On the fifth day, we left Puente La Reina early in the morning. I really liked this town, so beautiful! We walked towards Estella which was 22 kms away, passing through farm fields, vineyards, olive groves and small villages.
Some of the pathway in this section, between Cirauqui and Lorca are on very old trail and display Roman road works. We continued through Villatuerta and in to Estella. Many of the people we started with stayed in Estella but we moved rather quickly through and kept on keeping on. Perhaps not the wisest as we were already tired, however we did have a happy ending.
Moving passed Estella though, gave us the opportunity to stop at the famous wine fountain at Irache during the afternoon instead of in the early morning. At the fountain we met three Americans who we would get to know better that evening in our albergue.
It was hot, we were tired and the next village was quite a trek further. We did not have reservations, but when we arrived at Azqueta the host at the albergue made room for us. It was a 29 km day, but we were happy to have a bed, and meet some new people along the way.
The hostess, Elena, and her partner, Peter, were very accommodating and made sure everyone was comfortable. There was 16 of us, from Canada, UK, USA, Italy, Romania, Denmark. We all dined together, enjoying a wonderful homemade butternut soup, salad, tomato salad, bread, tortillas da patatas, homemade hummus and a lemon custard for dessert. The hosts were fabulous, she even came around and tucked us in at night, kissing each cheek and thanking us for staying. Made the day much better, especially after the long mileage.
This morning we woke and had breakfast before heading towards Los Arcos. The walk was relatively flat except the first bit up to Villamayor de Monjardin. All very pretty though, including a mountain top castle that was likely a fortress for the Knights Templar. We continued through vineyards and olive groves most of the day before breaking in Los Arcos.
The cathedral in Los Arcos was stunning inside. We passed through and lit a memory candle under the statue of Santiago – Iglesia de Santa Maria. Then, wanting to make tomorrow’s trek to Logrono a bit shorter, kept on walking. Tonight we are in a nice, new albergue in Sansol. At some point we are going to have to skip ahead as we won’t have enough days in Spain to complete the entire 800 kms, but I have always said that if that has to happen, it will – I personally don’t think it’s cheating, I think it’s just being practical.
Thank you all for the good words, encouragement and the like. Thinking of Mom today, and my sister and my family.
Along the Way - Our Camino 