First Week (Orisson to Torres Del Rio)

Our first challenging day brought us to Orisson. The second day promised a hard task of climbing to highest (or second highest if you ask any Spaniard) point on the Camino on the way to Roncesvalles. Here we are literally above the clouds. The up was tiring but we had no idea the pounding Meg's feet were taking...

 We made it to Roncesvalles, after a heart attack inducing descent off the mountain. It took us longer to get down then to go up. Our plan was to pause in Roncesvalles but try and stay further up the Camino in Espinal (and stop at a cajero autómatico). 

We walked (painfully) from Roncesvalles to Espinal and met some tremendously lazy vaca (cows) who decided the road was the best place to relax. We decided against joining them and pushed forward.

 From Espinal (and Meg's feet at a breaking point) we headed out for Larrasoaña. But by the time we had arrived in Zubiri (5km short of Larrasoaña) it was time to face facts about our feet. 

Luckily we found divinity in the form of a shoe store. The woman who helped Meg (and me, I upgraded footwear) was a tremendous gift. She sold us on walking sandals and sneakers for breath-a-bility and support (Keene's and Solomon's) and the shoes are great!

We ended up forwarding our boots from hostel to hostel until we reached Estella where we shipped the boots (and the duffel bags and Meg's sleeping bag) to Santiago.

We met this girl in Illaratz. 

 After taking the bus through Pamplona (San Fermin was insane and there was puke, garbage, and people in every square inch of a city not too much bigger than Boston). We then had a hike from Zizur Mayor to Puente la Reina where we had decided to take a rest day. 

On the way we climbed Alto de Perdon and saw the famous sculptures where the wind meets the stars (donde el viento se reúne a las estrellas). 

The shoes made such a difference! Our feet were good despite the steep drop and loose rock filled path down from Perdon.

We entered Puente La Reina with three beautiful churches. 

Puente La Reina is small but amazingly beautiful city and we were happy we chose our off day here. Three churches dominate the skyline (Crucifijo, Pedro, and Santiago).

Crucifijo is the oldest with a connection the Knights Templar. Ryan already asked and no the Holy Grail wasn't there. 

Pedro looks plain from outside but has ornate gold altars all over the interior. We also have the famous bridge that gives the city its name that was constructed in the 12th century. 

Puente was a life line and we felt rested and ready to go after our day off.

We can't describe how insanely delicious this shit is. 

Or the fact that America doesn't have access to peach juice. We call bullshit.

We walked from Puente to a lovely town called Villatuerta (about 4km short of Estella). This hostel had a pool and most importantly hammocks. (Also important was a good breakfast). We met up with an Irish couple we had met in Puente (and have since met here and there) for a lot of necessary wine and Camino complaining (mostly about heat and hills). 

Shout out to La Casa Mágica for access to massages (unfortunately the dude had the day off for San Fermin) and a yoga studio in in the basement.

We walked from Villatuerta to Villamayor de Monjardín. A good walk but short but worth the view from the hostel. We stopped briefly in Estella to use the post and snap a photo of Igelsia San Pedro (a different one). 

Leaving Estella we encountered El Fuente de Vino in Irache. Yes, a wine fountain. A fountain that pours wine! It was early and we were tired so we took one sip each. 

We moved on for a good walk to Monjardín. The hostel was lovely and mostly empty with most people choosing to take the next 13km to Los Arcos.

And now we have arrived in Torres Del Rio with a huge 12th century church modeled after the Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Tonight we will take it easy before we move on to Logroño, Navarette, and Najera tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday respectively. 

Buen Camino y muchas gracias por leer!

Mike and Meg