Belorado to Estella: Biking Through Basque Country

16-17 March 2019

Belorado to Logroño (16 March 2019, 73 km, 45.3 mi)

This morning we were thrilled to discover that there were no soft or flat tires on either of our bikes. Yea! Perhaps we have finally removed all of the nasty little thorns that have been plaguing us for days.

We have spent the last week cycling across the Castilla y León plain, the largest of Spain’s autonomous regions. Today, we left the plateau, and crossed into Spain’s smallest region: La Rioja. Sparsely populated, the region is most famous for its wine. Wheat, pastures and vineyards were definitely the most common types of landscapes that we saw along the way.

Our route descended from Belorado, which is in the foothills of the Sierra Cebollera (a section of the Iberian Range), through the broad valley of the Río Ebro. The scenery was gorgeous. To the south, we could see the snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Cebollera. Monte San Lorenzo, the highest peak in the range, is 2,271 m (7,450 ft) high, and is big enough to have glaciers on it. On the other side of the valley, the Sierra Cantabria to the north are not as high, but they have a rugged beauty that comes from the contrasting colors of vegetation and exposed layers of rock.

The snowy peaks of the Sierra Cebollera formed the scenic, southern backdrop to our cycle route. Fields of wheat (foreground) were common in the Ebro River valley. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.

The Sierra Cantabria formed a continuous border to the north of our ride. They are not as high as the Sierra Cebollera, but they look much more rugged. The different layers of rocks and vegetation created beautifully colorful images. Vast areas of t… — The Sierra Cantabria formed a continuous border to the north of our ride. They are not as high as the Sierra Cebollera, but they look much more rugged. The different layers of rocks and vegetation created beautifully colorful images. Vast areas of the valley and foothills were covered with vineyards (foreground). Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.

Ever since we first saw this landscaping technique (the inter-weaving of planetree branches to make a canopy) in the plaza in Zamora, it has been common in the public spaces of Northern Spain. Here it is again, in Santo Domingo de la Calzada, Spain.… — Ever since we first saw this landscaping technique (the inter-weaving of planetree branches to make a canopy) in the plaza in Zamora, it has been common in the public spaces of Northern Spain. Here it is again, in Santo Domingo de la Calzada, Spain. We’d really like to see what this looks like when the trees have their leaves. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.

Throughout the day, we continued to follow the French Route of the Camino de Santiago. We passed lots of walkers today, cheering them along by shouting, “buen camino!”

This sign in Redecillo del Camino, Spain, gives pilgrims a sense of which towns they will encounter within the region of Castilla y León. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.

We made swift progress today because nearly all of the trail was on paved roads. Only the last 8 km on the way into Logroño, the captital of La Rioja, was on gravel. Fortunately it was nearly all downhill, without too many steep sections. The long slope gave us a fantastic view of the city and its surroundings. It was pleasant to be able to approach a big metropolitan area like Logroño by traveling through natural areas and farmland.

The last 8 km of the ride into Logroño, Spain followed a gravel path through wooded and agricultural lands. The yellow arrow on this signpost indicates that we are still on the Camino de Santiago. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.

We had beautiful, panoramic views of Logroño as we descended along the gravel path. Vineyards - a major agricultural driver for the region - ring the city. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.

We were delighted to encounter a covey of Red-legged Partridges in one of the vineyards outside of Logroño. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.

We reached Logroño relatively early in the day, but discovered that most of the hotels were full. According to the receptionist at the hotel we had hoped to stay in, there weren’t any big events in town. It’s just that this was a Saturday night, and the hotel is usually full on weekends. Spaniards seem to flock to the bigger cities for the weekend.

We ended up finding a room in a hotel on the outskirts of town, on the far side of the city. It was also quite full, but they still had a room available.

Logroño to Estella (17 March 2019, 50.3 km, 31.3 mi)

Getting back onto the route today was tricky. We had to bike across an industrial park with a maze of roads, some of which were closed. The biggest problem came when we got to within 50 meters of the route, but our path was blocked by a deep gully, overgrown with bushes and brambles. We weren’t going to get through that way. We had to detour backwards about a kilometer to get back to the main road.

Not long after we left Logroño we also left the La Rioja region, and entered the region of Navarra. This area was part of a Basque-ruled kingdom until the 13th century, and still has a large Basque population, especially in the northern and northwestern sections where we rode today. Increasingly, the place names look less Spanish, and more Basque, with more z’s, x’s, g’s and q’s.

There was a striking increase in the number of pilgrims that we saw on the Camino de Santiago, today. There were dozens of them - many more than we had seen any other day before. The French Way is definitely the most popular Camino route, and things are picking up as spring gets under way. Andy, our bunk-mate in the Zamora Albergue for Pilgrims, told us that the French Way gets about 200,000 pilgrims each year, while the Vía de la Plata (the route that we took from the south), gets only about 10,000 pilgrims per year. That’s a lot of travelers on the French Way.

We stopped to speak with two women walking together. One was from Zimbabwe, the other from Belgium. They started their trip in Pamplona, and had been on the Camino for about a week.

The ride today was pretty hilly. There were only a couple of long climbs. Instead, the ride was comprised of almost continuous, rolling hills - a lot like the Ozarks in Missouri. Some were quite steep. So, no matter how hard we tried, we would never get enough momentum going down one hill to get very far up the next one. After a quick desceleration, we’d be switching back into our lowest gears to get to the top of each hill.

The Spanish seem to be heavily into wind power. As we travel northeast, the landscape has gotten more hilly. And we have been seeing more and more ridgetops covered with wind turbines. Seeing so many wind farms makes us nervous. It implies there’s o… — The Spanish seem to be heavily into wind power. As we travel northeast, the landscape has gotten more hilly. And we have been seeing more and more ridgetops covered with wind turbines. Seeing so many wind farms makes us nervous. It implies there’s often a lot of wind - which on this trip often seems to be a headwind. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.

We were excited to cross paths with two other bike tourers going the other way. There have been relatively few people on touring bikes so this was a rarity. Steve and Nicki from the UK were riding to Seville, on a fundraising ride for Parkinson’s Disease research. Just like meet-ups along the TransAm, we stopped by the side of the road to chat with them and swap tips about lodging options down the road.

Although we crossed into a new region (Navarra), we are definitely still in wine country. For most of the ride to Estella, we continued to bike through the Río Ebro valley, passing hillside after hillside of vineyards. Each town and village seemed to have its own vintners’ cooperative, or a couple of large bodegas. Apparently grapes have been grown in this region to produce wine since the Romans were here.

Giant wooden barrels stacked outside of a vintners’ cooperative in Viana, Spain. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.

Often, the vineyards encroach into towns, lining roadways and running right up to the buildings. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.

A cold front came through in mid-morning bringing wind, clouds and colder temperatures. We were worried about rain, but the worst we encountered was a light drizzle. We donned our rain jackets and kept pedaling. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puff… — A cold front came through in mid-morning bringing wind, clouds and colder temperatures. We were worried about rain, but the worst we encountered was a light drizzle. We donned our rain jackets and kept pedaling. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.

As we approached Estella, we heard a car approaching from the other direction blaring high-energy music. It was incredibly loud. We wondered, what the heck was going on? It turned out to be the pilot car for a bike road race. We pulled over to the side of the road to watch the race go by. There were two guys out front in a break-away. They had a opened up a pretty big gap. When the peloton came by it was split into two big bunches. They were all moving really fast. Later, when we arrived in Estella, some of the city roads were blocked off because they were having a running race as well. It seems like a pretty sports-oriented town.

The main peloton of an amateur bike race, probably originating in Estella, Spain. This group passed us near Luquin, Spain - about 10 km outside of Estella. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.

Our hotel in Estella, the Hospedería Chapitel, turned out to be absolutely wonderful. It’s right next to an imposing old church (the Chapitel), in the old town. The location was fantastic, the room was spatious and comfortable, and it was wonderfully quiet (facing an interior courtyard). And to top it all off, the Wi-Fi was really fast. Perfect. This was easily one of our favorite hotel rooms so far.

The Chapitel sits on top of a rock outcrop, towering above the surrounding streets. It has many characteristics of a fort including defensive walls, battlements and towers. We would later learn that a lot of the churches from 1100-1300 AD in Navarra were fortified, and that there was a lot of civil strife. For centuries the Basques had their own kingdom centered in Navarra. But they were often in conflict with both the Spanish and the French. In the 13th century, the Spanish gained control of Navarra. But in the complicated history of this region, civil wars and rebellions continued as recently as the 1980s. Today the Basques have an autonomous region in northern Spain, but it does not include Navarra. There are still efforts in the political sphere to join Navarra with the Basque Autonomous Region to the north, an idea that is opposed by the current government.

The Chapitel has been the site of a number of colorful and infamous events over the years. For a time, it was the place where the city held its public executions. Apparently, after the accused had died, their bodies were dumped into the Ega River which runs right by. Jesuit priests downstream would pull the bodies out of the water to give them a proper burial.

The Chapitel: an imposing old church across the street from our hotel in Estella, Spain. Like many old churches in this area, it was fortified and helped protect the city from attacks. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.

We had a chance to take a long stroll around town in the evening. Estella is a truly lovely town, with a vibrant old city center. It has been an important waypoint on the Camino de Santiago for many centuries, dating back to the 12th century, when the official route was decreed to pass over Estella’s old stone bridge. Citizens of the town prospered by offering services to the pilgrims, which continue to this day. We passed a number of shops that catered directly to the needs and whims of people passing through on the Camino.

This bookstore appealed directly to pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago. We also saw several souvenir shops selling everything from scallop-shell necklaces (the symbol of St. James), to statuettes of important Catholic figures. Estella, Spain. Copyri… — This bookstore appealed directly to pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago. We also saw several souvenir shops selling everything from scallop-shell necklaces (the symbol of St. James), to statuettes of important Catholic figures. Estella, Spain. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.

Our hotel was located on Calle Zapatería, a tranquil and picturesque street in the old part of Estella. It was named for the shoemakers who lined the street in the old days, helping to repair or replace the shoes of pilgrims who had worn out their l… — Our hotel was located on Calle Zapatería, a tranquil and picturesque street in the old part of Estella. It was named for the shoemakers who lined the street in the old days, helping to repair or replace the shoes of pilgrims who had worn out their last pair. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.

Don’t move, or he might pounce. Plaza Santiago, Estella, Spain. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.

Throughout the city, most of the signs are written in both Spanish and Euskara, the Basque language. For a while in the 19th century, Estella was the capital of a political faction closely associated with the Basques, called the Carlists. The history is complicated, but in a nutshell: when there was a dispute over the succession of the Spanish throne in the early 1800s, the Basque Carlists supported the king’s brother (Carlos) who was a traditionalist, over the king’s daughter (Isabella) who was more liberal. The Carlists wanted to maintain the strength of the Spanish kingship, the special place of Catholicism in the nation, and the autonomous rights that Carlos promised the Basques in return for their support. Three vicious civil wars were fought between the two factions, and eventually the Carlists lost. Estella is proud of its role as the Carlist capital and defender of Basque traditional rights, and you can find the eight-pointed star symbol of the Carlists in places like this sidewalk design.