I leave Puente la Reina for this hike of 22 km, under lightning and thunder. The rain continues to pour down for most of the day, causing the roads and paths to quickly turn into rivers and small lakes.

At first I walk on the edges as much as I can to avoid the water. I need to keep my feet as dry as possible, to avoid getting blisters. But as the day progresses and the rain continues, I give up.

Nevertheless, I appreciate today’s stage. The landscape is beautiful and the forces of the weather do not make it any less so.

Approaching the medieval hilltop village of Cirauqui. I didn’t run into many pilgrims today except Leonardo from Italy, who I bumped into now and then, whose cheerful yellow rucksack cover was the only reminder of the absent sun.

Waterfalls in the steep alleyways of Cirauqui!

Today’s outfit. The sun hat I bought also turned out to be a perfect rain hat, as it held the hood of the rain poncho in place and the wide brim kept most of the rain off my face.

Leaving the village on one of the best examples of a roman road on the camino and I continue over the small Roman bridge.

Follow the yellow arrow at all times. The won’t let you down.

Unlike some road signs towards the end which actually showed the wrong distance, and which made the road to Estella feel endlessly long.

At last Estella! Thanks to the rain, I push on and only take very short breaks, so I feel completely exhausted after seven hours of non-stop hiking when I finally stagger into town and my hostel. So, unfortunately I don’t take many photos of Estella or the wonderful Agora hostel which I absolutely love!

San Juan Bautista on the square where I eventually had a delicious early dinner. I have found that hiking has increased my appetite tremendously and I must eat as fast as possible when I arrive, because I feel famished. Ironically, the rain has stopped and it’s a sunny and beautiful day.

Iglesia San Miguel. This was the sum of what I managed to see of Estella. I head back to Agora where Alfonso has made we a warm welcome, and I plan to have an early night in my very private and cosy bed behind the curtain.

Tomorrow I’m heading to Villamayor de Monjardín, so luckily it’s going to be a short walking day, and I’m looking forward to this!

Check out my earlier posts to get the full context of this pilgrimage and the one I did the year before, and sign up to be notified when the next post is released. If you enjoyed this post, please give it some love by sharing and liking it!

All photos copyright Anita Martinez Beijer © All rights reserved