Puente la Riena to Estella

April 22, 2016 Friday

Puenta la Riena to Estella and Rain    Walking Day #5

I met Philippe and Marie-Pierre for breakfast in the hotel. They have only two days of walking left for this year's section of the Camino de Santiago. We soon started the walk to Estella, and it was once again, a beautiful day. There will be only a couple of hills, but not nearly as difficult as those we have traversed in past days

This was the entrance to a church in Puente la Riena. I like the concave structure leading in to the doors.

And this was the entrance to the hotel where I met up again with Philippe and Marie, and where all of us stayed last night. We had breakfast together with Alex and Leidi from Columbia, and headed out onwards onto the Camino.

We had to take pictures of this bridge, and ancient Roman bridge, rebuilt in the 1800s as I recall from one of the guidebooks. Marie-Pierre got me in this shot, squinting into the bright sunshine. It does not look like it will rain, but rain is predicted for the afternoon especially near Estella.

We are getting near to the Riojas area where winemaking is important, and good wines are made. The Camino path here is smooth and in good shape, making for an easy walk (or relatively easy walk - after all the walking, one's legs are tired, and walking is not so "easy").

Then, in the fields to the left of us we saw the world. We could not figure out what plant was used for the outline, and did not want to walk over to investigate. Onward!

We came upon an old bridge built by the Romans, still in use. A bit (or more than a bit) worn, but functional and traversed by many pilgrims every day. The approaches to and from the bridge are in bad shape, and while in the distance in this photo appear to by like stairs, they are uneven, rocky, and difficult to navigate.

Then, in a little village about an hour from Estella, we came upon this lovely garden of tulips. Bright and cheery, it did not seem like this was foreshadowing rain.

The rain came, and it came hard. The last 45 minutes of the walk to Estella, was in hard, hard rain. Everything not securely covered was soaked. My feet felt as if I were walking on little ponds (while "water proof," that does not prevent water from coming in through the top and where the laces are. We got to Estella, and I bid Philippe and Marie-Pierre good-bye, as they are staying at a different place than I. It is unfortunate, but I will not see them again soon, for tomorrow is their last walking day. They will start very early on Saturday, walk to Los Arcos, take a bus to Pamplona, then a bus to Biarritz in France, so they can catch a flight to Paris on Sunday morning and be back to work on Monday. I am sorry to see them go, but I shall not forget their good company and uplifting spirit.

The entrance to my hotel in Estella. This was a nice hotel, and having been soaked, I really wanted a hot shower and to do laundry. They told me the laundry was self-service, but the lady from the front desk basically did it for me. Very nice.

Being in a hotel, I have my own bathroom, and I put the hairdryer into each boot for about 20 minutes. That did a pretty good job of drying the inside. Then I got an old newspaper from the bar, and stuffed newspaper in the boots to absorb more of the moisture, which I changed in the middle of the night. By the next morning, my boots were dry.

Jim Geier's Pilgrim Credential with almost a week's stamps.
Many more to come.

Next: Estella to Los Arcos, another beautiful day in Spain