Genevilla Laguardia
27,3 Kms
If you want to be of use to others, begin by taking pains with yourself: the fire that is to enkindle others should be lighted at home.
We get up, knowing that we are nearing the end of the hardest stages of our Ignatian Way. We leave Genevilla in the direction of the Cabredo Mountain Pass. We take a dirt road that goes straight to Cabredo and runs parallel to the paved road. From the main square, past the church, we turn right and then left to go down a well-defined dirt road. Be careful, because our road begins after only 50 metres on the left and is not as broad and well-defined as the other one. A GR-1 signpost indicates the way to Cabredo. We continue straight on this road until we reach Cabredo, following the red and white signs.
We go straight through the village and just at the last houses, on reaching the road that would lead us to Marañón, we take a dirt road that goes off to the left. At this point we follow the GR 1 towards Marañon, on a road parallel to the paved road. The red and white signs guide us and we follow a path with trees that runs along the fields. At 1 km from Cabredo, we can see a milepost showing Marañon direction: we follow the path to the right and leave the main one on the left. We follow the road down and up at a time and go out into the open. A road joins us from the left, but we continue straight, just 100 m.
We see the town of Marañón in front of us. Attention here because the GR leads directly to Marañón and we have to turn left on a path that makes an angle of 45 degrees. No signals to help you, so you have to be careful not to miss it. This road climbs towards the mountain pass that leads to Lapoblación. Soon a fork and we take a right. The road goes up next to the fields. On our left a farming house. Our earth road ends in another well-marked road coming from Marañón. We turn left and we continue climbing. Please attention: in the first bend, we continue straight leaving the well-marked road on the curve. The road climbs up to a trail. We take it, always facing. The trail is well marked, but it is not a wide road. Up to the hill and to the NA-7211 road. Once we reach the asphalt road, we turn right and in a 50m again to the first road on our right. We go up for it and at the first intersection we take a left. This dirt road leads directly to the town of Lapoblación.
We go through the village following the paved road and continue straight on downhill. After 600 metres we take a dirt road going off to our right, which leads us to the village of Meano. We do not enter the village, but at the first fork, we keep left and later on, follow it as it bends right.
Walking out of town, we head for a fairly large grain farm but we don’t take his way but we look for another one that begins on our right. We can recognize the good road because it has stone benches for people to sit. We must not leave this path going up to a stone quarry with a good view of the valley. A road joins from the right, but we always face. Later we came to a crossroads and a little house of Aguas de la Rioja is on your right. Continue straight on the same road. We reach a sharp curve to the left and ignoring the upward path, we continue our descent. Within a few metres there is a new branch: take a left. We continue to Kripan.
We continue straight on until we reach some fields and the paved A-3220 road, which we take to our right. At the fork, we go right and we enter in the village of Kripan. We head to the center and reach the City Hall where we turn to our right to go closer to the church. We come up behind the church and we take straight on the paved road leading away from the village.
Please attention here: at 800 m from the village, on a curve that turns to our left, get out of the way and get into a poorly marked trail to our right. The trail has no signs, so you have to be careful crossing the fields, but the reference point we seek is the A-3228 asphalt road that is our right. At 700 m we reach the road at a point where a path begins with a signal indicating the Dolmen Los Llanos.
We cross the asphalt road and head to Los Llanos. We leave the prehistoric dolmen on our left and we continue straight until the first crossroads. We take a right angle to our left and we descend. At the next junction take a right onto the asphalt road and head to the Unueva park (there is a water source, but it is sometimes dry). After 400 metres we cross another road and go straight on the asphalt. After two bends, we arrive at a crossroads where we turn left. At the next crossroads we turn right. At a fork in the road, we keep left. We go straight and we ignore the path that comes from our left. We go straight on but at the next fork, we bear right. We go straight over the next crossroads before taking a left at the following intersection. We reach a paved road after passing a house on our left. We take the road to our right always following the same path until we get close to Laguardia. We cross the road and continue to the left to enter the village.
CABREDO
Pilgrim Reception . Tel: 948 444 009 // 667 521 264
GENEVILLA
Taxis Genevilla . Tel: 931 780 030 / 661 830 677
LAGUARDIA
Agroturismo Larretxori . (capacity 9 people) Portal de Páganos s/n Tel: 945600763.
Casa Rural Legado de Ugarte . Tel: 945 600 114 / 699 621 841
Casa Rural Legado de Zabala . (full rental) Tel 945 600 114 / 699 621 841
Hospedería Los Parajes*** . Calle Mayor, 46-48 Tel: 945621130.
Hostal Biazteri . Berberana, 1 Tel: 945600026.
Hotel Castillo El Collado** . Paseo El Collado Tel: 945621200.
Hotel Cosme Palacio** . Ctra. El Ciego s/n Tel: 945621195.
Hotel Marixa* . Sancho Abarca, 8 Tel: 945600165.
Hotel Pachico . Calle Sancho Abarca, 20 Tel: 945600009.
Hotel Posada Mayor de Migueloa** . Calle Mayor, 20 Tel: 945621175
Hotel Villa De Laguardia**** . Paseo de San Raimundo, 15 Tel: 945600560.
Laguardia City Hall . Tourist Office. Tel.: 945 600 845
Taxi Laguardia . Tel: 627 700 409
MEANO
Casa Rural Atalaya. (5 rooms, 60 €). Tel: 660 095 113
This first stage is long, but it is justified by the need to find some good accommodation for the night. We can encourage ourselves by thinking that we have entered the famous “wine region” and are following the Wine Route. The pilgrim must take care not to exceed the due measure!
CABREDO: A small village. It offers a room, without a bed but with WC, for the reception of pilgrims.
LAPOBLACIÓN: Population of 160 inhabitants. No services on offer. The church contains another memorable Renaissance altarpiece. The ancient Saint James Way pilgrims’ hostel in the street behind the church is also worth mentioning: we are in a secondary section of the Camino de Santiago, which ceased to be used by pilgrims long ago because it was too dangerous to cross the mountains because of the bandits. Engraved on the stone at the door of the hospital we can still see the typical signs of the pilgrimage that identified the place as a refuge for pilgrims.
MEANO: A small village which offers a bar-restaurant and a pharmacy.
LAGUARDIA: A charming town with about 2,500 inhabitants, which we come to just as we reach the banks of the River Ebro. Its high walls and its fortified Main Square bring us back to the past and the history of Ignatius of Loyola. It is said that in the subsoil of this region there are numerous wine cellars in which the wine matures. The church of Santa Maria de los Reyes was started in the 12th century and completed in the 16th century. An outstanding feature is its monumental Gothic doorway, made of stone in the late 14th century. Its many perfectly preserved colours date from the 17th century, like the altarpiece which is the work of Juan de Bascardo. The church of Saint John the Baptist is from the 18th century. The Jesuit José Cardiel (there is a beautiful monument near the church of Santa María) was born here. He was sent to the famous Jesuit missions in South America but died in Italy, banished from the crown territories by the Spanish king, along with all other Spanish Jesuits, in 1782. Here we can find restaurants, pharmacies, supermarkets and banks. Tourist Office, Tel .: 945 600 845.
Notes: Today we begin to consider the presence of evil in our lives. We are called to feel the pain of our sinful ways. It is a “gloomy day”’, when we discover that serious reality. Ignatius asks us to be in that mood during our meditation, our walk, our day. The Jesuits have defined themselves as follows: «What is it to be a Jesuit? It is to know that one is a sinner, yet called to be a companion of Jesus as Ignatius was. What is it to be a companion of Jesus today? It is to engage, under the standard of the Cross, in the crucial struggle of our time: the struggle for faith and the struggle for justice which it includes. » (General Congregation 32:11-12)
Grace: Aware of the end for which I was created and of the call which God makes to me, I beg Him for a deeply felt understanding of my sins and of the disordered tendencies in my life, so that I may feel shame and confusion, and turn to Him for healing and forgiveness.
Reflections: We have been reflecting on God’s plan for humans and the harmony that results when our relationships with other people and the world are in good order. Today we reflect on the reality of sin: that is that there is gross disorder in our world. Sin is not just an accident or a mistake. Rather, sin means that people are deliberately choosing to bring disorder and chaos into their own and others’ lives because of some gross attachment: the salesperson who cheats customers to enrich himself, the pimp who sells children into sex slavery, the government official who steals money and allows citizens to live in squalor, the spouse whose children don’t get the love they deserve, the politician who lies and cheats for the sake of power…..
Reflect today not so much on your own personal history as a sinner (that will be tomorrow), but on the harsh, cruel reality of sin in our world and the disorder, pain, and chaos it causes. Sin has consequences. Reflect as well on the reality of Christ hanging on the cross, an image that is enshrined at the centre, above the altar in every Catholic Church. Christ entered history and suffered in response to human sinfulness, to redeem humans and show them a better path. Try to appreciate what our culture has lost today: an awareness of the reality of sin. Call to mind images of our World in Pain, suffering because of the injustice that is at work in nearly every relationship and human interchange. Go through the economic crisis and its causes. Think of the roots of sin and selfishness in the World. As you walk along, pray to have a clear vision of the Sin at work without shame in our lives. And pray that you will feel the disorder in your own life and the shame of it.
Scripture:
Jeremiah 18:1-10. The clay vessel he was making was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel.
1 John 1:5-2:2. If we say, “We are without sin,” we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we acknowledge our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.
Final Colloquy: «Imagining Christ our Lord before me nailed to the Cross, to ask why the Creator became man and from eternal life came to temporal death, so as to die for my sins. Likewise, looking at myself, ask what I have done for Christ, what I am doing for Christ, what I should do for Christ; and seeing Him like this hanging on the cross, I reflect on what occurs to me. The Conversation/Prayer is made speaking as one friend speaks to another, or a servant to his Master, asking for some grace, or blaming myself for some wrong, or bringing my concerns before Him and asking for advice about them. Conclude by saying an Our Father.»
No difficulties for cyclists,
although on two occasions we strongly recommend taking the paved road: leaving Cabredo, follow the paved road towards the town of Lapoblación. Secondly, from Meano it is better to go directly to Kripan by road, although the dirt road is generally passable.
Genevilla: Km 0.
Cabredo: Km 2.5.
Lapoblación: Km 8.7.
Kripan: Km 16.5.
Laguardia: Km 27.3.
Leave a Reply