Day 18: Venta de Santa Lucia to Piña de Ebro to Zaragosa

Date	Jun 9th ( Friday )
Today's Distance:	12 miles / 19 km
Venta de Santa Lucia to Piña de Ebro Stats	Route Video
Total This Camino:	195 miles
Total 2023 Caminos:	195 miles
Total All Caminos:	1918 miles
Lodging:	$ 45 @ apartment in Zaragosa
Total Lodging:	$ 813
Planes:	$ 1350
Total Planes:	$ 1350
Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$ 25  Bujaralos to Venta de Santa Lucia $ 70 Piña de Ebro to Zaragosa
Total Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$ 0 / 30 / 247 = 262
Food:	$
Total Food:	$ 355

Meaningful Moment

What can I say? 

First completing the Camino Barcelona to Montserrat.

Then completing the Camino Catalan from Montserrat to Piña de Ebro. 

The two combined for 193 miles over 15 days of hiking. That an average 13 miles per day.

And although we had some shorter days, we never took a rest day.

Random Thought of the Day

Two different guides give different end points for the Camino Catalan: Piña de Ebro or Burgos de Ebro.

So in order to have time to see Zaragosa, and move on to the Camino Finisterre/Muxia, we are ending the Catalan today.

On the Road / Notable memories

The sun was out again today. Although we started walking at 7:30, by 9:00 a.m. with the sun on our backs, we were hot and sweaty. I suppose it's a fitting way to remember my last day of walking in the desert.

Not a long day in the sun - just under 6 hours, but the sun was pretty constant the entire hike. Just a reminder of how hot it gets or how hot it can feel, even when the temperature is only in the high 70s.

The day was spectacularly unmemorable as we spent our last day in the Los Monegros desert. I'm still amazed that so much land ... so much rocky arid land is farmed, but that is miracle of irrigation.

Deb and I rolled into Pina de Ebro around 1:00 p.m. We found the church which was open, but unfortunately did not have a stamp for pilgrims. 

Not a big deal because I can get a final Camino Catalan stamp at the bar where we're having lunch. But the church would have been nicer. ... Lol, forgot to get the stamp at the bar.

Sat down at a bar right near the main plaza and had the Menu del Día. So we've had a good lunch and when we get to Zaragoza, we can chill out and then maybe do something later tonight.

Arrived in Zaragosa.

More on Zaragosa tomorrow. We walked around a bit. From the outside, we saw the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de Pilar and the central public market.

My very first impressions are how lively and energetic this city is. After many days in small towns of hundreds or a few thousand people, the streets of Zaragosa are so alive with activity.

The fashion sense of the Europeans is just amazing. Sad to say, that Deb and I in our baggy hiking pants and loose fitting shirts don't match up with the local ethos. :-)

The narrow European streets, the wide pedestrian boulevards, the architecture mix of a few hundred years back to many hundreds of years back is all so overwhelming.

I'm going to enjoy our rest day here.

	Our last day in the Los Monegros desert
	The one constant architectural feature was the number of abandoned houses.
	It was really small inside. But then, I imagine, living in town now must be so much better.
	Another abandoned structure, but it made an outstanding rest stop for something to eat, while allowing us to get out of the sun for a while.
	There were so few trees that any chance to stand under one for a couple of minutes was worth a break.
	Piña de Ebro from a distance
	I counted nine cranes on the tower.
	Iglesia de Santa Maria
	195 mi from Barcelona. All on foot. Lol, except for 6 miles in a thunderstorm.

Day 17: Bujaraloz to Venta de Santa Lucia

Day 17: Second to Last day on the Camino Catalan

Date	Jun 8th ( Thursday )
Today's Distance:	13 miles /  20 km
Burajaloz to Venta de Santa Lucia Stats	Route Video
Total This Camino:	183 miles
Total 2023 Caminos:	183 miles
Total All Caminos:	1918 miles
Lodging:	$ 50 @ Hostel Monegros III
Total Lodging:	$ 873
Planes:	$ 1350
Total Planes:	$ 1350
Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$ 25 Venta de Santa Lucia to Bujaralos
Total Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$ 0 / 30 / 117 = 132
Food:	$
Total Food:	$ 355

Meaningful Moment

Hiking the Los Monegros desert.

The area is prone to chronic droughts, and much of the area is a natural region made up of badlands.

Deb and I spent 5 days hiking through the area.

Random Thoughts of the Day

Recommendations on thru-hiking Los Monegros

• Break up the Fraga to Bujaraloz stage. Use a taxi from Candaznos back to Fraga and the next morning to return to Candaznos.
• Break up the stage from Burajaloz to Pina de Ebro into two stages. Use a taxi from Venta de Santa Lucia back to Burajaloz and the next morning to return to Venta de Santa Lucia.
• Carry lots of hydration. 
• Use sun block. There is almost no shade cover.
• Use Google maps to zoom into towns to find lodging, e.g. Los Monegros III is not on booking.com but had rooms while the lodgings listed on booking.com were full.
• Fraga had an albergue but it is not listed anywhere that I could find. Call the town governments the night before.
• Some knowledge of Spanish will make everything easier.

On the Road / Notable memories

Beautiful day for hiking again. Mostly cloud covered to keep the temperatures down. Light sprinkle at the end. Hard to believe tomorrow is the last day on the Camino Catalan.

The entire day was along the national N-II highway

Starting the day, having a coffee, in the hostel bar with the server lady. 

She is Venezuelan and has lived here 15 years now. She made her way to Bujaraloz after Madrid, Barcelona and Zaragosa. 

She is raising her sons here with her husband. We talked about leaving the homeland, seeing the world and the experiences of new vistas.

***

Los Monegros desert region: Ermita de San Jorge

	The Los Monegros desert.
	Through intense irrigation, there is a lot of farmland.
	Ermita de San Jorge
	The symbols with a lot of information

Day 16: Candaznos to Bujaralos 

Date	Jun 7th ( Wednesday )
Today's Distance:	15 miles / 24  km
Candaznos to Burajalos Stats	Route Video
Total This Camino:	170 miles
Total 2023 Caminos:	170 miles
Total All Caminos:	1905 miles
Lodging:	$ 50 @ Hostel Monegros III
Total Lodging:	$ 823
Planes:	$ 1350
Total Planes:	$ 1350
Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$ 30 Fraga to Candaznos
Total Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$ 0 / 30 / 92 = 107
Food:	$ 25
Total Food:	$ 355

Meaningful Moment

Deb and I have 3 miles to Bujaralos. We're sitting on benches behind an abandoned house surrounded by trees and fields of growing corn with a cool breeze blowing under cloudy skies. Stopped to have something to eat and drink. Just a perfect moment for relaxing before we end today's stage.

Random Thought of the Day

When we get to the hostel tonight, we need to consider our plans for the last 2 days of this portion of the Camino. 

The next stage is just under 24 miles long with no lodging. So that means once we start, if we don't have a fallback plan, we are totally committed to walking the distance.

We'll be talking tonight with the people at the hostel to see if we can arrange for a taxi pickup at the halfway point tomorrow. 

If we can do that, then we can stay at the hostel a second night, using a taxi to get back tomorrow and then returning us to the halfway point the following morning.

If we achieve that, we will have walked the Camino Catalan from Barcelona to the endpoint. Not sure how much mileage that is going to be yet.

***

The manager of the hostel gave me a phone number of a taxi driver. I gave him a call, and he said that he could pick us up tomorrow at our halfway point, and then return us there Friday morning.

The significance of this means that Deb and I can completely walk the Camino Catalan from Barcelona.

On the Road / Notable memories

Weather has been phenomenal today. Total cloud cover with temperatures in the high-60s to low 70s. Much better hiking.

There is a deviation between the AllTrails app and the yellow arrow markers from the Camino Association so Deb and I spent about an extra 3/4 of a mile walking down the wrong road and then backtracking. No big deal.

The bar in Peñable did not have much in it, but Deb and I got our coffees and we broke out something from our lunch pack to eat before completing the second half of today's stage.

Also had a couple of nice places on big, flat rocks to stop for a few minutes and rest, take the socks off and let the feet breathe.

Los Monegros desert region

	Not exactly bush wacking
	The Osbourne bull started as a brandy advert campaign, but they are now all over most but not all of Spain.
	The cats of Peñalbe
	Peñalbe main plaza. Coffee break.
	Peñalbe
	Bujaralos main square. Deb and I are sitting and enjoying an evening breeze.
	All you can eat Spanish 24 hour trucks driver restaurant

Day 15: Fraga to Candaznos

Date	Jun 6th ( Tuesday )
Today's Distance:	17 miles / 27 km
Fraga to Candaznos Stats	Route Video
Total This Camino:	155 miles
Total 2023 Caminos:	155 miles
Total All Caminos:	1890 miles
Lodging:	$  60 @ Hotel Casanova
Total Lodging:	$ 773
Planes:	$ 1350
Total Planes:	$ 1350
Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$ 30 Candaznos to Fraga
Total Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$ 0 / 30 / 62 = 92
Food:	$ 20
Total Food:	$ 330

Meaningful Moment

A beautiful morning in Spain with a 1000 ft climb out of the Río Cinca valley with Deb.

Random Thought of the Day

I suspect the now abandoned farm houses lying in the middle of working fields is just because it's so convenient to live in town nowadays.

On the Road / Notable memories

6:00 a.m. Wake up.

6:30 a.m. Early start

Temperature outside 61°. Weather forecast for the day: lots and lots and lots of sun with the temperature climbing to 85 by around 1:00 p.m. Rains predicted starting around 4:00 p.m.

*** 

Two stops at repsol gas stations for rest breaks. There were no support services along the entirety of today's hike.

 Lunch under a tree, enjoying the shade.

The climb out of the River valley was about 4 mi. The remaining 13 miles were through arid farm fields. 

The fields were incredibly rocky, such that it was hard to imagine crops growing there. But they were working fields.

Irrigation is completely and absolutely essential to making farming a success in this area. 

Saw some fields that did not appear to have irrigation, and I can't imagine what could be grown there. The land is not dirt but more like sand and rocks and clay.

The Río Cinca has carved out an immense valley, not unlike the Colorado River and the Grand canyon. 

Not comparing scales because the Río Cinca is much smaller, but just trying to get the idea across that as we climbed out of the valley, we reached an immense plains system.

	Beginning our ascent out of the Río Cinca valley
	Going up
	Out of the valley and back onto the plains
	Typical of the path all the way up
	Arid farm land with abandoned house.  The land is tended so it must be in between planting and harvesting.
	Rocky farms fields. What could possibly grow here?
	One of our gas station rest stops today.
	Church in Candaznos. We are waiting our taxi.

Day 14: Industrial Poligono Soses to Fraga

Date	Jun 5th ( Monday )
Today's Distance:	9 miles /  14  km
Industrial Poligono Soses to Fraga Stats	Route Video
Total This Camino:	138 miles
Total 2023 Caminos:	138 miles
Total All Caminos:	1873 miles
Lodging:	$  60 @ Hotel Casanova
Total Lodging:	$ 713
Planes:	$ 1350
Total Planes:	$ 1350
Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$
Total Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$ 0 / 30 / 32 = 47
Food:	$
Total Food:	$ 310

Meaningful Moment

Another milestone. Sometime today, the border was not marked, we crossed from the autonomous community of Catalunya and into the autonomous community of Aragon.

Sitting with Deb under a cabana on Calle Principal, next to the hotel, having a light supper during a thunderstorm.

Random Thought of the Day

Got an earlier start even though it was a shorter day. Temperature climbed to the mid '80s by the time that we reached Fraga. Although we had some nice walks through farm fields, both Deb and I think that the Camino Catalan has a lot of pavement, relatively speaking.

On the Road / Notable memories

Because we've been having so much trouble getting in touch with the hostel in Candaznos, we stopped by the local government office and the tourist office and the police station to try and find out the status of the hostel in Candaznos.

Just about everyone we talk to is convinced that the hostel was open, but I just had a negative vibe since they never answered the phone.

As a result, Deb and I agreed that we would walk to Candaznos in the morning and afternoon, about 15 miles, and then call a taxi to bring us back to Fraga where we would spend the night again.

Then Wednesday morning we would take a cab back to Candaznos and continue walking from there.

Tomorrow afternoon the temperature is expected to be about 85, with almost no cloud cover, therefore we aim to get a very early start. Wake up at 6:00 a.m., walking by 6:30 a.m.

We have completed our shopping. We have salami and cheese, bread, protein bars, peaches, bananas, fiber wafers, flan, chocolate and six bottles of hydration.

	Once again the geographical features have changed. We are now in sandhill after sandhill country.
	The irrigation effort must be enormous.
	Somewhere around this point we left the autonomous community of Catalunya behind, and entered the autonomous community of Aragon.
	Deep in the rift between the sand dunes, etched into the hills is the old part of Fraga.
	On the other bank of the Río Cinca, is what I would call new Fraga. This is where we are staying tonight in the Hotel Casanova.
	View of the Río Cinca from the National IIa bridge over the river.
	Watching the thunderstorm come in to Fraga, from under a cabana on Calle Principal well we are having dinner. Hot dog pizza, tuna pizza and pimientos padrones, carbonated water drinks with lemon and ice cream.
	The nice thing about the cabana location is that we were literally  30 ft from the hotel entrance.  Very convenient during a thunderstorm.

Day 13: Leide to Poligono Industrial Soses

Date	Jun 4th ( Sunday )
Today's Distance:	13 miles / 21   km
Lleide to Poligono Industrial Soses Stats	Route Video
Total This Camino:	129 miles
Total 2023 Caminos:	129 miles
Total All Caminos:	1864 miles
Lodging:	$ 20 @ Hostel Cataluña y Aragon
Total Lodging:	$ 653
Planes:	$ 1350
Total Planes:	$ 1350
Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$
Total Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$ 0 / 30 / 32 = 47
Food:	$ 25
Total Food:	$ 310

Meaningful Moment

Although we had lots of shade, it was another hot day.  The mornings aren't bad and usually there's a good amount of shade because of the angle of the sun. But by noon, the sun is overhead and the amount of shade really disappears just as the day is getting hottest.

Taking Deb on a date tonight to the gas station next door to the hostel. It's the only place for miles.

Random Thought of the Day

How nice it is sit in the bar in Alcarás after a 9 mi slog, which is not fair because there was a lot of pretty scenery, but it was a hot 9 mile hike to get here.

Orange juice, carbonated water and a Spanish tortilla with potatoes.

Last year on the Camino Madrid with Deb, temperatures regularly hit mid '90s.

When we started daily temperatures reached into the mid-100s.

We should be cruising along this year.

Yet it seems like the temperature here in the '70s in combination with humidity is really wearing me down.

Just checked into the hostel. We have completed our 11th straight day of hiking.

On the Road / Notable memories

Leaving Lleide, we followed the river. 

In the city the river was hidden, and we followed a  paved road. 

It took a while after leaving the city to begin to see the river which is beautiful. 

And then it took a little longer to get off the paved road and on to small crush stone dirt road where it really began to get beautiful.

Lots of bird song along the Rio Segre trail

***

Great lunch in Alcarás. Tortilla con patata for the both of us. Empanada with chicken for Deb. Espresso, carbonated water, orange juice to drink.

**"

Deb and I sat on the hostel patio during the evening, enjoying the sunset and breeze. And a couple of feral cats who came along looking for pickings.

***

Río Segre walking path near Albatárrec

	Rio Segre
	Deb crossing in a very beautiful spot. Can't put a price on shade.
	Getting towards the end of the day. Our lodging is just ahead.
	Our lodging for the night
	Although a feral cat, still a cutie, who has become acclimated to scrummaging around the trash can and the restaurant patio area.