Water Into Wine

Many strange things happen on the Camino. But if I told you of a fountain gushing not water but wine you wouldn't believe me. Yet it's perfectly true. Just beyond Estella, at the Bodegas Irache, there's a tap dispensing free wine. The 1st photo shows my Spanish pilgrim friends Fernando and Tere there. Doing what you would do if you came across an absolutely free source of wine. We drank. Then we drank again. And again. We filled up plastic bottles with the stuff. We danced and pulled funny faces in front of a webcam. We took some very silly photographs. Later I heard of a German guy whose Camino stuttered, then came to a temporary stop here. He kept returning for the free wine. He was drunk for days.

Just beyond the wine fountain, in front of a lovely tree-lined square, stands the Benedictine Monastery of Irache. It had just opened so we went inside. I believe it's going to be turned into a posh hotel at some time in the future. Then it felt rather like a museum, but the adjoining 12th century Romanesque Church of San Pedro was peaceful and very beautiful.

Later we ate lunch and took a siesta on a rocky outcrop. Could life get any better than this? Probably not. Spain, sunshine, friends, a picnic spot miles from anywhere in a stunning landscape, bread, cheese, olives... and miracle wine, of course... My 2nd photo was taken somewhere near this little spot of heaven on earth.

Later still we passed olive trees and vineyards and pinewoods and red-earth farmland, and the countryside became ever more remote. There was not a sound, not a dwelling place, not a car - not even a tractor. A track led us sinuously through the Portillo de las Cabras, the Pass of the Goats. Eventually we reached Los Arcos. It had been a golden day.

Los Arcos has 4 pilgrim hostels. We stayed at the Albergue La Fuente. That evening some inebriated locals entertained us in a bar, showing us arcane card games and tricks with toothpicks. We left carrying bags full of the oranges they'd given us. The meal we ate that night in the albergue was memorable. Laurent acted as French cuisinier (what a surprise) and cooked dinner for us all. First bread and soup, then ham and cheese savoury pancakes. Afterwards pancakes filled with dark melted chocolate... Yum! And did I mention the wine..?

Stars, Stones And A Doorway

From Puente la Reina to Estella (meaning 'Star', which recalls 'Compostela' - or 'Field of Stars' - the goal of my journey, and 'The Milky Way' - another name for the Camino) it's only 21 km. During the morning there were a couple of heavy rain showers which turned the clay path into a mudslide. After 8 km I met up with a French pilgrim called Laurent in the hilltop village of Cirauqui. I'd seen him briefly before in a shop in Puente la Reina, where we'd introduced ourselves.

Laurent proved to be a uniquely interesting person and the most stimulating company. We were to walk together on-and-off for the next week. He lived in Provence and had taken the pilgrim route from Arles to Puente la Reina via the Col du Somport. What was remarkable was that he had deliberately decided to rely on free, spontaneously given hospitality for the 1st part of his journey. It was a kind of spiritual experiment to test out the true meaning of the word 'hospitality' and the generosity of strangers. He had managed OK - but had lost weight! He had found people on the whole very kind, but sometimes even priests would turn him away...

Laurent was a stone mason by trade. He sold commercial pieces over the Internet, but his true passion lay in creating the individual, non-commercial sculptures he would carve and keep himself - for the love and freedom of it, and for his own personal satisfaction. He had a need to follow his own artistic calling rather than the dictates of anyone's commission. He had spent an ascetic year preparing for the Camino in complete isolation, working without distractions on a pilgrim sculpture in his studio. He told me his grand project for the next 10 years of his life (he was in his late 40s) was to restore a beautiful but ruined stone chapel near his home. More of Laurent to come, for he was the most knowledgeable and unusual person, with a real commitment to the spiritual side of life...

We passed olive groves and asparagus beds. We ate the few sweet remaining grapes left on the vines. We picked almonds. They were soft and delicious. When we reached Estella we found a lovely, historic little town built on a meander of the river Ega. The most tasteful Christmas decorations festooned the streets. I realised with a start that Christmas was fast approaching...

The striking doorway in the photo was taken in the village of Maneru between Puente la Reina and Estella.