All posts tagged: Albergue

Day 9 – Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Belorado

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Today is overcast and humid and it feels great to walk, because by now my body is used to walking longer distances with the backpack. It took about a week, as they say. The road today runs for large parts along the busy N-120 highway, and in one place even weaving through ongoing road works. I had to step through mud with bulldozers, trucks, and men wearing helmets and yellow safety vests! Not exactly the idyllic setting from the last few days… At one point as I approached Grañon, I hear a strange sound and look up. It’s a paraglider flying over the fields with the help of a motor, and he swings by and waves to me and this cheers me up! After an hour and a half I reach Grañon. This village is the only one that is some distance from the busy N-120 road, which gives it a peaceful setting. It’s wonderful to sit in the shade of the tree and have breakfast, and watch the other pilgrims slowly approaching on the …

Day 4 – Villamayor de Monjardín to Sansol

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Today, believe it or not, I actually got lost! I didn’t think it was possible, as the trails are generally well marked. Also, I sat on the balcony yesterday and watched pilgrims walk by on the street below. So what made me go up into the village and start walking on an unmarked dirt road, at the top of the village? Happily leaving Villamayor de Monjardín behind me early in the morning. I follow my app Organic Maps which usually is reliable. I’m full of energy, and feel like I’m flying along the trail at the top of the ridge. Eventually I come to the conclusion that I must be on an unmarked cycle path. I’m not too worried, despite the lack of the yellow arrows that usually show the way. During the previous days, the paths for pilgrims on foot and pilgrims on bicycles often crossed each other. Sooner or later this road will cross the camino, I think optimistically. It doesn’t. It ends on a paved road for cars with no edge to …

Day 3 – Estella to Villamayor de Monjardín

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Last year I had to start very early every morning to beat the heat, and I enjoyed the wonderful sunrises. This year is very different. It seems like overcast days and rain will be more the norm, and I figured I might as well have a lie in, since I won’t be walking far today. Well, it doesn’t work out as I had planned, as I wake up early to the rustle of backpacks and people moving about, and then the blinds are pulled up and the windows are thrown wide open by the staff as early as seven o’clock, so I guess the day has started for me too. Amazingly my feet and legs feel fit for another day of walking, and I’m out of the door just before 9 o’clock, which is late in anyone’s book. Leaving Estella, a town I would have liked to explore more. After Estella I pass a delightful forge just outside the small village of Ayegui. It’s called La Forage de Ayegui and it’s run by the most …

Day 2 – Puente la Reina to Estella

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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 …