I passed through the Medieval towns of Villatuerte, Estella, and Irache. Everything is so old. Like really old. Narrow streets and fortified churches. All of these towns were fought for by Moors, Basque, Spanish, and French. It's all a bit claustrophobic for me and a hurry through to get to the countryside.
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| Fortified church in Estella |
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Blacksmith shop door, Estella.
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| Cloister of Irache Monastery. |
This walk has reinforced my desire to travel by foot through the rural landscape. As interesting as the middle ages are historically, I much prefer the reading of the landscape much more. Miles of olive, olive, and fig orchards attest to the loving care of farmers for thousands of years. I saw olive trees that are hundreds of years old, still bearing, still growing. Vineyards with grape trunks three feet around form massive latticework across the terraced hills.
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| A terraced hill landscape with grape, wheat, olive, almond. |
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| Donkeys graze inside a small holders farm fence. |
The green hills of Basque Country are far behind me now as the climate becomes more like the tablelands of the Mediterranean plateaus of central Spain. By noon the sun is intense and I am getting grumpy. I don't handle hot weather very well. Neither, it seems, do my Camino mares, now far apart along miles of dusty trail. A castle on a hill points us to our destination for the at Villamajor Monjardin.
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| The castle at the top of the hill marks my destination below. |
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| The Moorish Well |
In view of the castle, the Camino winds through wheat fields, up and up, past an ancient well built by Moors. The town atop the rise is beautiful and all if the same pinkish orange stone. I collapse in a shady picnic area on a hot street, buy some cheese and salami from a small store, rest, then check into the local albergue. Cold shower time!
