A bit of weather

Today was fairly easy as we made our way from Los Arcos to Viana. We actually stayed just outside of Los Arcos in a tiny town called Mues that has just one hotel and a bar across the street. It was a lovely eight-room boutique hotel that seemed to be brand new. We were the only guests last night so we were treated like queens. We were able to eat whenever we wanted, which was a treat. We walked around the town before dinner and discovered a beautiful sculpture garden by an artist (Pablo Nogales) who lives there in Mues. His sculptures were amazing, carved out of sandstone or granite and some of the pieces were of large elongated faces, somewhat like the ones on Easter Island.

Our walk from Los Arcos to Viana today was shorter (19km / 11.5 mi) and relatively flat with just a couple of uphill climbs. But it was windy, cloudy and colder than expected. We even encountered a tiny bit of rain - no more than sprinkles - a good reminder of how nice the weather has been (and what we will likely encounter down the line).


We had a longer than usual walk before reaching our mid-morning coffee stop at Sansol - where we caught up with our London friends, Kitty and John - but didn’t encounter many other pilgrims on the walk. Except for the woman doing yoga in the field amongst the weeds…? It made for a quieter, more reflective time. We again passed through many vineyards and saw several of the beehive-shaped huts made out of stone. Apparently they offered protection from the sun and rain for the field laborers. We visited the 12th century octagonal Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the next town of Torres Del Rio, an amazing architectural structure given that it is very small in diameter but the dome quite high with several crisscrossing arches. After that stop, we pushed on to Viana.

Our hotel in Viana is Palacio del Pujadas, which is rather palatial. Deceptively old on the outside, inside it is a very elegant, modern and comfortable hotel with a full bar and restaurant (which seems to be popular with locals and pilgrims alike) and a reading lounge. The old section of the city is bustling with many bars, restaurants, bakeries and shops - interspersed with hotels, pilgrim hostels and churches. Once outside of the old city, there is a bit of urban sprawl with row after row of apartment buildings.


Tomorrow we have what amounts to a rest day, as we have just over six miles to get to Logrono, where we plan to do some much-needed laundry. Yay!