Day 9, Viana to Navarette

It all started so well. We were out the door and on our way just after 7am and made good progress to our first stop, 10 km on, at the city of Logrono. The weather was cloudy and the walk there boring rather then unpleasant but we were happy (verging on smug) as we congratulated ourselves on the decision not to press on to Logrono the previous afternoon (which is what most Camino guidebooks recommend). We imagined how the final 10km would have felt at the end of a long day.
By 9am we had visited the Church of Santiago el Real and were searching out a good spot for breakfast. First stop wasn’t great but we had coffee and sat outside where we felt free to eat the yogurts we’d bought the day before. We did a quick scout of the nearby supermarket and stocked up on toothpaste and fruit for the journey. Then we found a wonderful bakery/cafe where we bought more coffee and I had an enormous slice of wonderful orange cake. All was well with the world.
Leaving Logrono, after an enjoyable 2-hour break, I began to have blister panic. I taped up the heel of my left foot with KT tape (bought yesterday) but half an hour later stopped again because it was coming off and it looks like my first Camino blister had appeared. I used a precious bit of Leukotape (wishing I had brought more with me) and walked on slightly depressed. Fiona meanwhile was entranced by the sight of a red squirrel. This was a 12 km stretch that mysteriously lasted for 13 km and my feet felt pretty upset for much of it.
We did eventually reach Navarette and are staying at a beautiful medieval albergue called Ignatius. We had a beer and a very quick look round. The town is enchanting with another wonderful church and a maze of narrow medieval streets. Then it was time for a nap.
Our first attempt at dinner was comically bad. Fiona had done a recce and spoken to the owner about our vegetarian preferences and been assured he could provide fish at the least. When we got there he seemed to have no memory of that promise. He was a Romanian who spoke little English but seemed to promise a vegetarian meal of vegetables ( never a good sign) and then was heard arguing with his partner who was also the cook. While we were waiting, without much confidence, he told us there would be a problem with the starter if we didn’t eat ham, then dragged a large gas cylinder across the restaurant and offered us some chocolates. All our instincts told us to escape. We fled, leaving a generous 10 euros for the glass of wine we’d hardly touched and joined Rachel who’d spent most of the afternoon at a wonderful place called Bar Deportivo. There we ate and drank really well and enjoyed the company of Rachel, Ros from Glasgow, Nick, Mike and Paul. A great escape!
Going to bed thankful for a mostly lovely day but hoping the blister doesn’t make tomorrow miserable.Read more