Day 6 Estella to Sansol

07/21/23 • 21 min

We left Estella less than well rested after an extremely hot & noisy night, but once we hit the road again and started walking all that tiredness really fell away pretty quickly and we were looking forward to free-flowing wine at the Irache Monastery wine fountain, spolier... it was less than free flowing...

In this episode we wait for free wine only to be disappointed, run into the law (Civil Guard) and get away with just a passport stamp as well as defying the guidebook and powering past the recommended stop in Los Arcos, adding an extra 8km onto the end of the day to reach Sansol for the night.

We had our doubts about this plan when everyone else was taking off their boots and starting to relax in Los Arcos but it worked out well in the end with Sansol being one of our favourite stops on the entire Camino.

There are so many beautiful towns and places along the way and Sansol is just a very small town, but it had a nice restaurant for a snack and a cold drink in the afternoon and the Palacio de Sansol where we stayed was just an amazing stop. The building has been in the owner's family for a long time and in recent years has undergone a massive refurbishment and setup as an Albergue. The owner welcomed all the pilgrims and personally cooked us dinner and talked a bit about his family and the history of the building. I still remember the meal and even though it wasn't flashy or expensive it is one of the stops that sticks in my mind to this day.

Useful Links from this episode are below, if your podcast app does not let you access them directly head on over to https://isthistheway.net .

Palacio de Sansol (booking.com)
Where we stayed in Sansol. This was one of our favourite stops on the whole Camino! The restored Palacio is amazing and the owner is super friendly. You can book private rooms on booking, you can also just arrive on a first-come first-served basis for bunk rooms as with any other Albergue
The Civil Guard (let chrome translate if needed)
We ran into the Civil guard patrolling the long 12km stretch of the walk with no water to make sure everyone was ok. They provide support for pilgrims and you can call 062 when in Spain to reach them by phone or check out the website. It's in Spanish but chrome translation does a good job to English.

Useful Links from this episode are below, if your podcast app does not let you access them directly head on over to https://isthistheway.net .

Palacio de Sansol (booking.com)
Where we stayed in Sansol. This was one of our favourite stops on the whole Camino! The restored Palacio is amazing and the owner is super friendly. You can book private rooms on booking, you can also just arrive on a first-come first-served basis for bunk rooms as with any other Albergue
The Civil Guard (let chrome translate if needed)
We ran into the Civil guard patrolling the long 12km stretch of the walk with no water to make sure everyone was ok. They provide support for pilgrims and you can call 062 when in Spain to reach them by phone or check out the website. It's in Spanish but chrome translation does a good job to English.

Previous Episode

Day 5 Puente La Reina to Estella

It was hard to leave the amazing treehouse accommodation in the morning but after climbing down we were soon on our way again.

The walk today wasn't hard, it was reasonably flat and not too long but the heat wave finally caught up to us with peak temperatures of 41 celcius. Walking in those temperatures is tough, but it didn't really cool down at night and sleeping when it's till 39 celcius and you don't even have a fan is just about impossible.

We ended up wandering around Estella in the afternoon trying to find anywhere cool to sit and pass the time as our apartment was like an oven. We found a fantastic cafe called Namaste which made an excellent coffee, fantastic gluten and dairy free peanut butter cookies and had amazingly friendly staff who made as feel really welcome.

If I had to write a brief summary for today it would be HOT PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES.

Tune in to hear how it went.

Buen Camino

Usually we have a link to accomodation where stayed but the apartment we rented is no longer listed. Our top tip, if walking in summer, try to find somewhere with airconditioning!

Useful Links from this episode are below, if your podcast app does not let you access them directly head on over to https://isthistheway.net .

Precision Hydration Capsules (amazon.com) We took these electrolyte capsules with us and they were fantastic. We never once felt too dehydrated or suffered from cramps or headaches from dehydration. These are super easy to carry and to take as they are just little capsules, they don't need to be mixed with anything, just pop one and have a big gulp of water.

Next Episode

Day 7 Sansol to Logrono

The heat wave continues but now there's wine, air conditioning & ice cream so we'll call that a win. Today we walk from Sansol to Logrono and we enter the La Rioja region, many of you will have heard the name as they make some fantastic wines in this region.

Logrono is a lovely town and one of the places that we would have gladly spent an extra day in just hanging out and enjoying the food and wine and wandering around town. Unfortunately, we were on a schedule and our first rest day was a bit further down the road so we only had one afternoon to enjoy.

In this episode we discuss the mystery of the Hill of the Chicken, revel in the joy of airconditioning and try potentially the best ice cream ever.

Tune in to see how it went!

Buen Camino!

Useful Links from this episode are below, if your podcast app does not let you access them directly head on over to https://isthistheway.net .

Eurostars Fuerte Ruavieja (booking.com)
Where we stayed in Logrono. This is a bigger hotel, the front is built into an old restored building and even has glass floors in places so you that you see the original footings and some excavation. The actual rooms were in an adjoining block to the rear and were very modern and clean and had airconditioning!
PerretxiCo Logroño
This is the restuarant where we ate both lunch AND dinner in Logrono, the food was excellent and the service was super attentive and friendly. Highly recommend it for somewhere shady to sit and have some really tasty snacks while you sample some wine.
DellaSera Heladeria Natural Ice Cream
According to our hotel reception this is the BEST ice cream in the known universe. They were seriously enthusiastic about it. I've got to say it was extremely tasty! Definitely recommended for a delicious treat to cool you down.