Estella to Logrono

An old mountaintop fort

Camino January 2026

January 8, 2026

Estella to Sansol

Today was a great day for walking. The morning was 41 and no wind. To back up a bit, last night I did my laundry at the local laundromat. The place was packed, but there was a washing machine open, so I put everything in to wash. There are only 4 dryers and 7 washing machines, so the dryers were very backed up. After the wash finished, I packed up and brought the wet laundry to my room and scattered everything out to dry. This morning things were sort of dry, but not really, so at 8am I was back at the laundromat when they opened. No waiting for a dryer then. OK, now nice clean and dry clothes. By 9am I was on my way. With the late sunrise that is basically the plan anyway. It is almost 14 miles to Los Arcos. I did not have a place booked as I was trying to get a place in Sansol or Torres del Rio so I will have a shorter day tomorrow.

Walking out of town I caught Big Pack, London and Frankfurt. They said they were staying in the only hostel open in Los Arcos. They thought it was full since they second hostel in town was closed due to the owner being sick. Hmm, that doesn’t sound good. Oh well, things always work out.

Just outside Estella is the Bodega that has a free wine spout. One of the guys tried the wine and said it tasted like it was old. Not enough pilgrims going by to drink the free wine. The four of us all took the alternate route through the woods. It is a beautiful walk. Last year I stayed on the main path. I soon got ahead of the group. I even stopped in Luquin for a short break. Not sure where they went. No sightings today of Holland or Argentina. I think the trail is quieter this year than last. I know 8 people in this little community. I have not seen anyone else. Last year there were several walkers I never met. Like I said before, this is an older group. Big Pack is probably in his 40s, everyone else is 50+.

The afternoon was all through rolling farm land. I did see several local bikers out, but no other pilgrims. I heard from my last hope in Sasol that they were closed, so I called a Los Arcos small hotel. He said he would open for me. He does speak a little English, but with every call I make over here I wonder if we both have the same understanding of the conversation. Sure enough, he was at the front desk when I arrived. I wanted to take a cab 4 miles ahead to Sansol and walk back. He said the bus will stop right outside in 10 minutes. Perfect. I dropped a bunch of stuff in the room and off I went. The clouds had come in and the wind picked up, but it was nice to get these 4.3 miles done today. I did not take any pictures as it is still rolling farm land. Tomorrow at 8:03 I will get on the bus again. The bus ride is less than $2. The hotel for the night was $50.

Friday January 9, 2026

Sansol to Logrono

The morning started by catching the 8:03 bus from Los Arcos back to Sansol. As I was waiting, two local guys asked me in Spanish what time the bus was coming. I was able to answer in Spanish. After getting dropped off 10 minutes later it was continuing the walk west. The winds were crazy strong most of the night. The noise woke me up several times. The forecast was 25mph with gusts to 45 for today. There were several times during the day that I stumbled because of a gust. The walk continued through farmland but started to transition to vineyards. I am now in the La Rioja region. This is a very popular wine area.

About 7 miles in I stopped in the wonderful, classic town of Vianna. There is a great bakery, so had to stop there.

I knew it would be a quiet day on the path as I started early and 4.3 miles ahead of everybody. Tomorrow I should see people again. Tomorrow is a 17+ mile day, so I plan to start before sunrise. There is a lot less daylight walking in the winter.

I was glad I did the 4.3 miles yesterday. The winds really picked up after noon. The first raindrops started to fall as I arrived in to Logrono. Being a city (100,000 people) there are lots of food options. I asked the woman at the front desk for a good place to eat. I thought I understood what she said, but it brought me to a modern Japanese restaurant. Why not. I had my first real Ramen. No silverware, just chop sticks and a small wooden spatula to get the liquid. I ordered a 3 out of 5 spiciness. It was quite spicy. It was very good and a cool place. Then it was off to do laundry and find my favorite grocery store – Dia. They had the fresh baked goods, but their orange juice machine was not working. Oh well.

Travel is the perfect catalyst for tolerance and acceptance. – Author unknown