Stage 7: Los Arcos to Logroño

August 29, 2018

Today was our longest walking day yet - officially 17.3 miles, although my Garmin showed 18.5 miles from where we started in Los Arcos to our hotel in downtown Logroño. As has been the case for the last couple of days, we’re walking through vineyards, groves of olive trees, and lots of wheat fields, thankfully harvested. It was another warm day, although not as hot as the past few days, and we made good time, checking into our hotel by 3:30 pm.

On our travels today, we stopped at the Iglesia de Santa Maria in Viana with its gilded altarpiece and beautiful side altars, but the item that struck me the most was the small statue of St. James with its simple pilgrim’s prayer that greeted us as we entered the church. It reminded me of my purpose in starting this journey and gave me hope that I will complete it.

Rich is still resting his foot, so he took the bus from Los Arcos to Logroño and was waiting for us at the hotel when we checked in. He thinks his foot is getting a little better, but plans to rest it a few more days. Thankfully, tomorrow is a rest day for all of us. Time to do laundry and Becky and I are hoping to book a massage. Other than tired feet and a few aching muscles, we seem to be doing well.

We have now completed 7 out of 33 stages of the Camino and have walked more than 100 miles. Only 27 stages, 29 days and 386 miles to Santiago. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue our journey across Spain.

Buen Camino

Daybreak over Los Arcos

 

Iglesia de Santo Sepulcro in Torres del Rio

At a roadside stop - Tree of Remembrance?

Enjoying some of the native blackberries

Almost to Logroño

Stage 6: Estella to Los Arcos

August 28, 2018

Rich got up this morning and could hardly walk. Seems his foot felt even worse than it did last night. Thankfully, he decided the most prudent option was to see a doctor in Estella and then take a taxi to meet us in Los Arcos. We had breakfast together at the hotel and then said our goodbyes. We had ordered a picnic lunch from the hotel to take with us as there are few places to stop and buy food along the way.

As we crossed the bridge on our way out of town, we heard someone calling Becky's name. When we turned around, it was a fellow Camino traveler we had met a few nights before telling us we had forgotten our picnic lunches.

Side note: this fellow traveler was originally from Portland, OR and she and I had attended the same all girl high school (Holy Child Academy). Although 3 years younger than me, she and I knew a lot of the same people and had a good time reminiscing about some of our old teachers. She also is the cousin of one of the nuns (Sr. Adele Marie Altenhofen) from Valley Catholic High School where our girls and the Karver boys went to school. Annie and her husband Bear now live very close to us in Vancouver, WA. Talk about a small world!! Unfortunately, Annie and Bear went on to Sarria today and will walk the remainder of the Camino from there. We made plans to meet up in October to compare notes when we're all back from our travels.

To continue with today's story, once we retrieved our lunches we headed toward Irache and the famous Bodegas wine fountain (Fuente del Vino). Becky filled a water bottle with the fountain's red wine (to enjoy at the end of the day's journey) and we were then on our way. Again, the day was quite hot and the landscape was similar to yesterday's: vineyards, olive groves and wheat fields, with little shade anywhere. We had a hard time finding even a little shade in which to sit and eat our picnic lunch until we happened upon a food cart @ 4 miles from Los Arcos. It was an oasis in the desert!

When we finally walked into Los Arcos at @ 2:00 pm, Rich was waiting for us at the bar/café with his leg propped on a chair and his foot all bandaged. His foot is swollen (we're not really sure what the problem is as the doctor spoke no English and Rich speaks no Spanish), but he's to not walk on it for the next 3-4 days at least.

Today's journey took us 13.3 miles closer to Santiago. Only 28 more stages, 30 more days and 404 more miles until we reach Santiago.

Buen Camino

At the Bodegas Irache wine fountain

On the road somewhere

Our oasis in the desert

Typical landscape we've been traveling through

Los Arcos plaza and Church of St. Mary of the Arches

A somewhat blurry photo of Rich's bandaged foot

Camino Stage 5: Puente la Reina to Estella

August 27, 2018

Another hot day today with our route taking us through olive groves, vineyards and wheat fields with very little shade. Rich and I got separated from Becky and Jerry in the town of Cirauqui, @ 5 miles from our starting point. We were looking for a bar/café to have coffee and use the restroom. B/J went one way and Rich and I went the other and we didn't end up meeting again until we got to our hotel in Estella.

Along with the heat we also had @ 1,000 feet of elevation gain, part of it along ancient Roman roads. Total mileage today was 13.7 miles, but the last 2+ miles were extremely tough for Rich as his feet were again causing him pain; not from blisters this time, but the Achilles tendon and heel on his left foot were excruciatingly painful (Rich's words, not mine). It took us a LONG time to walk those last few miles, stopping every few yards in what little bit of shade we could find. When we finally arrived at our hotel in Estella, Jerry met us at the front desk. Seems they had arrived 1.5 hours before us and were getting worried as to where we were.

At the end of day 5 we are now 29 stages, 31 days and 417 miles from Santiago.

Buen Camino

"Fruit of the vine and work of human hands"

View of the town of Cirauqui

Becky filling her water bottle from one of the many fountains along the way

Part of the ancient Roman road

This seems to be Rich's favorite view of me

Camino Stage 4: Pamplona to Puente la Reina

August 26, 2018

Today we had a steep climb up to Alto de Perdon (@ 1,000 feet of elevation gain) and then a steep, rocky descent down the other side of the mountain. It was the first really hot day we've walked and there were few trees and little shade. Even with the steep climb, the first part of the day was much easier than the latter part when we had to slowly pick our way through loose rocks and uneven paths as we maneuvered our way downhill in the scorching sun.

There was an optional route to Eunate to visit the 12th century Romanesque Church of Santa Maria @ 2 miles out from Puente la Reina that would have added another 2.5 miles to our day's journey. Becky wanted to see the church, but the rest of us were too hot and tired to even think about adding the extra mileage to our day. Becky set off on her own and Rich, Jerry and I proceeded to Puente la Reina. As we were walking through the newer section of Puente la Reina toward the old town, a vehicle stopped at the side of the road and Becky got out. Seems the way to Eunate was well marked, but the continuation on to Puente la Reina was not, so Becky sought the help of a local farmer to get her to town.

All told, the official route from Pamplona to Puente la Reina was 15 miles. Not sure how many extra miles Becky added. We're now 30 stages, 32 days and 431 miles away from Santiago.

Buen Camino

Field of sunflower pilgrims wishing us "Buen Camino"

The last few uphill steps to Alto de Perdon

Pilgrim sculpture at Alto de Perdon

Taking an afternoon break in the shade

Church of Santa Maria in Eunate

The bridge into Puente la Reina

Camino Stage 3: Zubiri to Pamplona

August 25, 2018

Today our journey started and ended with peaceful riverside walks. On leaving Zubiri this morning, we followed the river Arga for 7+ miles. A short way out of town we stopped at The Abbey of Eskirotz & Ilarrotz and met the Camino pilgrim who bought the abbey and is now renovating it. After showing us the 13th century altarpiece and discussing the renovation work he is doing, he recommended we visit the Barrio San Esteban in Zabaldika, a .6 mile detour off the Camino.

We took his advice and, besides getting to see the beautiful 13th century altarpiece there, Becky and I climbed the belfry and were able to ring one of the bells.  Had lunch on the grounds of the Barrio and then continued our journey to Pamplona. When we entered the town of Arre, on the outskirts of Pamplona, we decided to take the optional riverside walk into the city. By this time, Becky and Jerry were quite a ways ahead of us. Rich's feet were starting to bother him, so we took it VERY slowly. It was a beautiful, peaceful walk along the rivers Ultzama and Arga, but a very painful walk for Rich. He was truly hobbling by the time we reached our hotel! Once we got to our room and he removed his shoes and socks, we discovered HUGE blisters on the heels of both feet. Will wait until the morning to do first aid surgery. In the meantime, he's in flip flops tonight to give his feet and blisters some fresh air.

Today's official route took us 13.7 miles closer to Santiago but, with the optional routes we took along the way, we logged closer to 15.5 miles today. Only 31 more stages, 33 more days and 446 miles to Santiago.

Buen Camino!

The River Arga

Two friends out for a morning stroll

Along the riverside path to Pamplona

Another view of the river Arga (or is it the river Ultzama?)

The Portal de Francia in Pamplona

Camino Stage 2: Roncesvalles to Zubiri

August 24, 2018

Today's walk from Roncesvalles to Zubiri had a few hills to climb, but was mostly a gentle downhill walk, meandering past the rivers Erro and Arga and through lovely forests. It rained until early afternoon - a constant mist that had us donning our rain jackets from the outset. Walking through the forests, one could hear the rain, but not really feel it and the natural beauty, peacefulness and solitude under the trees made it feel like a sanctuary.

The last leg of our journey into Zubiri shattered this solitude: we had to navigate a steep 1.5 mile downhill, filled with rocks and shale that made the going VERY slow. All told, we walked 13.7 miles today. Only 32 more stages, 34 more days, and 460 more miles to go.

Buen Camino

Leaving Roncesvalles

Cross in the forest sanctuary

Our peaceful forest path

Road conditions on our steep downhill path

Tending to some blisters

Camino Stage 1: St. Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles

August 23, 2018é

Our first day on the Camino was a killer! Talk about baptism by fire! We left St. Jean @ 8:30 am and, after passing through the Porte d’Espagne (our exit out of town), the uphill climb began immediately. We had chosen to walk the Route de Napoleon up and over the Pyrenees, the most arduous climb of the 3 possible routes, but also the most scenic. Too bad the weather didn’t cooperate as far as scenery goes. We had low clouds/fog during most of the climb, but the temperature was pleasant, making for good hiking, even if we couldn’t see much below us as we climbed higher and higher into the mountains. Total mileage today was 15.5 miles with almost 5,000 feet of elevation gain in the first 12 miles. The steepest part was within the first 5 miles, although the last 3.5 mile downhill stretch taxed us also. It was very steep and rocky and one had to watch one’s footing every step of the way. By the time we reached our destination in Roncevalles, Spain we were all spent. We all did great, but I’m particularly impressed with Rich and Jerry who had never walked this type of distance before, especially one so challenging! Only 33 more stages, 35 more days (we have a few rest days planned along the way), and 474 more miles to go.

Buen Camino!

At the Porte d'Espagne on our way out of town

Rest break part way up (notice the fog in the background)

Trying to get a view of the valley during a break in the fog

Rest break at the top

View of the steep, rocky downhill trail

Travel Day

August 22, 2018

Today we flew to Biarritz via Paris and then transferred to a shuttle that took us to St. Jean Pied de Port, the starting point of our 500-mile Camino trek. Our travels took us all day - up quite early in order to leave our hotel in Reykjavik by 5:00 am and didn't arrive in St. Jean until 7:00 pm (truth be told, we gained 2 hours between Iceland and France, but it was still a long day of travel).

After settling into our rooms, we headed out to explore St. Jean, find the pilgrim office to have our pilgrim passport stamped, and find some dinner. St. Jean is a typical small quaint French town and I would have loved to explore more of it, but we have an early morning tomorrow and need a good night's sleep for our trek over the mountains.

Getting our passports stamped at the pilgrim office in St. Jean

Main street of St. Jean Pied de Port

Pilgrim symbols of the Camino

The Starting Point of the Camino Frances

Iceland

August 19 - 21, 2018

Whew! It's been a busy couple of days. Our flight from Portland to Reykjavik was uneventful and relatively short, for a trip "across the pond". We landed at 6:05 Monday morning after a smooth 7 hour flight. It was cold and rainy in Reykjavik but, after gathering our bags and renting our car, we spent the remainder of the morning at the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal pool where we soaked in 100 degree water, applied mud and algae face masks, had skyr smoothies and didn't notice the rain or cold at all.

After lunch at a small café in downtown Reykjavik, we decided it was WAY too cold and rainy to explore the downtown area so we visited the Museum of Icelandic Natural Wonders. (Why did we  not realize it would be even COLDER inside an ice cave?) Pretty amazing!

We spent all day Tuesday driving the Golden Circle Loop and saw such natural wonders as: the area where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are slowly separating (Pingvellir Park); the Strokkur geyser which rivals Old Faithful, although it erupts much more frequently, approximately every 8 to 10 minutes; and the dramatic Gullfoss waterfall. Iceland truly is the Land of Fire and Ice!

Enjoying the mud masks at the Blue Lagoon

Downtown Reykjavik during a lull in the storm

In the Ice Cave

Fissure between North American-Eurasian tectonic plates

A view of Strokkur geyser

Rainbow over Gullfoss waterfall

Pre-Trip Jitters

August 15,2018

In exactly four days Rich and I leave for Europe where we'll be for the next six weeks. After a brief sightseeing stop in Reykjavik, Iceland we head to St. Jean Pied de Port, France on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees. On August 23rd, we'll leave St. Jean to start our 500-mile trek to Santiago de Compostela on what is commonly referred to as the Camino Francés. We hope to arrive in Santiago on September 28th.

I'll be posting to this blog site at least every few days with pictures and descriptions of our route. I hope you'll check in to see our progress.