Those of you who follow me on Instagram will know that this summer, I spent 9 days walking around 180km along the Camino de Santiago, from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France to Logroño in Spain. I wrote a Q&A post in response to some of the questions people had asked me along the way already but had so many people ask me if I was going to blog about the entire experience that I’ve decided to make this a nine part series over the next 3 months or so. Noone wants to read a recap featuring 100s of photos and 1000s of words and I feel like this might be more helpful for people who are looking for information about the specific stages. This is Part 7 (Parts 1-6 linked at the end of this post).
Camino Frances Day 7: Estella to Los Arcos (approx 24km)
AAAH – THIS day. So much better than the day before. Just as long and with a bit of an incline early on in the day but with my feet all stretched out the previous night and in the morning, I was in so much better shape. Just goes to show you the power of stretching! Plus, I mean today, there was a wine fountain to visit… Say what? Yes, a WINE FOUNTAIN!
We were full from breakfast but were tempted to stop at Richard’s just outside Estella…
(“with wine and bread the Camino is easier”)
but we continued on our (very civilised) path…
With our target destination in sight…
Uh huh, that’s right… Bodegas Irache provides free wine for Pilgrims to help them on their way… According to their site, “this stretch of the Way to Compostela was already renowned for the quality of the local wine in the 12th century and the Calixtine Codex mentions Estella, land of Good Bread and Optimal Wine.” I mean, it was ON THE WAY, we couldn’t NOT stop and take a look…
(as it was not even 9am, we filled up on water and bought a tiny bottle of the wine from the store LOL!)
We continued on our way as we knew there was a steep incline to conquer…
Uh huh, we were headed up to the top there – to Villamayor de Monjardín…
The town is just around the bend there. No filter on this photo. It was HOT!
We stopped a little while here, had some cold drinks and snacks and rested a little while. I was a bit uncertain if my feet were going to be ok but they seemed to be holding up ok. This was where we discovered that Yvonne and her extreme sun protection (long white arm protectors, large white hat) had become somewhat the celebrity on the trail. She’ll forever be known as the Michael Jackson of the Camino.
A few kilometres later we stopped for a snack…
(Spanish smarties, how could I resist?)
Not much to see on the way today – fairly flat farmland – but there WAS Edouardo’s Café Móvil…
We stopped for a quick ice cream but pushed on…
And thankfully, though it was hot, the terrain was flat…
I arrived in tiny Los Arcos (population 1200 and declining) extremely happy that I had managed to make it through the day. After requisite stretching, relaxing, Instagramming (!) and showers, we headed out to explore the tiny town…
And enjoy a well-deserved beverage…
With just a couple days’ walking left, we felt like we could celebrate a little. Plus, I mean, my feet had made it through…
We enjoyed our Pilgrim Dinner:
Where I had the oddest dish of the trip…
Uh, yeah, “Peas with Ham”. Canned peas if you must know. I ate them all because, vegetables…
As we strolled back to the hotel, we enjoyed the magical light…
9.30pm in Los Arcos.
Verdict: A MUCH better day than the previous two in terms of foot pain (there was none) and terrain (it was fairly easy). Check back in the next two weeks for the penultimate day of the Camino where we walk to charming Viana.
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Disclosure: I researched Camino trips independently and chose the Camino Travel Center based on a number of features such as flexibility to accommodate a couple of “splits” in some of the longer days, price and customer service. They were, in fact the first company I came across in my very first Google search and the one I ended up booking with. From the initial inquiry to the actual trip, they were a pleasure to deal with and we were very impressed with the service provided (bag transportation) and the accommodation choices. I was not compensated to write about this trip in any way but I love sharing companies and products I believe in with my readers. I couldn’t recommend the Camino Travel Center more and, in fact, am looking at booking another Camino walk with them in the future.
Read more about the Camino de Santiago:
Walking (part of) the Camino de Santiago – questions and answers
Walking (part of) the Camino de Santiago – Day 1: Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Valcarlos
Walking (part of) the Camino de Santiago – Day 2: Valcarlos to Roncesvalles
Walking (part of) the Camino de Santiago – Day 3: Roncesvalles to Zubiri
Walking (part of) the Camino de Santiago – Day 4: Zubiri to Pamplona
Walking (part of) the Camino de Santiago – Day 5: Pamplona to Puente la Reina
Walking (part of) the Camino de Santiago – Day 6: Puente la Reina to Estella
Walking (part of) the Camino de Santiago – Day 7: Estella to Los Arcos
Walking (part of) the Camino de Santiago – Day 8: Los Arcos to Viana
Walking (part of) the Camino de Santiago – Day 9: Viana to Logroño
I’m enjoying reading about your journey. It’s something I’m thinking of dong myself and the thought of a wine fountain has definitely made me more keen!
Oh it’s definitely a highlight!
Canned peas in the right dish are good. I love the wine fountain. I don’t think I’d have bothered doing any more walking that day…
LOL! Considering it’s just 1km out of Estella that would have made for a very long day the day after!!