The streets were quiet when we returned through the township. We passed over the Puenta de la Reina to walk to Estella where we would end Day 5 of walking the full Camino de Santiago. From Estella, we’ll carry on to Los Arcos on Day 6. Both Estella and Los Arco sound like they’ll be interesting.
Puenta de la Reina to Estella
Our walking notes promised a walk over rolling hills alongside vineyards and amongst olive and almond groves through the ancient towns of Bargota and Ciraqui.
We hit the road at 7:30am after having a satisfying breakfast at Hotel Jacques, which provides hotel and hostel accommodation. We stayed in a comfortable room in the hotel section.
Within an hour we had passed through the town of Maneru and came across a French family of three (mother, father and daughter) whom we had seen on the route over the past several days. After exchanging pleasantries we left them behind and found ourselves walking behind three young adults talking and laughing as they walked.
We all came to a standstill at a Camino arrow pointing in two directions. One of the arrows directed us up a narrow and rough track. Comparing notes and apps we agreed that both routes would take us to the same place. We would be safer to take the wider trail.
With the ice broken, we chatted with Ines, Fernando and Santiago as we walked. The boys were twins and Ines was their older sister. They were walking part of the Camino trail as a five-day family holiday. All three had completed the last section of the Camino Frances as part of a school activity when they were younger. They were trying to catch up with their parents who had started walking earlier than their children that morning. They strode on ahead of us continuing their banter.
Ciraqui
The hilltop town of Ciraqui was within view as we walked along a track surrounded by rolling hills, wheat fields, olive groves and vineyards. The sky above was clear and blue.
There was a bit of a climb to the centre of Ciraqui at the top of the hill where the church and monastery are located. The church was closed. A stamp and stamp pad sat on the small table by the restroom for us to stamp our pilgrim passports. The streets were empty except for pilgrims making their way to the top to descend through the other side of the town.
On the other side of the township was one of the highlights for pilgrims who pass through Ciraqui. Halfway down the tarmac road, the remains of a well-preserved 2000-year-old Roman road appeared exposed. The road led down to another rarity, an old Roman bridge. Our young friends had caught up with their parents and were resting in the shade by the beautiful Roman stone road with other pilgrims.
We slowed down to manoeuvre our way down the road but decided to carry on over the bridge to the township of Lorca for our rest stop.
Lorca
The walk to Lorca was more demanding. With the beautiful scenery behind us, the track was craggy with many ups and downs. Again, we were grateful to have chosen to use hiking poles. They provided much-needed assistance on the steep and rocky inclines as much as the steadiness they gave us as we navigated downhill.
Finally, at the top of a steep and rocky ravine, the road into Lorca appeared and we sat down for a well-earned rest opposite the church at the entrance to the town. Looking around us we saw a few familiar faces including the loud Asian American lady who had sat at the table across from us during dinner in Saint Jean Pied de Port boasting to her companion that she had completed the walk three times before. Many familiar faces appeared, reappeared, and sometimes disappeared during our time on the Camino.
We had taken off our shoes when Danish Jens and Kirsten arrived. Thoughts on the journey so far were discussed before they continued up the road to find a cafe for coffee.
Villatuerta
Rested, we continued through vineyards and along paths lined with bright sunflower fields. There was one more township to walk through, Villatuerta before we reached our overnight stay in Estella.
Over a Roman bridge and at the top of a steep road, we arrived at the old 14th-century church, Iglesia de la Asuncion standing in a courtyard. We took the opportunity to have a look inside, stamp our passports and have a drink from our water bottles before continuing.
Just outside of Villatuerta, there was the small hermitage our guidebook had pointed out. Originally part of a larger monastery complex it has since disappeared leaving the beautiful sight of the lonely chapel sitting amongst the olive groves. We decided not to detour to have a look and instead continued. There was one more rise to climb and before long we were walking along a neverending bike path which eventually led us into Estella.
Estella
It was delightful to cross over the Rio Ega towards our accommodation and find it bustling with locals and pilgrims. Estella is divided in two with settlements on both sides of the river.
We decided to have lunch in front one of Estella’s famous landmarks, Puenta de la Carcel (previously known as Puenta de San Martin). The bridge has a steep single arch and offers breathtaking panoramic views of the river and the township on both sides. The Iglesia de Santa Maria Jus de Castillo and the Santo Domingo convent, located on the hill above the town, can also be seen from the bridge.
Exploring Estella
Once we had settled into our accommodation, we stepped outside to explore the town only to find empty streets. Spaniards enjoyed a siesta to escape the heat leaving only a few of us outdoors.
As we walked up Calle Mayor, we couldn’t help but peek inside the shop windows. Our destination was the triangular plaza, Plaza Santiago. It was only during our return walk that we realized the true significance of this main street. Upon closer inspection of the building facades and plaques on some residences, we discovered they had served as amazing palaces and houses of fine gentry in past times.
A detour halfway down Calle Mayor took us to the town’s main square, Plaza de los Fueros which was surrounded by arcaded buildings with plenty of dining establishments and another church, the Iglesia San Juan Bautista.
With the heat still bearing down, it was the perfect time to return to our lunch spot to relax over a beer and write our reflections on our day before retreating to our hotel for dinner.
An after-dinner walk found us back in the main plaza for a little people-watching. Elderly residents sat chatting on benches around the circumference of the square, while parents watched their youngsters play football on the pavement or play tag.
Our accommodation
Our hotel, Hotel Hospederia Chapitel is a lovely boutique hotel a short distance from the bridge and located right in front of the Citadel. We were delighted to find we had views of the Citadel from our spacious and comfortable room.
The hotel had a small bar with comfy armchairs by the window from where we could watch the town come alive again over a glass of wine before another delicious three-course meal in the hotel restaurant.
Walking statistics
- 23km
- 5 hours 50 minutes
Estella to Los Arcos
We were ready by 7am and our Danish hikers arrived for breakfast not long after. As others drifted in we noticed that while it wasn’t apparent in the evening before, the hotel was at capacity. Accommodation is at a premium in Pamplona during the San Fermin so many revellers stay in Estella instead. Pamplona is only a few kilometres away by car.
After a leisurely breakfast, we left the town by crossing the Puenta de la Carcel. We walked along the elegant main street of the old town and through the portal into suburbia. We carefully followed the Camino signage out of town and arrived at our first stop three kilometres outside of Estella.
Monasterio de Irache and the Bodegas Irache Wine Fountain
Our guidebook and daily notes made special mention of this Camino attraction. The path led us past the Bodegas Irache and to the right behind a small gate was the legendary fountain offering wine and water to modern-day pilgrims. The monks at the monastery used to make the wine, which also served as a pilgrim hospital in the early days.
The purpose of the Irache Wine Fountain
The fountain symbolises the first miracle Jesus performed, turning wine into water and was inaugurated in 1991 to commemorate 100 years of winemaking by the vineyard. The 12th-century vines surrounding the path we had just walked along supply the grapes for the wine fountain and it is tradition to fill your Camino scallop shell and drink from it. However, because it is usually still early morning when pilgrims pass by, they will often fill their water bottles to enjoy the wine later in the day.
We arrived to find quite a few pilgrims at the fountain and took our place in the queue alongside a group of four loud Americans who took advantage of the free-flowing wine and filled all their drink bottles.
At 8:30 am, it was too early for us to fill more than our small water bottle caps and take a sip for the sake of custom before carrying on past the monastery a few metres further along the path. Visiting the monastery and church is possible if you arrive after 9 am.
Luquin
After passing the monastery, the path led us through a pine forest emerging to amazing views of the jagged-edged mountains in the distance before spotting the pyramid-shaped hill with a castle on top.
There is the option to detour into the small village of Villamayor de Montjardin to stay overnight if pilgrims want to make the steep climb to the top of the hill to explore the castle.
We continued our journey towards Los Arcos. Our walking notes told us there were few other places to stop after the monastery. We did, however, come across an unusual sight – a community swimming pool with a cafe attached in the small village of Luquin. The streets were empty. We stopped at the pool to have our morning tea of fruit as other walkers came and went around us before we continued.
The long road to Los Arcos
The path led us through dry fields and pastures for about 12km. The last section was on an exposed and long flat pathway where we trudged, exposed to the hot sun, with other pilgrims before reaching the sign announcing the town entrance.
Los Arcos is a small and pretty little town. Again, we found the street leading to the small main square of the old town was empty. Unsure if we would find anything substantial for lunch further on, we stopped at one of the only stores open. The small bakery sold freshly baked vegan goods. We opted for the vegan empanada and a pretty standard coffee accompanied by an apple danish which we devoured while sitting on a bench opposite the store.
Satiated and ready to find our accommodation which was a few metres further we found ourselves in a busy little square in front of the Iglesia de Santa Maria de los Arcos where other pilgrims were having lunch outside a bar. The church was closed so we passed through the old town portal to our accommodation a few metres outside the old town walls.
Our accommodation
Reception at Hotel Monaco was closed and a phone call had to be to the hotel’s contact number. The owner apologised profusely for not being on-site to welcome us (there had been a death in the family) and directed us to where we could find our room keys. He also advised that instead of having dinner and breakfast in the hotel, he had arranged for us to have dinner at the bar and restaurant on the ground floor and breakfast at the small cafe across the road.
Our room was spacious but on an incredibly hot July day, we would have appreciated air conditioning or at least a fan in the room! It was cooler in the corridor than in our room. The hotel did have laundry facilities, however, for which we were grateful once we had worked out how to use the washing machine.
Our arrival routine completed we strolled back into the old town area before pre-dinner drinks and journalling in a little courtyard at the restaurant bar.
Highlights of the day
Two highlights punctuated a rather long and unremarkable day:
- While having lunch and watching other walkers arrive, our friend, the cyclist from Akaretta arrived and sat on a bench next to us sharing a little of his journey. He had cycled the Camino de Santiago three or four times. This time he was taking it easy and only cycling 20-30km per day while staying in the smaller towns and stopping to explore more towns along the way.
- When we wandered back into the old town in the late afternoon, our fellow walkers, the Danish couple were enjoying refreshments outside the church. They were staying at a hostel in the old town (which probably had air conditioning!). An invitation to join them and the ensuing conversation resulted in our meeting frequently along the walk and afterwards until they left us at Logrono.
Walking statistics
- 21km
- 5 hours 15 minutes
One more thing
We had found that while not intended, we had settled into an arrival routine which we continued throughout the journey:
- Have some lunch.
- Check-in at our accommodation.
- Unroll our yoga mats for a 30-40 minute stretch yoga session (this has so far ensured that we are ready for another long walk the next day).
- Unpack (the trick here is to unpack only what we need ).
- Shower.
- Do laundry if the facilities allow it.
- Go out to explore the town/village.
In case you missed it – Walking the full Camino de Santiago
If you’d like to follow our journey from the start, read:
