Cardenuela Rio Pico to Burgos

This is the first moment I've had to update the blog as it's been full on for a while with making sure Mark's not left high and dry in the heat.

We got the bus #4 from Avenida la Paz having walked past the stop at plaza Espana as it said 28mins. 

We chuckled as it meant we had missed the bus by 2mins. I've thrown in the www.autosotoyalonso.com bus because we missed that by 20seconds. No idea where it was going but I look forward to hearing.

Yes you've guess we are going back the way from Burgos.

It's a time travel thing and as Simon and I walked in 3 times from Castanares we now know it's 1 hour to the best tortilla on the Camino. 

Bar Tropical is about 20 minutes from the cathedral and is just after you cross the footbridge.

The tortilla was so good Simon and I had another. €6 was brilliant too.

And the next day we walked back in and stopped at our usual cafe then got a bus at 5.30pm to Fromista

Camino week 3 - 2023 Oct

As I embark on week 3 it's really funny how much we've done.

The arrows are well positioned and the light is largely shining on what walks we've done.

Week 1 was Irun to San Sebastian and on to Bilbao.

It was beautifully brutal it every sense. The walking was tough with hills and also underfoot conditions. I walked the 44,000 steps from Irun twice and probably did nearly 50,000 the first day after taking a wrong turning at the outset. Leaving at 7am arriving at 6pm it was a good warm up for the week to come. We missed one stretch from markina to Guernica so will catch that next time. The biggest eye opener was probably that there were more places to stay than we thought although markina does have a shortage of facilities and so they offer rooms in houses. It's also most remote in terms of transport. Guernica on the other hand is easily reached from bilbao. Markina is probably best got to buy taxi from a tram stop although public transport via the coast is the option. It's definitely the new walk to do but weather dependent as the underfoot conditions make it very dangerous.

Week 2 saw us concentrate on the section from Pamplona to Logrono and was positively easy by comparison. Both distance and underfoot conditions were easy and using Estella as a base meant no pack either. I'd say we just kept ticking over and then stopping as the 30 degree heat was oppressive from 2pm onwards.

Week 3 starts with a day off bussing to San Sebastian then Bilbao before finally arriving in Santander for an evening on the tapas y vino.

Next day is an early bus to Burgos dump the bags and get walking along the river arlanzon and try to get 10-15km in before the heat does for us. The next day will see us try belorado to Monte's de oca. Then on Thursday Oct 5th make it to Cardenuela Rio Pico.

Thereafter we will go with the flow but hopefully make it to hornillos on Friday via a walk a bus and a walk before using fromista as a base for Friday/Saturday/Sunday 8th

Options will then exist to get to Leon for Monday 9th or getting train back up to santander before Gijon 11th

Management theory's good but in practice

Yes in practice how do we ensure we maximise the tools at our disposal so optimising the success of our venture.

In working or a walking context it's the same old story.

Do we buy the best poncho's, boots rucsac and sticks, stay in albergues or hotels to maximise the experience. Just like working the goal of walking a Camino might just be to trust in serendipity and let the experience unfold the answer.

Pamplona Estella Los Arcos Logrono buses and trains

I'll update the buses and trains section when I get back but the big news for today is I'm on the logrono - Estella - puente la Reina - San Sebastian - Irun bus that left logrono at 7.30am and leaves Estella at 8.15am arriving San Sebastian 9.45am.

The train from VITORIA-GASTEIZ to Pamplona is excellent but generally the network won't always work for pilgrims

We used Estella as a base for 2 nights a few years ago and this trip we did it for 4 nights. It worked well especially as the 4pm bus back from the new bus station in Logrono only took 40 mins.

It's a cracking town and just enough variety for pilgrims to be worth a few evenings.

Bus travel was easy and as long as you read the timetable correctly and you know what day it is you'll be fine.

Travelling back to puente la Reina you have the previously mentioned 8.15 express but also the bus that stops at maneru etc.

Our plan had been to walk mont del perdon then bus from puente la Reina but after a good rumble in Pamplona walking up from the train station it was apparently too hot and bloody stupid to head out at 14:00 in blazing sun. We did manage three walks and got the bus mostly or just walked into town or out of town.

The exception was a 45€ taxi to Sansol on the last day when we walked to Logrono.