Spain
Igúzquiza

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    • Day 11

      Lorca to Luquin

      May 6, 2023 in Spain

      We absolutely loved our lodging choice last night and did NOT want to leave. Close to 12 miles on today’s agenda. No days off planned for the next week so we just keep walking 🚶‍♀️🚶‍♀️🚶‍♀️🚶‍♀️

    • Day 6

      Day 3 - A day of reckoning

      September 18, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      ."Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience” - Ralph Waldo Emerson.

      Day 3 - Villatuerta to Villamayor de Monjardin
      -13.1 km

      7:15 am start and today was a hard day. Physically and emotionally. I definitely had a leak in my waterworks! So many times today I just cried. I am disappointed in the distances I’m walking as they are not as long as I had hoped. Disappointed in myself for gaining my weight back, not training for this and all manner of other things. And honestly, despite the beauty, the amazing people I have met and the fact I am privileged enough to be here at all, I just kept thinking “I am NOT having fun. I am NOT enjoying this”. One thought built on the other and went on repeat as I slowly worked my way up and down hills and through towns.

      I rested a lot. Had breakfast in Estella at a lovely place called Namas-Te (a tea house!). As the server put my pintoxs in front of me, in walked Bill and Rip. We ate pretty quickly (wasn’t getting caught out again). They were headed on the alternate route to Luquin and I to Villamayor de Monjardin. The ladies in Namas-Te could see I was upset. More tears with them.

      The blues hit me bad again on my way out of Estella. I cried and walked and cried some more. I stopped at the Irache wine fountain at the Monestario Irache. (the vineyards add 100L of wine to the fountain everyday, for pilgrims to enjoy). Carried on walking and cried some more. I was actually hating what I am doing, at that point. Rested a bit more and of course took ages to get moving again, due to the foot pain.

      Made it past Irache and on to Azqueta. Lots of downhill this section which means only one thing…the uphills are coming. Rested here, cried a bit more. Got going again for the last 2km - majority of it uphill. Not steep this time - just continuous. I cried when seeing the church spire of Villamayor de Monjardin - well made the motions - I had no tears left!

      Got to the Albergue at about 1:15pm. I have not made any reservations and they don’t open until 3pm on Sundays. So myself and other pilgrims sat and waited. I was desperately hoping for a bed (they only have 21!) as I knew the next town was “Completo” (fully booked already). I got lucky! Bed in a shared room of 5. Luck is subjective though…hit the shower to find I may have picked up some hitch hikers after all. Red spots all over my chest, torso and arms. Right where my long black shirt had been sitting. And the black shirt was stuffed into my backpack beside the lightweight backpack that Marie gave me back the day before :-(. Hand washed my clothes, dried in the sun and sealed in my drysack to avoid any cross contamination with my other clothes… I hope. My next stop needs to have a proper laundry and dryer so I can heat dry everything and hopefully prevent and more issues. Other than that little downer, it was a great dinner with all the other pilgrims and volunteers from the Albergue, and a quiet evening.

      No more tears. Well, today anyway! I am able bodied and need to be grateful for that. Grateful for my ability to carry a pack and slog it out. Grateful that I am here. Part of my Camino is to learn to be kinder to myself and have a bit more grace - for myself and those around me. Big lessons learned today, but I am sure it won’t be the last one!

      We will see what tomorrow brings. More kms I think, but I hear it is flatter. Woohoo!
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    • Day 8

      Estella to Los Arcos

      May 11, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

      Woke up at 5.50am and realised I'd lost all my Laundrette washed clothes and waterproof jacket. Managed to figure out where the restaurant was from last night and that it should open at 9.30am. Found a Decathlon nearby in case I wasn't able to get my clothes and jacket back but it was all ok. Meant I didn't leave til 10am and the Camino was really quiet. Was great walking alone. Got to Los Arcos at 3ish. Great room tonight. 28km to Logroño (jealous Dom?) tomorrow so going to start early. Got a room for one night but Saturday was too pricey so moving on to Ventosa for a night.Read more

    • Day 12

      Villamayor de Monjardin

      August 27, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

      What a day, we made it to Oasis Trail albergue, ladies here are amazing. Today watch says we walked 13.86 miles, however the guide book says we should have traveled 11.2 miles. We are noticing guide book is off every day. It was a beautiful morning and finally made it to the wine fountain, mom and I stopped and had "lunch" tuna and crackers outside the wine museum, rest of the journey today was hot. Also the sell everything you can think of in vending machines here...Read more

    • Day 10

      Lorca to Villamayor de Monjardin 21km 6h

      September 14, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

      Another beautiful sunny day on the Camino. We got up early and started hiking in the dark to beat the heat. We stopped in Villatuerta for breakfast. Fresh squeezed orange juice, cafe con leche and the best ever croissants. We made good time and arrived at our beautiful albergue with plenty of time to do laundry and enjoy our private terrace before our communal dinner later tonight. It’s getting easier! But still hardRead more

    • Day 9

      Day 9 - Villatuerta - Los Arcos

      March 21, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

      26Km - 16.2 miles Villatuerta to Los Arcos. Since we had a shorter day yesterday we made up for it today. We walked 16 miles. It was raining on and off - not heavy, just a light rain. We had a nice lunch at Villamayor de Monjardin where we had to decide to stop for the day or keep going. I felt I couldn’t walk another step. The bartender however said it was an easy walk. So we had a chisterra sausage sandwich, a couple claras and cafe con leche. Then we decided to keep going!  It was about 9 miles walking in the middle of nowhere and we didn’t see another pilgrim until we got to our destination for the day. Palma was able to see a medic after we got here. He wrapped her wrist very nicely. He didn’t have the capability to do an X-ray but he said the town we’ll be in tomorrow will be able to X-ray though I’m not sure that is necessary. We are staying in a double room with our own bath/shower again. I think our albergue days of sharing baths and sleeping in rooms with a bunch of pilgrims is behind us. It is hard to get a good sleep with a lot of people in the same room. We will have a communal dinner in this place tonight which will be nice since we know a couple of other folks staying in this place. It was great catching up with you yesterday! Read more

    • Day 14

      Villamayor de Monjardin (13.1km/121.5km)

      April 26, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

      We only had a 13k walk today so stopped and explored along the way. The terrain has started to change from lush farmlands to more stony rock. The next few days will be interesting to see the gradual change.
      In Ayegui, there is a free wine and water fountain. We had a sample of wine at 10am! We went into the refreshingly cool and peaceful cloisters and church of the monastery of Irache before setting off in the now rather warm weather for a steady uphill walk. We had a much needed lunch break at Azqueta before tackling the steep uphill to our next stop, Villamayor de Monjardin, where we met up with now familiar friends, having a salt foot bath and a beer while we caught up. The Oasis Albergue (accomodates 21, our room had 5) is run by volunteers with a strong community spirit and they provided a lovely terrace meal as the sun was setting. The meal was cooked by a Portuguese volunteer. The evening ended with a meditation.
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    • Day 15

      Day 8-Villamayor de Monjardín

      September 11, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌩️ 70 °F

      We had a long day (17+ miles) ahead of us so we started out at 7am while it was still dark. It was also raining with lightening and thunder. We carefully walked over an old Roman road and bridge trying to dodge the puddles and mud. Miraculously, our socks and feet didn't get wet.

      We walked through several towns, crossed over many bridges and played with some kitties. It's mostly a blur.

      We have a private room and bath today but have to sleep in bunk beds. It's my turn to take the top bunk. Oh, I had seafood paella for lunch and veal cordon bleu for dinner. Yum!

      The lesson I learned yesterday was to drink an Aquarius (Gatorade-like) at every break. I did that today and I feel great. Except for my feet. They hurt. Alot.
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    • Day 12

      Azqueta to Los Arcos

      September 29, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

      We had a great breakfast at La Perla Negra ( never saw Jack Sparrow), granola, yogurt, fresh fruit, cheese, plus the usual toast and jam. Plus big coffee mugs, instead of tiny espresso cups. And Helena encouraged us to put apples and bananas in our pockets.

      Weather is wet, but not bad. Heavy mist early this morning . Followed by occasional light drizzle, but no heavy rain!

      Another shorter day of walking, little more than 14 km to Los Arcos. Just one village other village, a 2km climb to Villamayor de Montjardin at the base of the big hill. There was a Fronton there!

      Then a 12 km walk through an isolated valley with hay fields, vineyards, olive groves, and asparagus fields. There were signs of wild fires from August here, about 1.5 miles of hillside were black trees with no undergrowth!

      We made it to Los Arcos for lunchtime!
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    • Estella to Torres del Rio

      September 4, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F

      Our seventh day walking. Hot and hard but encouraged by our friendly pilgrim companions. We went a little further today than a normal stage to set ourselves up for a shorter walk into Logroño where we will take our first rest day.

      They say the first third of the Camino Frances is the physical challenge. THEY are right!

      Cristina recited a pilgrims prayer several times out loud as we were walking. At one point, with the heat, we both had the sensation that we had fallen asleep while walking. We were well hydrated, at one point Cristina shared water with a Gallego we met the other day who was suffering. We were not overexerting. I think we are just plain tired, not sleeping as well as normal combined with all the other factors… we’re two sleeping-walking pilgrims. 😂
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Igúzquiza, Iguzquiza

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