Day 9 Viana to Navarette, Spain  September 30, 2022

Today was a long day - 22+ km and I’m exhausted.

It was very boring and hard because most of it was on pavement and paving stones. That’s so hard on the legs especially when they are wet and super slippery.  The best thing is I’m in a fantastic albergue called El Cántaro.  I’m visiting with a German man who is very funny.  

I walked with Helle for quite a bit of the morning-

We left Navarre province and entered Rioja.  I am kicking the shit out of this camino - not!

This is a monument remembering 27 neighbours who were murdered in 1936 by the French requisition.  The bottom quote is very good saying those towns that forget need to know that history repeats itself-

We walked through Logroño, population 150,000, crossing the Ebro River.  Bernadette stopped to take a picture and dropped a pole in the river-

I also stopped at the Iglesia de Santiago El Real-

Inside the church-

I plodded on and stopped and had a look at why my little toe was hurting-

Not good but I’ll keep it dry, air it out tonight and wrap it well in the morning.  It’ll be okay.  

More Camino signs-

About the only decent view all day and it’s shitty-

Now in Navarette, after a rest, I went to the Parroquia Santa Maria de La Asunción.  Pretty crazy-

Then we found a restaurant for supper-  Jane from Iowa, Marjanne from the Netherlands, Andreas from Germany, Anita from Germany, Gary from Iowa and Bernadette from Switzerland-

I had delicious pork loin with blue cheese sauce, fried potatoes and cold chilies-

It was soooo good.  Dessert was moilleux au chocolat-

My body is feeling pretty darn good right now.  Come morning, I think I’ll be ready.

 Day 8  Los Arcos to Viana, Spain  September 29, 2022

Today was a great day!  I can’t believe I am saying that but I think my body has become used to the torture and I’m going to be okay!  My intention was again to just walk without trying to figure out how much further.  The first village was 6.9 km and we were there before I knew it.  I’ll work on that again tomorrow.

I bought some kinesiology tape to strengthen my knee.  Marjanne, Helle and I are all taped up-

Today’s walk was only, yes I’m saying only 18.1 km.  It was too far to go to Logroño which is the full stage so we went to Viana-

The walk was up and down with beautiful views-

A typical cemetery is walled and locked-

One of many ways to announce the camino-

More great views-

Some people have a lot of time on their hands-

This prayer/wishing tree reminds me of Tibet-

We came upon a small chapel for we pelegrinos-

More views-

Then, out of the blue there will be a rest area-

Or a snack bar in the middle of nowhere.  He had a generator to run the fridge and he sold pastries, fruit, beer, hard boiled eggs and other drinks-

We came upon an almond tree.  They were so good.  I saved some for tomorrow-

The bark of the tree is black and the leaves are long and skinny-

Not yet ripe olives that tasted disgusting-

More views, coming and going-

I’m dressed for the rain, which didn’t really come.  It drizzled a bit but my suit kept me warm-

Once in Vania and checked in at the Albergue Izar, which is close to the old town, has great beds, breakfast included and excellent showers, it was time to go exploring.  My first stop was Iglesia Santa Maria which was closed until 7 pm.  Wandering around I found the ruins of San Pedro-

We had the pilgrims meal at a bar across from Santa Maria.  In included mixt ensalada-

a great main course - I had meatballs and then flan for dessert.  For $16 it also included unlimited baguettes and a glass of wine.  We kept drinking wine for 1 euro/ glass until Santa Maria opened at 7.

I didn’t find it as impressive as the church last night in Los Arcos but it was still pretty grand-

A side altar-

Looking at the front altar-

       

A weird decorative thing above a pulpit-

Jesus himself-

The vaults are incredible-

A weird thing above a pulpit-

The uneven, bumpy floor-

Tomorrow I have a reservation in Navarette which is 22.3 km.  There is only one place in between, the city of Logroño.  Trip advisor says there are 12 things to do there and 5 of them are bodegas or wineries.  Sounds like my kind of town!  I’m hoping the walk will be as good or better as today!