How, you may ask did tired pilgrims make the 29 km stage from Navarra to La Rioja so quickly? We are still recuperating and felt a short bus ride was in order and here we are in Lagroño (PRS-29). We are sorry to have missed the church in Los Arcos but that is for next time. Once we got our bearings we visited PRS-29-4, the Concatredal de Santa María la Redonda which is truly inspiring. There is a painted Crucifixion by Michelangelo.

I took a bunch of pictures inside and outside the Cathedral. We had to go out and get some change to illuminate some areas, like the Michelangelo.

After noon we walked the Camino a bit, stopped for lunch and then checked into our Albergue for the night. It is a real one with bunk beds for 24 in a room. I hope our coughs have calmed enough. After relaxing and blogging, we went for a long walk to see the way we will be going in the morning. First we passed the Pilgrim Fountain

Then we got to Iglesia de Santiago el Real (PRS-29-6) with an impressive entrance which includes Santiago Matamoros (St James the Moor Slayer, a bit less passive than Santiago Perigrino).

We also passed a Camino full size board game and a pair of Perigrino statues (with skimpy backpacks)

Dinner and bed. Then on to Navarette or further (with no pushing)

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We started after our long layover in Estella at 7:50. We still have “Camino Cough” but are ready to get moving. The first stop was at the Monastery of Irache (PRS-26) where there is a wine fountain to invigorate pilgrims. “Pilgrim if you want to arrive in Santiago with strength and vitality drink a mouthful of this great wine and overflow with happiness”
We had our breakfast here but the Monastery wasn’t open.
The remainder of the morning we walked up through the gorgeous Tierra Estrella wine country eventually coming to Villamayor de Monjardin.

As you walk into Villamayor, you see the castle of San Esteban de Deyo which has been in Moorish and Navarran hands and may have been invaded by Charlemagne at one point.

Before town there was a Gothic fountain called El Fuente de Los Moros.

We had a light lunch in Villamayor. There we met two young women from Roma and a gentleman from Bologna whom they had met on the Camino. We then continued through wine and olive country.

If this blog seems a little long, there is a reason, the last leg from Villamayor to Los Arcos is supposed to be 11.5 km but is actually 15.2, an extra 2 miles in an already too long walk. The measurements were made with my GPS watch. We did get in finally around 7 PM after 15.5 miles (way too long). We had dinner with a couple from Sweden and a lawyer from Atlanta. The Albergue keeper was kind enough to do our laundry while we ate. Bed by 10.

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