Day 7 - Los Arcos to Logrono

Weather: sunny & clear - good walking and trekking weather.
Distance: 30kms
Track: excellent for a good days walk

Left Los Arcos relatively early for another long day on the trail. Walking i conditions were really good - again only a couple of "major" climbs which stretched out those already aching calf muscles.
On this particular day we came across this guy whom I later dubbed Mr. Camino 2014. Jose and I were struggling and labouring up these hills trying to carry our 14kg backpack and here's this guy with 2 backpacks on his shoulders zooming past us as if he was on a leisurely stroll hardly raising a sweat. To make matters worse I think he may have been older than myself and Jose. And to make matters even more worse he did this a couple of times on separate climbs !!!!!
Had some lunch at a village that we passed en route the name of which I cannot remember - we regularly pass 4 or 5 small villages between our stops.
Reached Logrono at approx 3:00pm and dumped our belongings in our albergue and began to look around. Logrono is a fairly major center of the Rioja region and as customary with these places there is an old part of the city ( which generally dates back the middle ages) and a more modern section.
We visited the Museo de Rioja, some other historical buildings and of course the cathedral which unfortunately was closed!!!! We also sampled the world famous "pinchos" , in Laurel street - some small snacky pastries that can be either beef, seafood or chicken based.
That night we had dinner with our favorite Camino friends Quinn, Sabrina, Danielle and Louise at their albergue. This would be the last time together as Danielle and Louise were leaving to go back to other work and destinations and Quinn and Sabrina were going on ahead by bus to ensure they reached Santiago by the 20th may. Said our final goodbye and went back to our albergue.

Day 6 - Estella to Los Arcos

Weather: overcast, threatening rain at first but then fining up
Distance: 21kms
Track: reasonably gentle with some moderate climbs.
Left Estella after a quick breakfast and headed out of the city. We didn't exactly realize how large Estella was, so it took us quite a while to actually get out of the precinct.
Track was relatively gentle and at a certain point we took the 'forest' option which turned out to be very scenic and enjoyable option particularly as we also came across our good  camino friends Quinn and Sabrina from the US.
Eventually got to Los ARCO's at around 1:30pm and settled into our chosen albergue - again the level of accom was more than acceptable for a 'dorm' situation - sharing a room of 6 beds.
Had lunch on a nearby local square.
Had a look around at the small village which originated on the middle ages, along with the obligatory huge stone church.
Had dinner with other Camino friends and turned in - tomorrow is a major walk of 30 kms.

Day 5 - Puente LA Reina to Estella

Weather: sunny, pleasant but cold in the morning.
Distance: 21.9kms
Track: pretty good for the most part but some tricky bits.
Left Puenta La Reina in bright sunshine but pretty cold temperatures.
Again the track had some good hills along the way but it was an enjoyable walk for the majority of the way.
Got to the San Miguel hostel, also run by the local parish. After getting the usual run down about the place and it's rules. Another dormitory of about 28 beds, but comfortable enough it seemed.
We dropped our packs and gear and showered and changed into clean stuff.
The hosteliera had given us some information about the town, so we thought we'd do some exploring.
A huge stone cross high up on a hill was the first target, however we were not given too much information about the track, which was very steep and rugged in parts but we foolishly persisted until about 100 meters from the top when it became very treacherous and we only had crocs on for footware - so we gave that one a miss.
Next was the towns old stone bridge, the old castle ruins another iron cross on a different hill overlooking the city and finally the cathedral of San Pedro - a magnificent 13th century bldg.
We stumbled across 2 people from our first night at SJPDP and agreed to have dinner with them after Mass @ 7:00pm however the Mass never eventuated ( church was locked and priest never rocked up) so we just went to dinner at Cafe Roma; had an enjoyable meal with them and then went back to our dorm for much needed rest & sleep.

Day 4 - Pamplona (Cizur Menor) - Puente La Reina

Weather: wet and drizzly
Distance: 21kms
Terrain: OK in parts, wet slippery and stony for some.
Left Cizur Menor at approx 7:30 and took the road to Puente LA Reina.
Track was hilly, stony, muddy and picturesque in a lot of parts.
No major events - just lots of walking through fields, farms, villages and quaint hamlets.
Reached Puente LA Reina at approx 1:00pm. Booked into the hostel run by the Padres Religiosos - an OK place for sleeping, laundry and catching up with new found Camino friends.
In the afternoon we visited the Puente LA Reina - which translates to the Queens Bridge - an ornate and beautiful stone bridge built in the early middle ages.
We also had a look at a couple of churches built around the same time - some truly amazing construction considering the circumstances.
We met up with a young seminarian who gave us an insight in what they are. doing in the area with respect to education and community. We also tried to update our blog at an Internet cafe, but their machine was so old and slow that we eventually gave up!!!?
Had dinner with some really great people that we met on Day 1 of the Camino.
Turned in at approx 9:30.