Day 12 – Navarrete to Azofra

Depart Time: 5:45 Temp: 58F RH: 85%

Walked today: 8.5 mi. Camino 2024: 80.6 mi.

Our plan for today was to walk 4 miles to Ventosa, take a taxi to Najera, then walk another 4 miles to Azofra.

two different markers seen on Navarrete streets this morning, keeping us on track in the dark

This 12th-century Romanesque doorway belonged to the old hospital of San Juan de Acre, and stands at the entrance to the Navarrete cemetery. The hospital was founded by Doña Maria Ramirez around 1185 as a hostel and to provide aid to pilgrims during the middle ages.

Time-out! We forgot to include these photos of a “RED” squirrel and his/her buddy hopping from tree to tree as we walked through the campground outside of Logroño yesterday. It was a first for us.

Now, back to our walk… its difficult to get photos in the dark, so please take our word that after leaving Navarette we followed the Camino through vineyard after vineyard and along a two lane secondary road which ran parallel to a major 4-lane highway.

At first light and then sunrise, we left the Camino for a walk through more vineyards into the village of Ventosa.

leaving the Camino here for a side road to Ventosa

red clay of this area reminds us of South Carolina. Apparently very good for growing grapes

Reaching the Buen Camino Bar for breakfast and a rendezvous with a taxi

The distance from Navarre to Azofra is about 15 miles. The walk from to Najera is about 7 miles. After a short section of Camino out of Ventosa, the path becomes a wash as it winds up to the Alto de Antón. After enjoying a picturesque descent for about a mile, the pilgrim has to endure a couple of miles of ugly industrial buildings, rundown housing and poorly maintained walking surfaces.

So, Linda and I decided a 15 mile walk was not gonna happen today. We also decided, after 5 previous walks from Ventosa to Najera, we would skip it today to bring down our walking distance to ~ 8 miles. Hence, the reason for the 8 minute taxi ride separating our two walks.

the taxi dropped us off here to continue today’s walk to Azofra.

walking across the Najerilla River into the old, more interesting and historic part of Najera.

Picturesque Calle Mayor with shops and eateries, running parallel to the residences and the Monasterio de Santa María la Real which are built into the mountain.

Linda walking around edge of the Monastery

In 2014 on our first Camino, we named this Proud Mary Hill. About halfway up, for inspiration, we played Tina Turner’s version of Proud Mary which helped us over the pinnacle along with other pilgrims within ear shot.