Jimandi

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.

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.

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.

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.

We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and went to sleep with the sun.

Depart Time: 6:50 Temp: 59F RH: 85%

Walked today: 8.1 mi. Camino 2024: 72.1 mi.

We walked half a block from our hotel to rejoin the Camino on the Calle Marqués de Murrieta and walked in the dark for a mile.

The Camino made a left then a right and into Parque San Miguel, bordered by residential high-rise structures as we continued for another mile.

We exited the park onto a bicycle/walk/jogging path that continued another mile,

… ending as we entered a campground complex with a large lake, picnic areas with a golf course in the distance.

We continued for another mile until leaving the campground along a nature trail joining a narrow paved road that worked its way through some Rioja Government experimental vineyards…

…then up to the top of a mountain and a path that overlooked and ran parallel to the expressway leading to Navarrete.

Our lunch/dinner at Navarette (Hotel Rey Sancho Terrace Restaurant);

Our walk which began today from Logroño continuing to Burgos, over the next week or so will be a celebration of a similar Camino completed by two granddaughters in May of this year.

It was their inaugural Camino and likely to be followed by others as time permits in their busy lives in the years to come. Our hats are off to Katelyn and Blake, we were thinking of you today. Congratulations & Buen Camino!

Depart Time: 7:30 Temp: 61F RH:70%

Walked today: 6.5 mi. Camino 2024: 64 mi.

This morning’s walk was interesting in a lot of ways. After leaving Viana, a town of 4000 people, we passed through small, walled in farms then into a more open area of vineyards loaded with nearly ripened grapes for Navarre vintage wines.

We followed the path through a relatively open area, passing through a lonely, small group of pine trees, and ultimately leaving Navarre and entering the region of Rioja.

The path became a wide paved walkway that worked its way upward to the top of a hill that even overlooked the city of Logroño, pop. 150,000. Vineyards, now loaded with ripened grapes for Riojan vinage wines surrounded us on both sides, with an occasional group of olive trees, also loaded with fruit.

We crossed the Ebro River on a magnificant bridge, originally built in the 11th century by Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and then rebuilt by his disciple, San Juan de Ortega.

We entered Logroño and continued along the Camino,

passed the Iglesia de Santiago el Real with its imposing Santiago Matamoros above the entrance.,.,

…and gradually worked our way to the Plaza de la Diversidad, found a seat/table and consumed a late 10:30 breakfast.

At 11:30 we walked the remaining couple of blocks to our hotel. When told we could not check in until 3:00, we said ok and occupied a corner of the lobby with our packs and our sweaty bodies and pulled out our cellphones to occupy the time, unfazed. About 10 minutes later, the concierge asked if we would consider a room with a large bed vs two twins, giving her an out. We said yes and were immediately checked in so the lobby could be cleared for less unseemly guests.

After completing chores and some rest/ recovery time, we headed out to the city and found an open restaurant for lunch/dinner.

We then ambled back to our room to close out another interesting day on the Camino Frances.

Depart Time: 6:05 Temp: 71F RH:70%

Walked today: 5.4 mi. Camino 2024: 57.5 mi.

The path from Torres del Rio to Viana is just under 7 miles and notoriously known as the “Knee Wrecker” because of its frequent ups and downs. With today’s forecast for a high of 102F, we decided the 5 plus miles we already had “in the bank” was an adequate “deposit” for the day.

So we waited at the only open Torres del Rio Bar/Albergue until 11:30…

… then hopped on the bus to Viana, arriving at exactly 12:00 noon, in time to check in to our room.

Our room is a few steps away from the center of “old” Viana and it overlooks a bull ring.

After completing our daily chores we walked to one of our traditional eateries for a pilgrim lunch/dinner… also enjoying the shade and dry air and slight breeze … as the temperature in the sun climbed toward 100F.

before retiring to our room for the day… and out of the heat… which was still 95F at 6:00 p.m. Oh, did we mention our room is air conditioned? The Camino provides.

Depart Time: 6:00 Temp: 60F RH:85 %

Walked today: 7.8 mi. Camino 2024: 52.2 mi.

With another warm day in the forecast, we left in the dark (using headlamps) for the first couple of miles.

Our walk was almost entirely on gravel farm roads along the edges of grain fields, vineyards and an occasional olive orchard and a single asparagus field.

Los Arcos is located at the crossroads of two ancient trade routes, and was once a Roman city (Curnonium).

The current name comes from a battle in 914 when three Sanchos (the kings of Navarra, Castilla and Aragon) fought over the town. The Navarran army won with the help of their excellent archers, therefore the coat of arms of the city contains bows (arcos) and arrows.

We waited in the Santa Maria Plaza until check in at 12:30 and spent a routine afternoon doing pilgrim chores, having our main meal of the day at 2:30, (only a few steps from our room at Restaurante MAVI) and resting/reading/blogging until bedtime.

We’re building our endurance with each passing day, Jim’s pinkie is also recovering, aided by walking in sandals rather than boots and Linda’s first set of minor blisters have already healed after treatment.

The first third of the Camino Frances, “the body”, ending in Burgos, is to help the pilgrim become physically fit and build endurance. And this is surely true. We can feel our body getting stronger every day. We plan to be in Burgos in 8 more days… we are halfway there.

Depart Time: 6:20 Temp: 60F RH: 55%

Walked today: 6.0 mi. Camino 2024: 44.4 mi.

The forecast was for warmer weather today, so we started earlier, before first light. We walked for nearly 2 miles before getting clear of Estella and its suburbs.

The gravel path took us past an interesting metal working vendor and his shop. Shortly after that, we reached the famous wine fountain, which is associated with the adjacent Irache Benedictine Monastery.

Continuing with some scenes along our walk…

As we walked into the village, Linda commented that the entire way seemed uphill, but not terribly difficult. Jim’s Apple watch confirmed that we had a total elevation gain of 1053 ft. But because the gain was spread over most of the 6 miles, it did not feel challenging while we walked it.

Markiola is a unique property and a hidden gem in the village of Villamayor de Monjardin. This is our 3rd time to stay here. We like it because it has everything we need in an overnight stay. This small village (pop.129) has very limited facilities and limited hours of operation. But Markiola has everything you need, including food/ supplies for lunch, dinner, breakfast and snacks for the “road” (Camino) without needing to go off of the property. Oh, and we have a small grocery store literally next door.

Today, because of our early start, we arrived at 10:00, two hours before our scheduled check in. The owner had emailed us the entry code for the front door, yesterday, so we tried it and got immediate access. The owner who also runs the only grocery/snack bar in the village, saw us entering the door and helped us with our packs (which were waiting for us just inside the door) and told us we could do the check in process later, when convenient.

In addition to resting and blogging, we prepared bocadillos for lunch, spaghetti for dinner, washed and dried clothes and prepared some snacks for the Camino, tomorrow morning.

We love everything about this place. A nice day on the Camino Frances.