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Caminos Aragonés and Viejo
  • Laurie Reynolds
mei – jul. 2025

Caminos Aragonés and Viejo

Een 44-daags avontuur van Laurie Meer informatie
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Nieuwste eerst
  • Het begin van de reis
    23 mei 2025
    Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo

    Camino 2025 starts tomorrow

    23 mei, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Tomorrow morning I will start out for Spain. From Madrid, I’ll take a train to Zaragoza. I’ve decided to spend a full day there, just to decompress a bit before walking. The last time I was in Zaragoza, walking on the Ruta del Ebro, I had been bitten by bed bugs and spent my afternoon washing clothes, spraying the bag, fun things like that. So it will be nice to have a rest day there, though I know I will be chomping at the bit to get walking!

    For more than 20 years, I have used the same horribly banged up and now filthy backpack. It is no longer made, but it is the pack I adore. I bought a new Osprey a few years ago, but at the last minute just didn’t want to change. So it has been sewn, duct-taped, and re-sewn. BUT — thanks to my sister, I got an unused, spanking new Mountainsmith Ghost pack on E-bay. The $100 price was a steal!

    Tomorrow off I go with a new pack, but an old body. More than on any other Camino so far, I am acutely aware of my aging body and uncertain about how it will perform. I have followed along with other peregrinos in my age bracket and know that flexibility and acceptance are the coin of the realm. The important thing for me is to be on the Camino, and if I can’t go as far as I hoped, so be it.

    Off tomorrow on a 6:00 am flight from Champaign.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    2

    Flight to Spain

    24 mei, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    I’m in Charlotte, soon to board the flight for Madrid. My backpack got pulled for inspection at TSA. But it was the baggie of instant coffee and not the hiking poles that caused concern. After they tested it for explosives, I went right through. Everything went fine till we landed in Charlotte and found we were trapped on the jet bridge. The magnetic door stopped working and wouldn’t recognize the employees’ PIN numbers. When we finally were released, I started to get into that relaxed, copacetic, camino mindset.

    I walked my first Camino in 2000, to celebrate my 50th birthday and to prove to myself that I was not going to slide into decrepitude without a fight.

    25 years later, I’ve walked a Camino almost every year, and I’ve hit another major marker. 75 years old, entering the 4th quarter. I look forward to my annual Caminos, revel in the self-sufficiency, the solitude, the physical challenge, the natural beauty, the ancient architecture, and I wanted to make this year special. So I’ve decided on a route with a lot of mountains. But I knew I should have a Plan A and a Plan B. There’s no doubt my body is not what it used to be, but I don’t want to give up on myself either. I wanted to have a Camino with lots of mountains, but I am not so sure about my ability to climb them! So…

    I have spent many hours researching routes, mountains, alternative routes, castles, monasteries, and alternative routes to the alternative routes. I have good information, good GPS tracks and I can make decisions based on how my body actually feels when I’m walking. If I can’t do it all, I won’t be stuck in the middle of nowhere.

    Based on last year’s Camino and some Camino walking in Lisbon in October, I am fairly optimistic that a good day for me is 28-30 kms with 600-800 m elevation. We will see what I find out when I start walking, though!

    I am going to start in France, in a town called Urdos, which is one day over the border and gives me a good mountain day into Spain. From there, the Camino Aragonés (hopefully with a few detours for castles and monasteries) to Pamplona, and from there on the Camino Viejo till I get to the point where I will hopefully cut things a little short to go meet my son and grandson in Oviedo. I am approaching this entire Camino with the open mind of wait and see and don’t push yourself.

    Only one more plane ride to go, the long one! Tomorrow, I hope to sleep in Zaragoza.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    Atocha train station
    Cibeles1DEI in Spain 😁Tío Pepe has movedPlaza Mayor1Aljafería Palace5Roman walls2Basílica del PilarRoman water channelsRoman theater

    In Zaragoza

    25 mei, Spanje ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    I arrived in Madrid at 5:30 this morning, and by 6:30 I was in Atocha Station. Since I couldn’t change to an earlier train, I had a couple of hours to walk around the center. I walked a loop — past the Prado, Retiro Park, Cibeles, Sol, Plaza Mayor. The city was showing the results of a long Saturday night, with lots of alcohol-related trash, and a fair number of inebriated people sitting on the curb or stumbling along. In some small plazas, the botellones (BYOB outdoor gatherings) were still going strong.

    The train to Zaragoza left exactly at 9:27 and arrived about 7 minutes early. As I was walking into the center, I passed what I knew must be the Moorish palace turned regional legislature and offices. It was open for a visit, so I hopped in line, paid my two euro senior citizen fee and enjoyed a walk around. Since it is currently being used for offices and meetings, the restoration may have been a little aggressive. But some of the rooms have that delicate lacy stonework, and the mihrab is pretty much intact.

    My hotel is very close to the basilica, which commemorates the appearance of the Virgin Mary to Santiago in 40 A.D. I dropped my backpack off at about 12:30 and spent the next couple hours walking around the historic center — visiting the Roman sites (Forum, baths, and theater), admiring a couple of mudéjar churches, and walking along the river. Since it’s Sunday, there are tons of people out and about, walking, sitting in plazas, drinking vermouth, playing with their children.

    I’ve showered and washed my clothes, had a cold drink in a plaza, and am now holding my eyes open so that I can stay awake till 7 or 8 and then hope for a good night’s sleep. Since no self respecting Spanish restaurant will serve a meal at 6 PM, I am just going to get a salad in the hotel. And then –SLEEP!    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    Inside the post office
    11My hotel--I'm a sucker for these places in old buildings!124

    Day of errands

    26 mei, Spanje ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    The historic center of Zaragoza, like most Spanish cities, is defined by narrow maze-like streets. It’s always fun to see that the journey between two places on Google maps is much shorter for walkers than for cars.

    Errands usually require going out into the more modern parts. I plotted out a route that included the post office, the Vodafone store (SIM card for cell phone), groceries, and a pharmacy. Not only did I need to buy my favorite sunscreen, which is only sold in pharmacies, but I realized this morning that I had left my thyroid medication at home. The trips to the post office, grocery, and the Vodafone store were fun and uneventful. But the Pharmacy…

    In days gone by, I could always get prescription drugs without a prescription. I never asked for anything outrageous, and I’m sure the pharmacist just believed my story. But this year, I had quite the adventure. After three or four pharmacies, one suggested that I go to a clinic, see a doctor, and get another prescription . I tried several, but no luck. For one, I needed an insurance card, for another, it would have to be tomorrow. The third, the public urgencias, was mobbed. I am a very lucky peregrina, because I decided to go to one more pharmacy just for the heck of it. And I was lucky! The pharmacist told me that any doctor was going to have to just take my word for it (tests would show a normal thyroid), so she decided that she could too. I told her repeatedly that I did not want to put her at risk, but she assured me there was no problem. I learned later that if she gets caught, it will be a €3000 fine. I am sure inspections are much more frequent in the big cities, so if this happens again, I will make sure to go to a pharmacy in a small town!

    This is a beautiful city. Lots of pretty plazas, tons of cafés. In one, there was a lovely display of “Jotas de Flores” — figurines, decked out in flowers, each one posed in a step of the traditional Aragonés jota. I ate my lunch outside in a tree-filled square in a very cute place. How lucky am I?

    Even with the help of the very nice guys at reception, I have been unable to buy a bus ticket to Jaca for tomorrow. That meant another trip back to the intermodal Station (the ticket office for the bus was closed on Sunday morning). I probably would have been fine buying the ticket on the bus, but it was only a 45 minute walk each way. Yesterday I walked 13 miles according to my phone, and today I was at a paltry 6, so I needed to up my game!

    On the way back, I walked along the river, which was really nice, and then met up with a Forum member for a coffee in late afternoon. Lots of great Camino Chatter and instant connections. It was a great day. I’m sitting out in the main Square watching the people and eating a pizza. Tomorrow, I hope to make it to my starting point
    In France.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    11

    Another travel day

    27 mei, Spanje ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    One more day before I will finally start to walk. I don’t think I’ve ever taken this long to get to my starting point!

    Today started with a bus ride to Jaca. Two more bus rides to get (FINALLY) to Urdos. I went to the tourist office to check up on the schedule for the second bus to France. She told me that I would have a two hour wait in Canfranc station and not get to France until after five. A friend from the forum had told me about a good Taxi, so I sent a WhatsApp and got a reasonable quote.

    I have wanted to visit the Art Museum in the Cathedral since I last walked through Jaca and had found it closed for a holiday. Like the museum in Barcelona, it houses Romanesque frescoes from several rural churches. This involved the “strappo” technique— if I understood the information panels correctly, some kind of dampened linen was spread over the painting, and then somehow they lift it up, move it, and reapply it to the new wall. This sounds very complicated.

    Even though I will be back here in a few days, I decided to seize the opportunity and visit the museum. There were some amazing frescoes One originally had four rows of paintings on the church walls, depicting the life of Christ in chronological order. There were also some beautiful Romanesque virgins with child.

    I arrived in the small town of Urdos, which now has two closed hotels and one small open hotel. There is also a pilgrims’ Albergue, but I opted for the hotel. I did get my first stamp, and also met the man who runs the the pilgrims’ gite, along with the man who is taking it upon himself to remark the route after last year’s landslides. They tell me it is all walkable now, no need to take a detour on the extremely narrow road. For that, I am very grateful.

    I am a bit nervous about tomorrow, to tell the truth. It probably wasn’t the best idea to have such a rough day on the first day of walking, but I really wanted to “cross the Pyrenees” (ok, I know that’s hyperbolic). The sign says it’s four hours 20 minutes and 12.5 km to the mountain pass at the border. What they don’t tell you is that it’s also 1000 m up! I doubt I will get there in four hours and 20 minutes, but I’m not in a rush. A Forum friend who just walked this route a few days ago told me that I would want to stop to take a picture every few steps anyway. Looks like good weather, fingers crossed.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    126151415

    A beautiful walk into Spain!

    28 mei, Spanje ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    I am so ecstatic and very relieved to write that I made it and loved it, landslides and all. I left at 6:30, and at 11, I was in Spain. For me, the much harder part was the descent to Canfranc Estación. All downhill, half as many kms, and it took me more,than two hours. I have to be really careful with my knees, stepping sideways most of the time. I go very slowly.

    The walk was glorious. Cool and sunny, what could be better than that! The ascent was steady, but not so steep that it felt like climbing stairs. Just a good continuous ascent. The path goes through lots of old farmsteads, which are now abandoned, through lots of forest, and when you break out into a meadow— there are the Pyrenees right in front of you!

    Until about a week ago, the recommendation was to take the first five kilometers along the road, because of landslide damage. The damage is still there, but a Camino Angel has painted green blazes on the rocks to take you through the most manageable parts. It was very slow going for me, even though someone who had gone through a week before said it was “very easy.” I’m guessing he wasn’t in his 70s. But I didn’t fall, or have any bad slips, so I was feeling good.

    When I got to one of the meadows before the pass, I saw a man poking around in the grass with a stick. We said buenos días (even though I was still in France), and it turns out he lives nearby and comes to this area to hunt for setas (wild mushrooms, which I love). He explained how he finds them—it involves finding a spot with a slight ridge that allows the grass to grow high, and the setas will be hiding underneath. He told me that his nose is so well trained that he can smell them now, but it is definitely at the end of the season so he didn’t have any to show me.

    At the Spanish border, I did meet another peregrino. He has been walking for weeks and says there are never more than two or three others at the albergues. So I don’t expect to find too many more.

    Confession time- I had decided that if I arrived late in the day at Canfranc Estación, I would just go to one of the hotels in town. But that if I arrived early enough, I would see what the rates were at the fancy place in the old train station. My starting point in these situations is the price we paid two years ago in high summer season at a Best Western on the interstate near Aspen. Our flight to Denver had been delayed, we couldn’t make it to our vacation rental, and we were lucky to find a place to sleep. I thought the price was highway robbery, so if I come across an exceptional place in that same price range, I figure it’s a bargain. So in I went. It is a very beautiful place in the restored train station.

    The food in their café (not their 1* Michelin restaurant) is fine and reasonably priced. I’ve had ice delivered to my room for my knees, I’ve wrung out my clothes in the thickest towels I’ve ever had on the Camino, so I am in pretty good shape.

    The station itself has a very interesting history. It was started in the mid 1800s, with the idea of opening the border with France. France, however, was not interested. But finally in the early 1900s, a treaty was signed with France to make the tunnel and the connection happen. But then came the first world war, and then came the Spanish Civil War.

    When Lee and I walked the Aragonés, more than a decade ago, the station was in total ruins. We were able to walk all around and poke into different nooks and crannies. It was kind of creepy. We learned that several years earlier, a French taxi driver, who was obsessed with this station, had found a huge cache of documents, corroborating the then rumor that this had been the way in which Germans had sent through tons and tons of gold seized from the Jews. From there, the gold made it to the marketplace, where it bought arms for the Germans, thanks to Franco’s help. And here it is today, a fancy hotel.

    Here are wikiloc tracks for the day:

    https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/urdos-to-…    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    1
    21211

    Into Jaca

    29 mei, Spanje ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    25 km with almost nothing but descents— awful for my knees!

    There were some beautiful parts, some so-so parts, and some sunny and kind of barren parts. Basically the camino follows the river and meanders up and around to a couple of cute towns. I’m in the very pretty little town of Jaca, with its cathedral, Vauban fort, and a couple of Romanesque churches.

    I had a weird encounter when I was walking through a wooded section with lots of criss-crossing hiking and biking trails. A cyclist came up a hill towards me, and when we were about a block away, he got off his bike and started tinkering around with his gears. Then he pulled his bike over to the side of the trail and flipped it so that it was perpendicular to me and the trail. I thought that was kind of weird, and when his hand went to the waistband of his cycling shorts, I said in a loud voice: “que sepas que voy a gritar.” (Just so you know, I’m going to shout/scream.). He hopped on his bike and off he went! This has happened to me 6-8 times on Caminos over the years, but this was the first time I was able to stop it from happening!

    Then, just a few kilometers further on, a man was just standing on the side of the trail. I thought it was a really bad luck day for me. But when I got closer, I saw he had an apple in his mouth, a water bottle in one hand, and a phone in the other. I felt pretty confident that I didn’t need to shout.

    We’re starting a three day heat wave, so I will be leaving early tomorrow.

    My tracks for the day:
    https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/canfranc-…    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    1111

    Jaca to Santa Cruz through Atarés

    30 mei, Spanje ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    One of my hardest walking days ever. I left Jaca at 6:30 and got to my little hotel in Santa Cruz at about 3:30. I spent a good two hours at the monastery, getting an ice cold Aquarius in the new monastery, and then gawking and admiring the old monastery. When I picked up my backpack at the ticket office to start walking again, the two staff wanted to ask me what life under Trump was like. That led to a half hour of animated discussion, disbelief, and commiseration.

    I did finally leave the monastery at about two. It took me an hour and a half to walk 4 km. It was steep, and Rocky, though not dangerous. I just went slowly. But I was wiped out when I got here. The restaurant was closing and they would squeeze me in, but the thought of eating a meal in my stinky sweaty clothes without a shower was more than I could bear.

    But in addition to being one of the hardest days, it was also one of the most beautiful. Views of what’s left of snow in the Pyrenees, lots of shade in the forests, lots of babbling streams, but the trail was very tough. Not so much for its steepness, though it was steep, as for all the rocks and the erosion made by torrential rains this winter. Lots of “ hopping“ across streams on slippery rocks, which more often than not wound up with me getting one or both feet in the water. But I am not complaining, it was glorious.

    In Atarés, more or less the halfway point, as I was checking my phone to see what a Forum friend had recommended I do when I got to a river crossing, all of a sudden my phone went berserk. My wikiloc tracks disappeared, and somehow I called the facility where Joe is living. I had a moment of panic until I realized that I was the one who had made the call, and they were not calling me. I had a nice little chat with the nurse who said all is well, and on I went.

    I was really dreading the rocky descents, but yesterday in a WhatsApp with a forum member who is a few days ahead of me, he mentioned how he uses a patella strap under his kneecap. The last time I had bad knee troubles, I used a compression knee brace, but it didn’t help and I think made things worse. So last night I ran to the pharmacy and bought one, and Eureka! My wonky knee is in good shape even after so many rocky and steeply descending kilometers.

    Tomorrow I have a very short day, about 16 or 17 km, so I am going to stay and have breakfast in the hotel at eight, and start walking around nine. Unheard of for me. The temperatures are supposed to be in the high 30s/low 90s, so a late start might not make much sense. But the idea of sleeping in and having a real breakfast is too good to pass up right now!

    The little town that I’m in, Santa Cruz de la Serós, is the site of a convent that was affiliated with the monastery up in the mountains. Since it’s a horribly rocky four kilometer path between these two places, I’m not sure how much contact they actually had. But Santa Cruz has its own beauty of a Roman church and is perfectly situated with mountains on several sides.

    I am soaking my feet in the river, and will stay up past my usual bedtime, because the restaurant in the hotel doesn’t open until 8:30.

    My wikiloc tracks are in two separate pieces, but the total is about 25 km with 1000 m up and 1000 m down.

    https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/catedral-…

    https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/atares-mo…    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo

    Good night

    30 mei, Spanje ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    View from my balcony.

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    1
    11I apparently have not yet gotten the hang of the selfie angle.2221

    Short day to Arres

    31 mei, Spanje ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    The typical Spanish breakfast underwent a sea change about 15 years ago. Tostada, toasted bread, is still the most common food item. They still serve it with butter and jam, but olive oil and chopped tomatoes is almost always on offer. The puréed sauce I had this morning was delicious. For years, pan con tomate has been a staple Catalán breakfast, but it has spread nationwide and is very delicious. It is even more delicious when there’s a piece of good jamón serrano on top.

    It was hot today, but there were a couple of bars open for cold drinks. The bars had lots of people this morning because there was a cyclist ride through the mountains — 3000 cyclists riding 150 km from Huesca and back. Some of the guests at my little hotel last night were put off, because they would not be able to get on the road for several hours in the morning. But it didn’t affect the two walking pilgrims. We didn’t walk on the road where the race took place, but we frequently crossed it and sometimes could see it from above. They shouted Buen Camino to me when we coincided, and I shouted “ánimo” back to them.

    No matter how short the day, if it’s hot at the end and there’s a climb, I’m going to feel it. Walking into the little bar in this cute hillside town felt almost as good as walking into the restaurant yesterday after one of the hardest walks I’ve ever done!

    There is a very iconic albergue in this town, and I got my sello. This was changeover day so there were 4 hospitaleros and 4 people sleeping there. I joined in for the tour of the church, which has a very rare 16C baptismal font — square!

    I slept in the albergue about eight years ago and very much enjoyed the hospitality and the camaraderie, but when I hit 70, I decided it was time to leave the albergues to the next generation. But all of us who walk owe a great debt to the organization that runs this albergue, HOSVOL. They are dedicated volunteers who fight to preserve the best of the camino. If I can stay awake for two more hours, I will go to watch the sunset with all of them.

    Tomorrow’s forecast says rain, but not till noon. I’ll have to walk early.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    2
    1112121112

    Anarchism is alive and well

    1 juni, Spanje ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    I woke up this morning to see that one weather app predicted 90% chance of rain in the morning, and the other had a low prediction of rain starting at 8 PM. And in the distance, I heard thunder.

    But the rain held off. It was a pretty flat walk, with no more than 300 m elevation spread over 28 km. Just one stiff up and down to a Hill town in the middle of the stage. It was very humid, but thankfully the sun was behind a lot of cloud cover, because there was very little shade.

    I’m in an albergue in the town of Ruesta. Or better said, the ruins of a town. When the Río Aragón was dammed to make a big reservoir, this was one of the several towns expropriated. But after all the residents had been relocated, the plans apparently changed, because the water does not reach up this far.

    The Camino had to be rerouted when the reservoir was built, and this empty town became the perfect spot for an albergue. The government turned it over to the.CGT, an anarchist workers’ union. They reformed a few of the houses for the albergue and restaurant, but the rest is just falling down. I walked up to the 11th century tower, where the Moors were beaten back.There’s a nice view of the reservoir from that spot, and a good vantage point to see all the ruins of what used to be a lively village.

    The albergue is the only game in town, so here I am. I’m in a room with one French woman, two Spanish men, and a French man. Two of the three men tell me they snore a lot. I guess I will try the earplugs, but I am resigned to a long night of little sleep.

    The food is surprisingly good in the restaurant, and I have had a big three course meal.

    There are three other rooms filled with pilgrims, but I am the only English speaker. Lots of French and Spanish, and one Argentine guy who works in Spain.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    112116 C Danzas de Muerte frescoes, uncovered in the 70s during a restoration of the chapel.21According to Google, the American crab is an invasive species here.

    Plan B for the day

    2 juni, Spanje ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Lots of rain, thunder, and lightning, from late afternoon yesterday in Ruesta and almost nonstop until I arrived in Javier/Xavier after 18 km (and about 400 m) of either walking in mud or in streams of water. But once you are totally wet, you don’t get any wetter.

    I slept really well, and didn’t even hear the French woman who gets up to walk every morning at four. Don’t ask me why. At 6, someone’s alarm went off, and after coffee in the common area, three of us set out together at 7. It was nice having company for the first 11 km, where the Camino split off from the road to the Javier castle. My hotel is right across from the castle, and the people are so nice. Family owned and family run. Even though it was only 1130, I was up in my room in no time.

    Everything was soaked, and I rejoiced in my private room with bath. Albergues on rainy days are quite the challenge. When I went to charge my phone, a notice popped up, saying that the connection was wet. And that it couldn’t be charged. That freaked me out, but within a couple of hours it was fine and has recharged.

    The rain stopped while I went to visit the castle, which is the birthplace of Saint Francis Xavier, founder of the Jesuits. Supposedly born inside the castle. There is now a basilica built into the wall of the castle, and every year there is a pilgrimage (the Javierada) with 5-7,000 people arriving on foot. I didn’t know that St. Francis spent the last 11 years of his life as a missionary in Japan, China, and India. He died and is buried in Goa. While I was visiting the castle, a group of Japanese tourists came through and they explained that this was a very important visit for Japanese Catholics.

    After my castle visit, I pivoted to Plan B. I had hoped to walk a 12 km loop to a spot called Peña del Adiós. But the rain started and stopped several times while I was getting my wikiloc tracks downloaded on my phone. The forecast is for rain all afternoon, though I’m sure it won’t be continuous. The woman in the hotel knows the trail and says it will be pure mud and flooded in many spots. She suggested I walk down to the pueblo, where there is a canal walk with a gravel path that extends for several kilometers out into the forest.

    I had a great goat cheese salad in the hotel restaurant, took a long walk on the canal and around town, and I have just stuffed my shoes with newspaper on the hope that they will be a little drier in the morning. I’m not going to look at the weather forecast, but I will send lots of strong cyber hopes for decent weather.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    11113

    To the Monasterio de Leyre

    3–8 jun., Spanje ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Great day, except for the livestock blocking the narrow path I was walking on my way to the Paso Del Oso, which I never got to. But oh well.

    I left Javier at around seven in the morning and by 10 I was up at the monastery. It was a very pretty off-road walk, turning a 8 km drive into a 12 km walk. But I was very happy to be off the roads and in the forest. When I arrived at the monastery, I decided I still had plenty of energy and could follow the tracks to the Paso Del Oso, a high point about 4 km straight up from the monastery. It was rocky and steep, but I was feeling fine. Unfortunately, about halfway up, a bunch of livestock appeared in front of me. There were a lot of of them, and I just couldn’t figure out how to get around them. Not only that, if I got around them on the way up, I would have to get around them again on the way down. So I turned around, a bit disappointed, but I had enjoyed great views of the aquamarine reservoir below.

    When I was about a kilometer away from the monastery, there was a short intense rain. Just enough to soak my shoes. When I got back down, at around 1 o’clock, I decided to visit the crypt and the church. I had been there before, but not since 1995. I still had a very clear memory of both places. I especially remember hearing Vespers chanted in the 11th century Romanesque Church, and noticing how the barrel vault arches were uneven and not symmetrical. But as imperfect as they were, I thought they were beautiful — not over the top or gaudily decorated, just simple barrel vaults, hanging high up there in tact after all these centuries. And today they look just as they did all those years ago.

    I had lunch in the cafetería, and then took another shorter walk up to the site of the miraculous fountain of San Virila. He was the abbott of the monastery in the 900s and was having a crisis of faith. One hot summer afternoon, he fell asleep by the fountain. When he woke and went back to the monastery, no one knew who he was. 300 years had passed. A dove appeared with the Abbott’s ring and put it on Virila’s finger. Records of the monastery confirmed that he had been the Abbott in the 900s. Crisis of faith averted, and he was canonized.

    At 4:00, I went to the reception desk of the monastery (Benedictine). Padre Ramón was expecting me, and took me around to a non-cloistered room. Bunkbed, bathroom, showers, table, outlet for charging phone, no more necessary. The padre will leave me dinner and breakfast. All for a donativo.

    Vespers tonight. I remember going with my kids in 1995. They were gobsmacked and my 11 yo son wanted to go back for compline. I don’t think he’s ever asked to go to the church before or since.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    Much better than cows--these guys take off running the minute they see you..17I don't know how, but I did it!1Those are the cliffs of the gorge below1

    Monastery to Lumbier- hard but wow!

    4 juni, Spanje ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    25 km and 550 m elevation, what could be so hard about that? I left the monastery at 7:15 in the morning and arrived at my hotel around 4:30. I think this is the hardest day I have ever walked. But so worth it.

    Padre Ramón sent me off with a blessing and told me to come back. The first 7 or 8 km were great – wide tracks, great views, gentle ascents. And then it changed. I knew that I was going to be walking up on the cliffs. I knew it was going to be hard. It was harder than I expected, that’s for sure.

    There were so many steep rocky ups and downs that I lost track. I must’ve shortened and lengthened my polls at least 30 times today. There were three or four spots where I had to take off my pack and hoist it up onto a rock above me and then figure out how to get my body up there. Clare, I needed you! Then there was a short stretch with a chain that I had to pull myself up with. After the first step, I just stood there and couldn’t figure out what to do. But then I studied the rocks, readjusted my feet, and up I went. Very slowly, but with continuous movement.

    This route took me on the cliffs where there were raptors aplenty. Two “ojos” (eroded holes in the rocks) were highlights. I had a good rest at one of them, chatting with a bunch of Spaniards who were going in the opposite direction.

    After successfully navigating the chain, I somehow lost the trail. My wikiloc tracks will give you a chuckle. My strategy when this happens is to go back to the point where I knew I was right and try again. Three or four attempts, and I was finally on the right path. The long descent down to the river was hard, but the real challenges were over.

    When I got to the bottom, I was in the town where I plan to spend the night, but I had not yet walked through the Foz (gorge?) that extends for about one and a half kilometers. So I got to see it twice, once in each direction. I have walked through a fair number of gorges on different Caminos, but I can’t think of any that was more spectacular than this one. Lots of raptors flying around, imposing, multicolored cliffs, really awesome.

    When I emerged at the parking lot, I was delighted to see that my hotel was only about 2 km away. I was dragging by the time I got here, but after a good shower and washing my clothes, I felt re-energized. A short trip up to the center of town to get some fruit and nuts, and now I am sitting outside and have just ordered stuffed eggplant, sea bass, and chocolate soufflé with cherry ice cream. I need the calories, don’t I?!    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    1
    221

    Short day to Monreal

    5 juni, Spanje ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Today’s walk from Lumbier was only 3 km shorter and had only 200 m less elevation than yesterday‘s, but it was a walk in the park in comparison. I left more than an hour later than yesterday, sat on a bench outside a church for about a half an hour, and I still arrived three hours earlier than I did yesterday.

    About 7 km after starting, I came to a marker “Fosa de Loiti”, the site of a pit where approximately 70 bodies had been thrown during the Spanish Civil War. All were people living in the area who had been rounded up because of their political or labor activities. A sign said: “Loiti, clandestine cemetery .” While I sat in front of a very plain, somber marker, I read online that this is one of approximately 300 similar sites, just in this region of Spain alone —Navarra.

    The walk was mainly off-road with some stretches along the side of untraveled roads. Several small villages along the way, each with its little church. Lots of grain fields, a surprising number of medieval bridges, and occasional flocks of sheep.

    I am in a small town tonight, Monreal. My very dear Camino, buddy Alun and his pareja Olga, have driven up from Madrid, and we just had a very long pizza dinner in the only place in town.

    Alun and I will walk for two days, and Olga (the one with the car) will join us in the evening. She offered to take my backpack, and I thought about it, but ultimately decided to just keep on lugging my own stuff.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    21154

    Monreal to Puente la Reina

    6 juni, Spanje ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Yes, I can tell that the years are taking a toll. Today’s walk was about 34 km, but with not more than 300 m elevation. I won’t say I was wiped out, but I was tired.

    This was the first day on this camino that I actually walked with someone almost all the way. Alun and I had not seen each other in two years, so there was a lot of catching up to do. And I’m sure many of my Peregrino friends have had the experience of blab blab blabbing along, and then realizing that you missed a perfectly well marked turn.

    We unintentionally started our walk along the Canal of Navarra. It was flatter than going up and down through the little towns, but much less interesting and sunnier. So we corrected course and headed up for the hills, and the route took us through a few small villages, narrow forest paths, and some wide open fields. The temperature was a little warm, but it was a great walking day.

    Olga met us for cold drinks in Tiebas, and again at Eunate. The last time I had been to Eunate, it had been closed. So I was very happy to get a visit inside.

    Olga and Alun are staying in Puente La Reina, and I am in the town of Obanos, about 3 km closer to Pamplona, which is where we will walk against the flow tomorrow.

    But I couldn’t imagine walking the Aragonés without going to Puente La Reina, so I dropped my pack, took a shower, and washed my clothes in my little casa rural in Obanos. Then I took the 40 minute walk into Puente La Reina, both to see my buddies and also to enjoy the little town, aka Pilgrim Central.

    The number of pilgrims is about half of what it was last month.

    I have walked back to Obanos, adding a few more kms to my total, but tomorrow there will be fewer into Pamplona.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    Very close to the spot where we saw our first flasher
    3131221Café Iruña, of Hemingway fame.

    Puente la Reina to Pamplona

    6 juni, Spanje ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    This was a walk against the flow or “backwards.” Not terribly long, but the ascent to the Alta de Perdón from this side is much worse.

    The walk was very pleasant, through a few little Basque towns, lots of spots with beautiful wide open views, and one rocky climb up to the famous Pilgrim cut-outs at the Alto de perdón. The Navarran government has put a Civil War memorial up near the top, another sober reminder of how many innocent people were killed.

    Since we were walking in the “wrong direction,” we had a few fun exchanges about who was going the wrong way, and at one point, we met a guy carrying a guitar. Alun asked him if he would play something, and he just sat down and took out his guitar and played us a Joni Mitchell tune.

    At that point, we were very close to the spot where Dana and I had met our first flasher. It was our first Camino, in the year 2000, and coming down from the Alto de Perdón, a guy popped out of the bushes. I remember that we screamed and ran down the rocky path, which gave us terrible blisters only four days out of our starting point. Since then, I’ve had a number of other incidents, but this one remains very clear in my memory.

    We got to Pamplona around 1:30, so I had time to wash my clothes, take a shower, have an agua con gás in the plaza, and buy some yogurt and fruit for the next day or two.

    I learned about a Basque sweet that was made famous by the Dolores Redondo trilogy, in which a bakery plays a prominent part. The Txantxigorri is a pastry made with pork fat. Olga bought one when she met us at a coffee stop, and I have to say it was quite delicious.

    I had really wanted to go back to the Museo de Navarra, and luckily, it was open in the afternoon. Promptly at 5 o’clock, I was there to revisit some of my favorite exhibits. Unfortunately, the museum was undergoing renovations, so my very favorite room was off-limits. I was quite impressed, however, by the Iron Age estela from the 4th century BC. But I didn’t want to spend too long there anyway, because this was goodbye to Alun and Olga.

    We walked around the center, which was unbelievably crowded and filled with people enjoying themselves. After a couple of really good pintxos, they walked me back to the hotel, and we said goodbye.

    I am very sad to see them go, but excited that tomorrow I will start the Camino Viejo.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    121

    First day on the Camino Viejo

    8 juni, Spanje ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Last night looking at my options, I knew I had to make a choice. Either I would go to the Balcón de Los Buitres (balcony of the vultures) and sleep in Irurtzún, or I would skip the vultures and continue on further to Hiriberri so that I could visit the church of San Miguel de Aralar the next day. So since I had been up on cliffs with lots of raptors just two days ago, I decided to forgo the vultures. I know now that a 38 km day is no longer in my comfort zone — there’s a big difference between a challenging walk and one that’s just too hard!

    That meant I walked 31 km to Hiriberri, and that was plenty.

    The first day of the Camino Viejo was a bit underwhelming. Almost the entire way to Irurtzún was on a path that ran very close to one highway or another. Since today is Sunday, there were lots of cyclists out, and I almost got wiped out by two of them. But it was fun to see lots of people out and about, both walking and on bikes.

    The Santiago church was one of the highlights, closed as I had assumed, but very pretty.

    I am in a casa rural owned by Pilar. She has four rooms for rent upstairs and lives downstairs. She does not advertise, she is not on booking, yet she fills up during the months of July and August. She’s right in the middle of this valley, with mountains on both sides, and people in this part of the country really do a lot of hiking.

    Soon after I showered and washed my clothes, I read my email and learned that Juanma, a good camino friend, was in the vicinity. We met at the church and brought each other up to date with our lives . I remembered that he had been the one to suggest Las Trillas for a meal when Clare and I met up with him last year in Burgos. It was thanks to him that I learned that morcilla is indeed delicious.

    Thankfully, Pilar is making me supper, because this village has no café, no bar, no restaurant.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    1121111311

    San Miguel de Aralar

    9 juni, Spanje ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    What a day. First, breakfast made by the wonderful Pilar. She insisted on giving me a sandwich for the road, along with three really yummy homemade granola bars. As I started out, it was hazy, chilly, with the mountains on both sides. Pretty close to a perfect morning.

    I passed through several villages, 2 or 3 km apart from each other. All of them had some 18th century caseríos, many beautifully restored with their coats of arms and flower pots filled with red and pink flowers. And two very old bridges.

    But I knew it was going to be a hot day.

    The priest in the monastery had told me I could leave some of my backpack contents there during the day, to make my walk up to San Miguel easier. That was a great benefit.

    It was a rough climb, but not absurdly hard. The cafeteria at the church was closed today, which I think kept the visitors down. The church was open, however, and I was in it all by myself. There is an enamel and gold altarpiece that is really unbelievable. It is the same kind of workmanship as a little box that I remember seeing in León in the museum of San Isidoro. But that was a tiny box, and this is an enormous altarpiece, with Mary in the middle and lots of Saints and angels around. It was just spectacular. And real candles too! So I was able to sit and think about a lot of things and a lot of people.

    The story of the miracle that happened at this site is really over the top. Rather than repeated here, I have attached a picture of the tail. And a picture of the chains, which are still here.

    Rather than take the straight way back, I decided to follow some tracks I had that go to several dolmens. It’s kind of hard to conceive of what it means that these things were made 6000 or 7000 years ago. I saw four of them, each one a little different — different sizes, different shapes, different underground spaces, but each one had one of those enormous slabs on the top. How in the world did they get them up there?

    Though the dolmens were extremely fun to see, the trail itself was, shall I say, a challenge. It took me a long time to find my way, because there were very many sections of total overgrowth. Lots of sections across rocky outcrops that would have given someone with vertigo pause. But I made it, very slowly, and by 4:30 (yes that’s 9 1/2 hours after I started out!), I was sitting in front of a monastery, waiting for someone to come let me in.

    I have a very nice room in the monastery, and I am now going to figure out my plan for tomorrow. It’s going to be very hot, so the one sure thing is that I will be on the road very early.

    My tracks: https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/hiriberri…    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    1
    31

    A very hot day to reposition

    10 juni, Spanje ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Last night, Guadalupe (who is not a nun but a “consagrada”) told me a sad story with a very happy ending. Last fall, vandals set fire to the ancient doors at San Miguel de Aralar (the church that I walked up to yesterday). A boat building company in San Sebastián uses wood from this area to make replicas of old ships. When it heard about the vandalism, the company offered to make replacement doors, using the same type of wood and from the same place that the doors had originally been made from. Yesterday, the doors left San Sebastián, on a cart pulled by oxen. They will stop in villages along the way, with festivities at each stop, and on Sunday they will arrive and be installed.

    https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKrJowORC85/

    My main goal today was to get myself to Arbizu so that tomorrow I can try to climb Beriaín. I have to admit that having it in sight almost all day yesterday and today has given me a bit of trepidation. It looks very imposing and inaccessible, but there is a church up on top so it has to be reachable.

    Walking the Camino route between these two towns would have been a pretty straight shot of about 10 km, so I had spent some time at home getting routes that I could add on. My first choice was to walk up in a beech and oak forest where there were lots of old “bordas” for livestock. The Ruta de las Bordas, but I had to get to the starting point. My first attempt was on a route that I tried to put together at home on wikiloc —fail. Then I tried to use mapy— fail. Finally, I asked a young woman out walking — success. But since I had lost almost 2 hours wandering around the forest looking for the trail, once I finally got there, I decided to cut it short after a couple of hours and get to my hotel in Arbizu. 22 km and 400 m are plenty for this old body in 85F/30C degree temperatures.

    Arbizu is a pretty little town in the province of Navarra, which is not in the País Vasco. But the predominant language here is definitely Basque, and the pharmacist explained that even if the government doesn’t consider this the País Vasco, the people definitely do. I talked with one man in the grocery store who had trouble managing Castellano.

    Looks like the temperature will drop a little tomorrow, and cloudy but no rain. I am staying here again tomorrow night, so I can leave all my unnecessary pack contents in the room. It really does make a difference, so I should banish my bad thoughts about all those people who have their packs sent ahead on the Camino.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    212112

    Up to Beriáin

    11 juni, Spanje ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    I don’t know whatever made me think I could pop up to Beriáin, descend, and continue on another 10 km on the Camino. I am getting a very good education on the realities of hiking in the mountains. Looking at total elevation and total distance just doesn’t give the complete picture. Having to watch where you place each foot very carefully, navigating all the rocks, trying not to slip— all of this adds a lot of difficulty, especially for this old body.

    I am so glad to have gotten a lot of very good help from a Basque forum member, who suggested routes, pointed out my unrealistic plans, and gave me great insights into these mountains.

    Today, my only plan was to walk the 9 km trail from Unanua up to Beriáin and back down, and then continue the 4 kms back to my hotel in Arbizu. That was plenty!

    I got a cab from Arbizu to Unanua to save the first 4 kms of road walking. So by 7, I was starting the ascent. The views of the towns nestled in the valley were just beautiful. It was very slow going, and more than a handful of people passed me on their way up, and passed me on their way down before I had even made it to the top. One guy told me he walks up and down every day. Last year he missed one day, and so on New Year’s Eve he walked up and down twice!

    There were several profs with a group of teens who were in a post-secondary “formación profesional” course in sports— some wanted to be mountain guides, one a swimming coach. I got a lot of encouragement from them, since I was about the same age as their grandparents. They told me many times there was no way they would be up here. I have now been called “atrevida” “valiente,” and “maja” by these young-uns.

    When I got to the top, I was all alone at the ermita. Lots of vultures circling overhead, and the views were as good as they get.

    I picked my way down stone by stone, it took almost 3 hours. I kept thinking that it would be very embarrassing for this group of young people to come across me lying injured on the path after telling me how great I was, so I went even more deliberately than usual.

    I’ve only got a few more days left in the mountains, so I’m going to have to spend some time figuring out where else I will be able to walk. There are many options!    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    9Lots of apts. have compost buckets for each unit.
    The camino is here somewhere!4Oh here it is!32Monument to prisoners of Franco who died as forced laborers on the RR.

    To Alsasua and Bargagain

    12 juni, Spanje ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    I had to work backwards a little bit to figure out the next few days. On Saturday, I know that there is a tour of four small Romanesque churches that are only open once a week. I definitely want to see them, so that gives me two days to get to Salvatierra.

    The 14 km between Arbizu (picturesque village) and Alsasua (charmless big town) are flat, mostly off-road, and rural . On the way, I got a good look of what makes Navarra and the País Vasco so prosperous. Lots of factories. And not so much livestock or agriculture, except for the occasional sheep cheese maker tucked away in an off-road village.

    There was just one spot where things got messy. The dirt road ended in a field of waist-high grasses with no path visible. I went back and forth for a while, till finally I saw the path on the other side of a muddy stream. No obvious way to cross it other than plopping into it and walking across.

    By about 10, I was checking into my place for the night, since it was only 14 km away. I pulled up a few GPS tracks for local routes I had stored and opted for the one up to Bagagain, one of the peaks close to town that has a cross on top and is surrounded by a beech forest. There are of course good views all around.

    Well, the trail is pretty steep, and because of some heavy rain last night, it was very muddy. On the way up I tried to decide how many falls I would have on the way down (I guessed five, but only had two).

    I arrived back at the hotel with very muddy pants, which took a lot of scrubbing to clean. I am headed out for fruit and yoghurt, and we’ll see if I can find a few good looking pintxos to fill my stomach, so I won’t have to wait up till dinner time.

    About 25 km today with 750 m elevation. That’s a good warm-up for tomorrow— the last mountain day!    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    12127

    Aizkorri and on to Salvatierra/Agurain

    13 juni, Spanje ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Last night I got a call that Joe had fallen. Steve was right there, and within a few hours, Joe was back at Amber Glen, with some stitches and bruises, but he says he feels OK today. The staff is being extra vigilant, but I’m so glad for the ViewClix, which gives me instant access. Seeing each other every day seems to make him much more peaceful.

    22K and 800 m elevation —in my comfort zone, right? I am now a much wiser peregrina when it comes to knowing my limits. Those first 6 km took me five hours! That included a half hour stop up at the top, and many short stops to gaze at the wonderful mountains all around me, and I did go extra slow on the way down. Mountain kms are a horse of a different color!

    I was once again the beneficiary of a lot of first hand knowledge from a Basque member of the Camino web forum. The mountain he suggested for today is Aizkorri. It is much loved by the Basque people and is one of several mountains where many people climb to the top on either New Year’s Day or New Year’s Eve, with hot chocolate being served. One of the people I met on the way up today told me that champagne is not out of the question either.

    I took a taxi to a good starting point, and off I went by about seven. It was really beautiful, through a dense beech forest with lots of moss covered rocks. When I got out of the forest, there were just views all around me. Lots of rocky crags, lots of views of towns and big fields below with shepherds’ huts. I met two groups of young people on their way down. They had slept up there, just on mats and a sleeping bag. It seems to be a popular custom for young people in the area.

    Once I got to the San Adrian tunnel, where I picked up the Camino, it was after noon, and I still had about 14 km to go. Some of it was pretty much of a slog, a lot on sunny untraveled roads.

    I am in Agurain/Salvatierra (Basque/castellano). I was able to reserve a spot in the tour tomorrow that will take us to four beautiful little churches. I am hoping very much that I meet someone in the group who will give me a ride, otherwise I’m not sure how I’ll see these places.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    2Woman giving birth on bottom left, assassination taking place on top right.111Camino de Santiago!!!

    Rest day

    14 juni, Spanje ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    The Alava (name of the province I’m in) Medieval Association gives tours on weekends to four rural churches in the area. They are all from the 12th and 13th century. Problem is, they do not provide transportation. Luckily, the first church on the list is 4 km outside of town, and I walked there with the hope that I would meet someone who would transport me the rest of the way.

    And as I had suspected, it was not a problem. Not only did they take me from church to church, but they also drove out of their way to take me back to the town where I’m staying after the tour was done.

    And the guide was great— a history teacher during the week and a medieval tour guide on the weekends. It really was a very fascinating visit.

    The first church was St. Martin de Tours, with some very well preserved Gothic frescoes. Many of the standard Bible stories are reproduced, including the crucifixion, annunciation, visitation, etc. There are also some scenes of Santa Marina putting chains on the devil, along with a depiction of judgment day.

    The most interesting church was the next one, Alaitza. I’ve never seen anything like it. 13th century paintings all over the altar area without one religious connotation. And the paintings look more like some cave drawings I’ve seen than medieval European art! The theory is that this was a privately owned church for its first couple of centuries, and for whatever reason the owners wanted to put in scenes of typical male activities and typical female activities. The males were doing things like hunting, fighting, and dying in battle, while the women were going to visit friends who had just had a baby, preparing a funeral, giving birth. Like many of the ancient frescoes that survive, these were hidden behind a big altarpiece until the 1960s. They are very well preserved.

    The next two churches were interesting more for their architectural features than their paintings. Anua had some beautiful windows with capitals, and Arbulo was actually a medieval fortress converted to church once the Moors were beaten back.

    There is a big outdoor concert going on a few blocks away, so I’m sure it’s going to be an earplugs night!    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Laurie ReynoldsLaurie ReynoldsCaminos Aragonés and Viejo
    4
    1

    32 km to the parador

    14 juni, Spanje ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    I have VN to thank for pointing out that there is a
    parador just a few kilometers off this Camino. The logical stage today would be for me to walk into the very pretty city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, but I have to be there on a business day because of several errands — Vodafone store, buy some train tickets, see about some tick prevention. So stopping here will give me a very short day into the city tomorrow, Monday.

    I started out today by retracing my steps to the first church on yesterday’s tour, and then carrying on through several small towns. I met some señoras who had just picked up their bread from the delivery truck, and we chatted a bit. The sister of one of them lives in Los Angeles and has an undocumented caregiver, who is suffering very much with all of the chaos and cruelty. They told me they pray for the US and can’t understand how we have come to this. There’s really nothing to say.

    After going through several more small towns, I came to a turn-off to the church and monastery of Estibaliz. It is a beautiful Romanesque church, with a monastery. The Benedictines had been there for about 100 years, but recently left, and this order of very young nuns (originally from Colombia) moved in. The nuns are embroiled in a dispute with the government over who owns what. This means that the museum on the site is closed. My guide from yesterday told us that the nuns who occupy this site are extremists, worse than Opus Dei, he said. They are the Pilgrims of the Eucharist, but I haven’t found a whole lot about them. They do serve beer!
    https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/spain-nuns…

    From the church, I headed to the parador, which is in an old monastery. I had a very good learning session with Mapy, after adding a few kms onto my walk. But it was a great day for walking, with total cloud cover and expansive views in every direction. When I got to the Parador, I saw a sign pointing towards another Romanesque church. The woman at check-in said it was about 2 km away, so I dropped off my pack and headed out to see it. San Pedro Quilchano. It was a very nice walk, but the church was pretty much in ruins. There were two beautiful windows, but that was it. Oh well.

    The parador is very nice, and I had a good lunch in the restaurant, quite a contrast from where I was yesterday!

    https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/agurain-s…    Meer informatie

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