We didn't get much sleep last night. Firstly, there was (again!) a street party RIGHT outside our window, that didn't finish until 3am, despite the fact there were lots of young children present! Then, at 6am, there were the usual pilgrims leaving noisily (I'm pretty sure we don't make that kind of noise when we're leaving a place). And finally, some cleaners turned up at 7am and proceeded to drag beds and chairs around the vacated rooms! All Spanish floors, in our experience anyway, are either ceramic/marble, or sometimes wood. They don't have carpets like we do in the UK, so sound travels, and echoes. Plus this hostel has absolutely no sound proofing whatsoever. It's called Hostel Room Concept and we do NOT recommend staying here unless it's the only place available. There are plenty of albergues in town, just book at least a few days in advance to avoid having to stay here! :) Todays walk passes through 5 villages! So, to hopefully make things a bit simpler, I’ll list what each one has to offer (at the time of our walk anyway) ** Grañón Barbackana - a van selling food and drink with outdoor seating. Cafe La Concha - opposite the church with outdoor seating. We went here. Pharmacy - behind La Concha. Open 09:30-13:30. ** Redecilla del Camino Albergue Municipal San Lazaro has a small cafe with outdoor seating. There is nothing else here. ** Castildelgado There is nothing here at all. ** Viloria de Rioja Albergue Parada Viloria has a cafe with outdoor seating. We went here. There is nothing else. ** Villamayor del Rio Tienda Villamayor is a shop and also a bar/cafe with outdoor seating. There is nothing else here. The final 5km or so is on a dirt/gravel trail that runs right next to the highway (2km to Villamayor, then 3km into Belorado). This gets quite tedious and the large gravel can start to hurt the bottom of your feet. Ours felt quite raw by the time we'd arrived at the Albergue! The good thing was that some of the passing lorry drivers blew their horns and waved at us as they sped by! We stayed at Albergue ‘A Santiago’, which is almost a kilometre before Belorado centre, and paid 2€ extra each for a 4-bed room. Fingers crossed we don't get any snorers joining us later! It's quite a large complex, compared to the other albergues we've stayed in, and walking to our room reminds me of some of the campsites we stayed in 10 years ago in the campervan! Pretty self-contained, with all of the facilities you could ever need! They've even got a swimming pool though I haven't seen it yet! It's a lovely, large room, with the four single beds spread out, one to each corner, and each having an electrical socket, a small reading light, and what looks like a holder for maybe a phone or small tablet. It also seems pretty quiet too. All-in-all a highly recommended place to stay over, but be sure to book well in advance (I think we booked around 4 or 5 days ago) as it's very popular. Update: A few minutes after settling in to our room, and realising that we might now have it to ourselves because it was starting to get late, Jess spotted a dreaded bed bug on the wall next to her bed! She immediately went to inform the staff, and I took a photo. It was one of the largest we've ever seen. They took it very seriously and closed that room. We were a bit gutted as we had to be moved into a busy dorm. However, we were then given thick blankets for our beds and a token for a free breakfast in the morning!(both things they usually charge for). Belorado itself is a nice little town with a medieval centre. It has an unusually circular Plaza Mayor, with a bar/restaurant, and a lovely old church that's well worth a visit, as long as your free aren't too saw from the day's walk!

Walking

Rioja, Spain

time : Sep 18, 2024 9:46 AM

duration : 6h 33m 42s

distance : 22.6 km

total_ascent : 557 m

highest_point : 880 m

avg_speed : 4.5 km/h

user_id : fineartjones

user_firstname : Neil

user_lastname : Jones

We didn't get much sleep last night. Firstly, there was (again!) a street party RIGHT outside our window, that didn't finish until 3am, despite the fact there were lots of young children present! Then, at 6am, there were the usual pilgrims leaving noisily (I'm pretty sure we don't make that kind of noise when we're leaving a place). And finally, some cleaners turned up at 7am and proceeded to drag beds and chairs around the vacated rooms! All Spanish floors, in our experience anyway, are either ceramic/marble, or sometimes wood. They don't have carpets like we do in the UK, so sound travels, and echoes. Plus this hostel has absolutely no sound proofing whatsoever. It's called Hostel Room Concept and we do NOT recommend staying here unless it's the only place available. There are plenty of albergues in town, just book at least a few days in advance to avoid having to stay here! :) Todays walk passes through 5 villages! So, to hopefully make things a bit simpler, I’ll list what each one has to offer (at the time of our walk anyway) ** Grañón Barbackana - a van selling food and drink with outdoor seating. Cafe La Concha - opposite the church with outdoor seating. We went here. Pharmacy - behind La Concha. Open 09:30-13:30. ** Redecilla del Camino Albergue Municipal San Lazaro has a small cafe with outdoor seating. There is nothing else here. ** Castildelgado There is nothing here at all. ** Viloria de Rioja Albergue Parada Viloria has a cafe with outdoor seating. We went here. There is nothing else. ** Villamayor del Rio Tienda Villamayor is a shop and also a bar/cafe with outdoor seating. There is nothing else here. The final 5km or so is on a dirt/gravel trail that runs right next to the highway (2km to Villamayor, then 3km into Belorado). This gets quite tedious and the large gravel can start to hurt the bottom of your feet. Ours felt quite raw by the time we'd arrived at the Albergue! The good thing was that some of the passing lorry drivers blew their horns and waved at us as they sped by! We stayed at Albergue ‘A Santiago’, which is almost a kilometre before Belorado centre, and paid 2€ extra each for a 4-bed room. Fingers crossed we don't get any snorers joining us later! It's quite a large complex, compared to the other albergues we've stayed in, and walking to our room reminds me of some of the campsites we stayed in 10 years ago in the campervan! Pretty self-contained, with all of the facilities you could ever need! They've even got a swimming pool though I haven't seen it yet! It's a lovely, large room, with the four single beds spread out, one to each corner, and each having an electrical socket, a small reading light, and what looks like a holder for maybe a phone or small tablet. It also seems pretty quiet too. All-in-all a highly recommended place to stay over, but be sure to book well in advance (I think we booked around 4 or 5 days ago) as it's very popular. Update: A few minutes after settling in to our room, and realising that we might now have it to ourselves because it was starting to get late, Jess spotted a dreaded bed bug on the wall next to her bed! She immediately went to inform the staff, and I took a photo. It was one of the largest we've ever seen. They took it very seriously and closed that room. We were a bit gutted as we had to be moved into a busy dorm. However, we were then given thick blankets for our beds and a token for a free breakfast in the morning!(both things they usually charge for). Belorado itself is a nice little town with a medieval centre. It has an unusually circular Plaza Mayor, with a bar/restaurant, and a lovely old church that's well worth a visit, as long as your free aren't too saw from the day's walk!