We left our Viana hostal at 7:35 at a cool 52F and followed the yellow arrows out of the town on a path that snaked its way among literally “garden residences” that appeared to be either primary or secondary.
Leaving the town and beginning to walk through the “gardening” area.Aloe, anyone?
We eventually cleared the garden area and walked on paved, lightly traveled roads for a mile or so.
Leaving the garden area and entering the open fields
The path became dirt again as we began walking through grain fields recently mowed and baled while others were still growing. Vineyards were scattered throughout and became more dominant the longer we walked.
Grains and grapes.We entered a forested areaCrossing, safely, the secondary highway into Logroño. Look closely and you can see Linda’s head peering above the railing.more forest once we crossed the highwayReaching the end of Navarre and entering La Rioja.Shortly after entering Rioja, we crossed back under several highways and began a mile or so of steep climbing on a paved road on the way into Logroño.Near the top of our climb, with Viana 4+ miles behind in the distance.Getting our first glimpse of Logroño as we crested the hill.Closing in on Logroño, (pop.150,000), the capital of the Rioja region of Spain.Walking through a park as we entered Logroño.A view of a main bridge over the Río Ebro into Logroño.Crossing the Río EbroThe camino going through Logroño.The Iglesia de Santiago el Real was right on the camino path and open, so we stopped briefly to go inside.The impressive Santiago Matamoros above the entrance.Inside Iglesia de Santiago El Real
We continued along the camino into Logroño on the way to our hostal. As we neared our destination, we stopped for breakfast at 10:30.
Tasty breakfast, featuring a different kind of tostadas.After breakfast, we walked a few more blocks to our destination, Hostal Bracos.Our room in Hostal Bracos was ready when we arrived at 11:00.The view from our room on the 3rd floor.
After we got settled into our new temporary home and only partway through our chores, we ventured back out for our main meal, in spite of finishing breakfast only a couple of hours earlier.
Two similar but different salads and a shared “racione” of calamari made for a tasty, filling and healthy meal.Our view from a booth in St. Patrick’s, an Irish bar, the site of our lunch. (A discovery from Camino 2025).
After lunch we retreated to our room and resumed chores, including napping, before returning to Plaza del Mercado, near our lunch spot to visit the Iglesia de Santa Maria la Redonda.
At lunch, we discovered the church was opening for visitors at 5:00. In our previous seven caminos we have never had the opportunity to visit it.
Iglesia de Santa Maria la RedondaThe main sanctuary A closer look at the altar ( Retablo)A view of one side, giving a better perspective of the immense size of the structure relative to visitors.
We both enjoyed the walk today, in large part, due to the cool temperature and also because our bodies are continuing to adapt to the routine and also, probably, getting stronger.
Jimandi 