Author: Thom

We continue walking through Cirueña’s vast, but empty, housing developments. We finally spot somebody who isn’t a pilgrim! In an otherwise empty playground in front of several blocks of empty apartment buildings, a lone maintenance worker cuts the grass. Date: 09 April 2016 Place: Cirueña (La Rioja, Spain) Note: in all fairness, I should point out that just as you […]

As I mentioned yesterday, Cirueña’s housing developments stand nearly empty. We are here surrounded by apartments, and we are walking towards a street of townhouses. All are empty. Nobody lives here. The whole place is eerie. The only people you see on the streets are pilgrims passing through. Spooky. Date: 09 April 2016 Place: Cirueña (La Rioja, Spain) Map! Here’s […]

This brand of steel art is endemic along this portion of the Camino. On the other side of the village, the pilgrim cut out from this piece stands on his own. A neat trick: two sculptures for the price of one. As we will see in the next days, this village and the nearby village of Ciriñuela were the site […]

In the rest area at the top of the hill, we found this graffiti on the water fountain. It is an excerpt from a poem by Antonio Machado. In English, the lines may be rendered “Wayfarer, there is no way. / You make the way by walking.” For obvious reasons, this particular poetic fragment is often associated with the Camino. […]

Though I didn’t take any photos of the crazy hill we climbed, I did take a photo of the thoughtfully provided seating at the top. They might not look comfortable, but these are a well-earned rest. We sat a bit and drank some water, snarfed some snacks, and then pressed on. Date: 09 April 2016 Place: Somewhere between Azofra and […]

Oh, it was a long, long morning. It was made longer by a conscious decision on our part to avoid walking next to the highway. If you look at the map down below, you will see two routes, one much longer than the other. We took the long road. It was beautiful, with the deep red of the La Rioja […]

Portrait of a pilgrim: moving slow but steady and carrying most everything he needs on his back. We met this little friend during the long walk from Azofra. He didn’t seem in any particular hurry, though he was in the middle of the road and pretty far from his next meal. Exactly like us. Date: 09 April 2016 Place: Somewhere […]

Just past Azofra, we come to this stone column in the middle of nowhere. It is called the Crucero de Azofra. There apparently used to be a sign next to it explaining what it was, but when we were there, it was just a metal pole. Time to break out the trusty guidebooks! It turns out that this was a […]

One of my rare panorama shots, with Azofra behind us and the open Camino stretching out before us. You’ll want to click in for a closer look. And yes, that’s Francine far, far ahead of me. Date: 09 April 2016 Place: leaving Azofra behind (La Rioja, Spain) Map! Here’s our route out of Azofra, destination: unknown!

Like many of the smaller towns and villages along the Camino, in Azofra you come finally to a place where the sidewalk ends. Before you get there, though, you walk through this little neighborhood, which seems a throwback to a much earlier age, set amid modern roads. Date: 09 April 2016 Place: Azofra (La Rioja, Spain) Map! Here’s our route […]