Los Arcos

Church of the Holy Sepulcher on the outskirts of Estella. 

I was on the road by 7AM this morning as again there was a steady drizzle.  The route out of Estella had a good group of pilgrims on the move.  Four Australians overtook me and we chatted a bit.   They are only able to walk for a week so they will be leaving from Logrono tomorrow to do a week of other things in Europe before heading back down under.  Together we stopped at the “Fuentes del Vino.”  The “Wine Fountain” is a gift to pilgrims from a local vineyard.  They have free wine on tap 24 hours a day for free!  At 7:30AM I just had a sip.  But I did notice some others filling empty bottles.   Way to heavy for me!

The Australians turn at the endless wine!

At the fountain I found two English lads whom I had met the previous afternoon in Puente la Reina.  While I forget their names, one has just finished their equivalent of high school and the other is the same age but has yet to finish school.  While they are here together they have a system where they don’t really walk together.  After the fountain, one went ahead and the other stayed walking with me.

View from the mountain made the ascent worthwhile. 

Sometimes the Camino breaks into options:  usually the original route and a less demanding one.  If I’m doing this, I am going soup to nuts.  So we began the ascent of the mountain before us.  It was about a 900 ft. climb.  By now the rains had let up and we were having a nice chat so the time went rather quickly.   The two of them are making the Camino to get a better perspective for the future.  For the two of them (as with us all) the road is a lot further than the 500 miles to Santiago de Compostela.  As the ascent became steeper, my British friend and I parted ways, as I needed more stops to catch my breath and make sure I kept breathing.

The South London lad leading the way.

On the other side of the mountain the winds were incredible.  While walking through the farms, vineyards and olive groves you could feel yourself getting pushed by nature’s force.  The two blessings were there was no rain by now and it was flat.  After an hour or so I met up with the English guy again and we walked into the city together where his friend was waiting for him arriving about a half hour earlier.

Church and plaza of Santa Maria de los Arcos.

Los Arcos only has about 1,300 inhabitants.  It is on the Odron River.  The center of the old town is the church and adjoining plaza of Santa Maria de los Arcos.  The church is 12th century.  But like so many others had been embellished as styles changed and the town grew in wealth off the pilgrims who passed through its portals.

Interior of Santa Maria de los Arcos.

As I concelebrated the evening Mass I could hear the winds howling.  As I spend more time in these elaborate churches I find myself getting distracted by so much of the art especially in the sanctuary.  While the women of Los Arcos were out in force for the Mass, the crowd of pilgrims was smaller than in the past.  I’m not sure if it was the 23k walk, the winds or that people are doing more socializing as new friendships are made along the way.