Spain
Villatuerta

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    • Day 13–14

      Casa Magica Villatuerta

      May 18 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

      Arrived at albergi Casa Magica after a full day of walking across the beautiful countryside through Olive groves and vineyards and orchard and wildflowers. Inclines and declines but not too tough, especially with a few rest stops in the villages, or at a stand in the middle of a Olive garden. I followed a blue butterfly today for a while. It helped me go up the hill.

      We had a lovely homemade vegetarian paella for dinner with wine, a 3 course meal including wine for $18.

      Now time to bunk up with our fellow pilgrims for the night so we can get up and out before 8.

      Only 665 more km to Santiago!
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    • Day 9

      Day 8: 25k to Los Arcos

      May 14 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

      I got to use my hunchback of Notte Dame Camino raincoat that fits over my backpack while hiking 25k (15 miles today). There was a gentle rain on and off for a few hours, but what a beautiful part of Spain. This is wine country. There are water fountains along the way, and today I stopped at the famous fountain in Irichi that dispenses wine, not water. Walked with Liz from Australia today and Vicki from MN. Tomorrow is knee breaker mountain, but still blister free and walking normally, feeling strong.Read more

    • Day 8

      Day 7 Puenta la Raina to Villatuerta

      May 13 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

      We stayed at the cutest allbergue last night and felt so rested that we pushed on to Villatuerta today. Lots of climbing, hiked with ladies from Tazmania all morning. Our albergue tonight, Albergue Magica, has fabulous paella, local vegetables, wine, and is full of people hiking the Camino. Here are some pics!Read more

    • Day 6

      Villatuerta/Estella

      April 20 in Spain

      Today has been by far the most fun day of my Camino. I walked with my German friends again, who were kind and helped me keep a slow pace with my hurting foot. They also gave me a strange cream to put on my feet and legs. No idea what’s in it but I’m using it! The walk today was much easier than yesterday but still had lots of gorgeous views. My albergue has been the best that I’ve stayed in so far. Super cute and quaint. I’m enjoying the smaller albergues where you can really get to know the other people you’re staying with. We had a fantastic dinner where I sat with some new friends, Steph (from England), Mikayla (from Germany), and Christian (from France). We ended up playing a large game of charades where Christian was the star of the show, acting out a pregnant woman. Gathering for large pilgrim dinners might be my favorite part of the Camino.Read more

    • Day 7

      Estella

      September 25, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

      Today was not an especially tough day but it did get hot and the last few kilometers I trudged along pretty slowly. One of the photos is of a tunnel under a highway that gave welcome shade for a rest stop.
      Celebrated finding beds in the municipal albergue, which has a much quieter vibe than the last couple did.
      I was super pleased with myself when I used my phone to navigate to a grocery and ATM, and then found my way back without my phone. Whoo hoo! Visited a gorgeous church and cloister, which purports to house a relic of St. Andrew. The really ornate photo is of where it’s housed.
      Get to sleep on a lower bunk tonight, such a treat!
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    • Day 9

      Puente la Reina to Estella - part two

      March 31 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

      The rain started at 11, when I was having another lovely bit of potato tortilla. I can already tell I'm going to ruin pans and friendships going through an obsessive phase with this dish at home. It continued until I rolled, sodden, into Estella three hours later.

      I remain less than impressed with my raincoat which was not a rushed or inexpensive purchase. To avoid the double negative, I thought VERY hard about which coat to buy and paid lots when I did, so the fact that it's not living up to its 20k waterproof rating is frankly infuriating. Boo hiss.

      Probably did better than the Spanish family pushing on with their long weekend Camino though, pictured in their ponchos. The little one kept lagging behind literally kicking rocks, I liked her immensely.

      In Villatuerta, the penultimate town of the day, there was a cathedral on the hill and I stuck my head in, to see an entire congregation, standing, mid-hymn. Easter Sunday, you IDIOT. In a state of flight (it's never fight, often it's freeze) I scurried in and found room in a pew. I then cursed myself because how was I going to leave? Anyway the thing continued, still standing, all in Spanish but I could follow the gist - Padre this Padre that. It's not like it makes more sense to me in English.

      After a while everyone abruptly turned and started shaking hands with everyone in the vicinity, so I joined in, earnestly shaking the daylights out of pensioners and grinning. Is that normal? I don't spend much time in churches so I'm not sure, I did like it though. They jumped into another hymn that sounded exactly like the Saints Go Marching In, which I assume didn't start out in life as an AFL song but it is what it made me think of.

      When they all started lining up for communion I slipped out and trudged on to Estella, home for the night. This did involve yelling eSTELLAAaaaa, wetly, for my own amusement.
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    • Day 11

      Villatuerta and Marty

      June 7, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

      Walking after lunch I had an enormous sense of open-hearted love and happiness, a skip in my step, and an easy appreciation of the beautiful vineyards and wheat fields, the mountains, the wildflowers and thistles along my path.

      I walked into and through the town of Villatuerta, seeing only a few other pilgrims, until I arrived at the attractively aged church.

      Upon the wall by a fountain is engraved:

      BEBED AGUA PEREGRINO
      TOMAD DESCANSO Y DEJAD SED
      Y EN PROXIMA ETAPA SABED
      QUE OS DARA FUERZA UN BUEN VINO

      AQUI NACIO SAN YEREMUNDO
      QUE EN IRACHE FUE SU ABAD
      PEDID SU GRACIA Y MARCHAD
      HACIENDO AMOR CON EL CAMINO

      translated roughly:
      Drink water Pilgim
      Rest and relieve thirst
      In the next stage
      A good wine will be given to you

      Here San Yeremundo was born
      His abbey was in Irache
      Ask his grace and march
      Making love to the Camino

      ................

      And I noticed a young man in the doorway, so I asked if I could enter. He opened the door and whispered "pase"

      Inside was cool and I sat on a pew to contemplate the ornate effigies, deciding to carry forward the sense of open hearted wonder and appreciation. My mind turned to all the weddings, funerals, celebrations of births and prayers that must have been said inside those walls over the last few centuries.

      Normally, I find little inspiration within the boundaries of a house of worship: my own faith thrives in the outdoors.

      Villatuarte was different. I had the clear and distinct sense of my brother being there with me, only that the two of us were standing in a wheat field enjoying the view of vineyards rolling off into mountains and the feel of sunshine on our backs.

      As tears welled up in my eyes, I spoke with him and he to me about how amazing that place was; how beautiful.

      "Wow. This is really cool" he said in a way that he said to me a thousand times.... Looking at me and quietly smiling while he shrugged his shoulders.

      He thanked me for bringing him along with me on my journey and told me that he had to get moving along on his own Camino, indicating a path I couldn't see.

      My tears poured out, dripping down my chest, onto the pew, and I was weeping (I'm crying now, to be honest... Feeling foolish in the courtyard of the hostel while people bustle around me).

      Alone in that church with the sounds of my chest-heaving sobs I continued to have the most mystical experience I think I've ever felt.

      I was in two places at once and speaking with my dead brother ... Telling him how much I didn't want him to leave yet, how much I miss him. He agreed... Said that he didn't want to go either but that it would be ok. And while I was overwhelmed with sadness and sense of loss.... I felt a deep sense of peace as well.

      I cried there for a while longer, reluctant to move and to break the spell. It my have been minutes or hours.

      When I did finally stand, I realized that the young man (the priest?) was there patiently waiting for me. He asked if I was ok, in the gentlest voice. I laughed and he smiled, I told him "no" but I am better than I was. He smiled, I smiled and cried again, we both laughed a little.

      I asked if I might please use the restroom.

      He led me through closed doors and down a corridor to use a humble restroom, asking that I turn off lights and close the doors when done. It was not a public space.

      As I left, he locked the door behind us and hurried off somewhere - I suspect I had made him late for wherever he was headed. I glanced at the church hours as I was wiping my face up and realized that when I first asked to enter he was locking up for the afternoon.

      I don't pretend to understand what happened there: neither what inspired me to request entry, nor what it was about the moment that invited me to sit in contemplation. I can't say what drove the vision or experience that I had beyond: The Camino.

      This is why I came here. The realization of how my grief has been choking me for a year and the knowledge that I cannot keep it inside me any longer.

      I'm making peace with it now.

      As I walked onward (miles to go before I sleep...) I had to stop several times to cry. The emotions were (are) strong and fresh and full of both love and sadness. Peace is the overarching sensation.... Leaving behind a weight that has been with me every day, weight I am reluctant to release for fear of losing what I have left of him.

      But it's time; my Camino does not require me to suffer that particular weight any longer.

      So today I'll wipe off my tears again. I'll pack my mochila and shoulder the load, find coffee and walk West.... Irache, the famous wine fountain, is a few miles away and I plan to toast my brother there.... Then carry on.

      Buen Camino
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    • Day 9

      Lorca to Villamayor de Monjardin

      September 24 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

      Started at 730 am. Crossed Lorca. Had coffee at Villatuerta. Estella was bigger than I thought. Big city so it took a while to cross. In Ayegui, I met an hospitalero from Kentucky. Very nice. He comes once a year to help run an albergue. He told me to be proud..
      120 km done. Then it was a solid uphill....guided by 2 swallows. Made it to Villamayor by 130pm.
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    • Day 13

      Pensión Los Arcos

      September 20, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

      Today was another long, hot day but Mia is amazing! We have walked every damn step of this journey while people are falling out left and right around us. I'm so proud of us. We had a great day in spite of the odds and arrived at our destination. All the albergues were full so we went with a private hostel and got a private room with a bathroom. This is blowing our budget but there are no other options. The next town Logroño is having a huge wine festival so we're leaving super early tomorrow in hopes of getting a room in Viana. We've linked back up with part of our Camino family so we're happy.

      Hoy fue otro día largo y caluroso, ¡pero Mia es increíble! Hemos caminado cada maldito paso de este viaje mientras la gente se cae a la izquierda y a la derecha a nuestro alrededor. Estoy muy orgullosa de nosotras A pesar de las dificultades, tuvimos un gran día y llegamos a nuestro destino. Todos los albergues estaban llenos, así que fuimos con un albergue privado y obtuvimos una habitación privada con baño. Esto está arruinando nuestro presupuesto, pero no hay otras opciones. El próximo pueblo de Logroño está teniendo una gran fiesta del vino, así que nos vamos súper temprano mañana con la esperanza de conseguir una habitación en Viana. Nos hemos unido nuevamente con parte de nuestra familia Camino, así que estamos felices.
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    • Day 11

      On the Old Camino

      September 28, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

      Our Albegue host Jordi encouraged us to walk the Old Camino, through the hills above the valley. The route changed in the 1200,'s, when the Monastery on the hill complained to the King of Navette, too many Pilgrims we're walking to Santiago. The route was changed to the valley.

      This morning we hiked through the hills, past a boat load of sheep and great views.

      We took a short detour, half mile, Down to the valley route, tho visit the Irache Wine Fountain.

      It is 5 O'clock some where!

      Back up to the Old Camino, then on to our next stop. A short day today, only about 12 km I think, with the detour.
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    Villatuerta, 31132

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