and got to our hotel, which did not cost much more than an albergue but had ….wait for it…air conditioning!!! In addition having the font of all four-star hotel knowledge, my new friend was also dealing with grief and loss.

We are all so similar. Suffering and in search of a good hotel.

One last thought for the day: the guide books lie. When they say the trek is only 15 km, it is actually 20 km. I will plan my days accordingly with this new realization.

FitBit Stats:

Kilometers walked: 22.45
Steps taken: 30,588
Floors climbed: 58