Etapa 6 Estella- Los Arcos
Today’s trek is 22 Km plus the 4 that we did not walk yesterday, so that makes 26 Km. I feel well, had a good night sleep and Mark took care of my blisters. By now quite a few people have given up. It is very tough to walk day after day and the past two days the temperature was hot, (around 80F).
About two Km from Estella, we visited the Monastery of Irache (Iratxe) built in the shelter of the mountain of Montejurra in Ayegui and surrounded by vineyards, the Monastery of Iratxe initially appears as an immense mass of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque buildings. It was the first pilgrims' hospice in Navarre (the Orreaga/Roncesvalles hospice was not built until a century later) and it was constructed on the orders of King García 'el de Nájera' (11th century). Its golden age coincided with the years during which San Veremundo was the Abbott (1056-1098); he was so charitable to the poor that he used to take them food concealed under his habit. Whenever his brothers used to reproach him, he would lift up his habit and roses or wooden chips would appear instead of bread so the beggars could warm themselves. The monastery, which was dedicated to Santa María la Real, was continually inhabited, which meant that it was kept in a very good condition. In 1985, however, the lack of vocations caused the monks to depart and since then it has been uninhabited. The complex housed a University between 1569 and 1824. Entrance to the monastery is free of charge and the most stunning sight of the complex is the Romanesque church, which was started in the 12th century over the remains of a previous pre-Romanesque church. It is laid out in the shape of a Latin cross and has three semicircular apses, evidence of primitive construction, of which the central apse is notable for its perfectly-preserved cornice adorned with animals. You can enter the church through two Romanesque doorways, St. Peter's door (the main door), which is carved with historical motifs: It is also worth stopping to have a look at the Preciosa door which links the Plateresque cloister with the church and features images of the Saviour and the Virgin Mary. The monastic sacristy (16th century), the chapterhouse with its ribbed vault and a large building dating from the beginning of the seventeenth century which used to house the University of Iratxe are also well worth a visit. The monastery, which has a new cloister, holds more than 7,000 pieces of art and ethnographic items and a collection of carriages displayed in the monastery's passageways. For centuries, it housed the image of Our Lady of Iratxe (12th century), one of the most beautiful examples of Marian Romanesque imagery in Navarre. Made of wood, it stands one metre high and is covered with silver plate, except for the face and hands. If you would like to admire her, however, you will need to go to the church of Dicastillo, around 10 kilometres to the south of Ayegui, where she has been kept for the last century. Next to the monastery is a fountain which pours water from one spout and wine from the other, with the aim of sating the thirst and cheering the progress of the pilgrims. The fountain belongs to the Bodegas Iratxe winery, which stands next to the monastery, where you can take a guided tour. (we did not take the tour, but we try the wine and got the stamp from the winery)
We arrived at Los Arcos around 3:00 P.M it was quite hot. We found a nice hostal in the Center of the town. It's called "Los Arcos" because of the arches in the town square. This is another beautiful town, now we are in the center of wine country of La Rioja.
We went out to see the town and we met an old retired shepherd who had made a walking stick in which he carved a whole story about the Camino and all the names of the towns that the Camino passes through all and he was selling it. Mark decided to buy it and he ask us to go to his home so that he could engrave mark's name on the stick. He used some type of burning tool. So we went to his home and sat in the kitchen with his wife while he carved Mark's name on the Walking stick.
Some pictures of Los Arcos and Pedro the shepherd and the monastery of Irache
Etapa 7 Los Arcos - Logroño 28 Km.
This was a long and difficult etapa through the Rioja with a lot of hills, In the morning about one hour after leaving Los Arcos we passed by a convent of monastic or retired life nuns, and there was a mass at 9:00 A.M. So we waited about 15 minutes and we attended mass. It was really moving there was a pries that offered the mass. We could not see the nuns, but they were singing and praying behind the lattice windows.
When we arrived to Logroño, my feet were in really bad shape. We found a very nice Hotel in the downtown area. Logrono is a big city. There was a big demonstration in the main town square. Many young people had set up tents and they were going to spend the nigh there for several days having a peaceful protest about the state of the economy in Spain and the fact that a lot of this young people are educated and cannot get decent jobs and are unemployed. We spoke with some of them and they told us that they had done everything that was expected of them and now they find themselves with nowhere to work. Very sad to see how the financial institutions have made a mess of the economy and everyone is paying a big price except for them.
Hello again,
We are in Najera a beautiful town in the mountains and in the middle of La Rioja (wine country) Absolutely gorgeous. Today´s etapa was the longest yet. 31 Km. My feet and legs are dead, but I will feel better tomorrow.
Near the town of Najera, at he place of Aleson, stands the scene of one of the first and most extended legends of the Camino. That is fight between the knight Roland and the giant Ferragut.
The legend goes as follows:
At that time, in which Charlemagne, King of the Franks, lived the splendor of his empire surrounded by the heroic aura of his twelve knights, a Muslim giant of Syrian origin from the line of Goliath dared to challenge each of the twelve soldiers.
He first beat the great Ogier, a nobleman from Montauban, and then all the others until he came to the last, the valiant Roland. Although Charlemagne did not want to put Roland in danger in this way the latter accepted the challenge, which was traditionally held in the town of Nájera.
According to rumors Roland may have been a nephew, or even the son, of Charlemagne as a result of the incestuous love of the emperor and his sister?
The fights between Roland and Ferragut were horrific, but were so equally balanced that a truce had to be called finally because there was no clear winner. During the truce, Roland and Ferragut got to know each other well and the latter, ingenuous and overly trusting, confessed the secret of his power to his new friend: only one point on his body was vulnerable, his navel.
At lunch next day Roland started a discussion about the truth and the error of the two religions, which were declared enemies at the time. The discussion got more and more heated until they decided to sort it out with an ordalía, a fight in an enclosed yard.
Naturally, in the first round of the fight Roland plunged his spear into the weak point that Ferragut had revealed to him, his navel. And that is how the proud but naive Ferragut was mortally wounded.
Since then, many boys in Nájera have been christened with the name of that legendary giant: Ferragut.
