Estella

This City has surprised and delighted me.

For some reason I expected a smaller town. Estella is a bustling combination of old and new. As I strolled into town I stopped at the Albergue Municipal (local gov't funded cheap lodging for pilgrims). I was debating between the 8€ solution or pushing onward towards a smaller unknown town up the road and mentioned that it made more sense to visit the wine fountain in the evening vs. the morning. Asunción, the Albergue manager laughed and said, "I'm meeting a friend at the bar next door. I'll buy you a glass of wine!"

And that's how I decided to stay at the Albergue.

It turned out to be two lovely ladies named Asunción with whom I enjoyed two glasses of Rioja. They gave me the inside scoop on sightseeing in Estella as well as some tips for the next stages of the Camino.

Meeting people is often the best part of travel.

Further evidence of that: my friend Carrie took a cab back from Los Arcos because she wanted to see Estella, so we meandered up a hill to take in the view then over to the church for beautiful stained glass and a famous cloister area. I admit that I find the notion of cloistered clergy to be borderline absurd, but then there are plenty of things in life that I don't understand very well... And the architecture is interesting.

We had an ok paella in the main square then she headed back to Los Arcos and I enjoyed some wine with Dean, Bruce, Rory and Sinead.

The albergue proved a quiet and pleasant place to sleep. I'm glad that I stopped.Read more