Camino 2021

I had a problem with an earlier version so apologies to anyone who got it.  A completely different day today. Weather was cool, cloudy, windy (not to our advantage) and occasionally wet. The profile, as shown below, was hilly and according to my navigation app requiring a good level of fitness. Derek has developed a bad knee which is worrying and slows him down in hills - of which there were plenty. We had a great time, First visit was to the monastery of  Santa Maria de Irache  which is famous as its Bodega supplies pilgrims with free Rioja wine from the Fuente de Vino. It was 9:30 in the morning! The translation into English was clearly not done by a human being! The road thereafter wound its way through the hills of Navarra and into La Rioja.  The road verges are covered in wildflowers - especially Cornflower. We visited (or decided not to and passed by where it involved further climbing) the communities of Villamajor de Monjarin, Urbiola, Los Arcos, Sansol, Torre...

Not so much a blog - more a photo diary this time. Pamplona to Estella shows only 42 km and 3 hours cycling if you put it into Google Maps. It’s not like that if you follow the pilgrims path markers. We left at 10:00 AM and arrived at 5:00 PM. A lovely sunny day with beautiful scenery throughout. Some tough climbs involving cycle pushing up to (and down from!) the Alto de Perdon. Here it is.  Outside the municipal Albergue (pilgrim hostel) in Pamplona where we collected our “Credencial” - our pilgrim passports that will get us our pilgrim certificate in Santiago when we fill them with “Sellos” (seals) we collect on the journey.. The stony path up to the Alto de Perdon (the Mount/Hill of Forgiveness). The steel sculpture of pilgrims through the ages on a windy ridge and the famous inscription of Donde se Cruze el Camino del viento con el de las estrellas - “where the path of the wind crosses with that of the stars” .  Alto de Perdon After a brief rest we took the steep and roug...