Poppies and Mustard
- Dad
- May 8, 2018
- 1 min read
For days coming out of the mountains I've been asking Ben what the broad stroke brushes of yellow were in the distance. We're walking through them now, and the Mustard dominates the scenery. Usually framed in poppies, these guys take over Navarre and make us glad that Claritin was invented.
The mornings are turning out to be our favorite part of the day. The temperature is still cool, you have fresh legs, a spring in the step. Shortly after departure we encountered the Irache wine fountain. I can't bring myself to draw a cup of red wine at 8:30am, especially with 13.4 miles of walking ahead, but several pilgrims were partaking. We had communal breakfast in Azqueta with a castle looming on the hilltop nearby.
This leg of the journey had a long 7.7 mile ending stretch with no town, or shade for that matter. The afternoon sun has not been our favorite part of the day, so we made a quick stop in Villamayor de Monjardin for trail food and kept going while the temperature was down. It was a good choice, with a cool breeze at the back and a pair of earbuds in, we had a fabulous afternoon walk to Los Arcos. (Fist bump to Buen Camino inspiration, the late Gord Downie.)
Los Arcos is dominated by the Iglesia de Santa Maria de la Asuncion. The town gets its name from a 914 battle between three Sanchos, the kings of Navarre, Castilla, and Aragon. Navarre won behind their superior archers, thus the name and town iconography are dominated by bows (arcos) and arrows.
Buen Camino.
Hola Pedro! Thanks for checking in. Loverboy is huge on the pilgrim road so I had to go for it. I’ve not been sending email updates on each post as a subscriber told me the emails were too many and you know me, don’t want to bother anyone. I’ll probably send them periodically but should be updating daily. Buen Camino!
Jarv, I've missed a week due to inattention on my part, so lots of questions/comments. Keep rocking' the Mike Reno red headband. No really, looks good on you. Urgent care for the eyes in LA, for the teeth in Spain, what's next for your head? All due respect to Richard, but I'm not sure how you say "no" when offered a glass of wine at 8:30, AM or PM. I seem to remember 8:30 Rainier beers at a Denny's once or twice over the years, so morning wine in Spain is a no-brainer.
Thank you Richard that is high praise from the high priest of photography in my world! I actually have been trying to do just as you say when I frame the subject, I just have been listening over all those years. And yes I was referring to you, but more for my choice of shirt than for the quality of iPhone shots.
And iPhone is the only camera I have. But as my friend Chase Jarvis says “the best camera you own is the one in your hand”
Friends: for the best daily Instagram feed on the web follow Richard at - https://www.instagram.com/richard.beland
Hiya Guys!
Well, if you are referring to this Richard... I'm with you on the choice of declining the wine. I've never been much of a "day-drinker" and with 13.4 miles of walking ahead of me - no chance. Post walk - I'm in!
Your photographs are fantastic! In regards to travel photos, one of my instructors would say, if you can make me feel as if I was there - success! In so many of your photos you are making great use of foreground, middle and background. Thank you for sharing.
Be safe my friends.
Those poppies! So pretty. I'm with Ben, it would have been incredibly hard to build those fortified towns. I can't imagine what that would have been like....maybe that's why they have a fountain that pours wine?! No, really, what's the story behind that?
Way to keep it up J-boys!