DAY 8 : SPAIN : LOS ARCOS to VIANA - 20.6 kms - 4 1/2 hours

Distance walked in France and Spain so far : 910.1 kms

Weather : cool, showery 18o

 

Leaving Los Arcos at 8 am after
breakfast in the albergue

 

Long, flat road - grapes, olive groves

 

We walked through 2 hill topped villages
Little corner shops did a roaring trade with pilgrims-
they were so accommodating, coping with various languages
and odd requests.

 

Walking into Viana, on the border of both
the kingdoms of Navarre and Castile.
 

 

 

Gothic church of San Pedro - X111 century
In 1808 the Napoleonic troops took over the
city by installing their headquarters in the church.
In the  Carlist wars of the 19th century it was
destroyed and the castle demolished.

 

This was originally a Baroque Palace of the XV11 century,
built by a French architect with a theatre box for
municipal authorities to preside over the celebrated
bullfighting held in the square, which is now a
basketball court.

 

Municipal albergue - 3 tier sleeping accommodation



The municipal albergue is in the San
Pedro precinct. Good facilities with
washers and dryers and wifi.

 



 

View of ruined church from our window

 

The lovely gardens and view near the church and albergue



 

Perfect conditions for walking today, albeit cool. We have decided to keep at a pace of about 20-25 kms a day, regardless of the main towns on the route, which may give us some interesting small town experiences as well. We are tiring of the Pilgrim menus, although very reasonably priced, as they usually consist of huge quantities of meat. It is rare to find vegetables or soups on menus so we have tried some combination platters, which is usually a choice of meat, egg, chips and salad ( with tuna, of course) but we are on the lookout for nutritious and nourishing food.

 

M&M

14/10/12