Spain
La Rioja

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    • Day 14

      Day 11

      September 1, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

      Left Logrono 6.45 am arrived Navarrete 11.45am
      12.5ks today. It is our rest day.
      Very little signposts to show the way out of Navarete this morning. It took 45 minutes to get out to the city fringe. We walked mostly on paved footpaths today, very hard on our feet. We need to get some washing up to date and have time to rejuvenate.
      We have noticed that the locals are very helpful, and even though the language barrier is there, we get ourselves understood. Lots of laughter.
      We are managing with our packs really we now we don't have the intense heat.
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    • Day 57

      Etappe Logrono nach Nájera

      August 13 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

      Regen, so schön.. ich mag mich nicht erinnern, wenn es das letzte mal geregnet hat. Gestartet bin ich mit Simone. Am Morgen war eine wunderschöne Strecke. Simone ist ein sehr fröhlicher Mensch und es war schön und lustig. Es fühlte sich wieder an, einen alten Freund wieder anzutreffen.

      Josefine und ich sind sehr ähnlich, wir könnten Schwestern sein und auch sie mag ich sehr.

      Heute war’s etwas schwierig für mich, da Fernando etwas schlechte Laune hatte und ich das manchmal wie ein Schwamm aufsauge. Bin aber dankbar hier zu sein und zu lernen damit umzugehen.

      Highlights:

      Regen

      Baden im Fluss

      Gespräche mit Simone und Josefine
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    • Day 58

      Etappe Najera nach Granon

      August 14 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      In Najera fand ich es echt toll, ich badete im Fluss und spielte etwas Ukulele und ging mega früh ins Bett, es war hell, laut, aber ich schlief so schnell ein und am Morgen erwachte ich nur, weil ich den Wecker um 7:00 stellte und realisierte, dass alle ca. 20 Pilger schon weg waren und im Gang schon mit dem Besen gewischt wurde.

      Freudig stand ich auf, weil es regnete und ich heute wieder mal meine warmen Schweizer Kleider tragen durfte.

      Den ganzen Tag war ich so müde und das erste mal dachte ich, dass ich heute in einem Hotel schlafen möchte. Ich wollte mal alleine sein und ganz alleine laufen und versuchte mich mit dem Song don’t worry zu motivieren, was ziemlich gut ging.
      Ich schlief ab und zu während des Weges an schönen Plätzen. Irgendwie war ich zufrieden, aber auch traurig zu gleich und wusste gar nicht wieso, ich brauchte Zucker und ass Schokocroissant, Vanillebagel, Schokogebäck und Schokolade🙈…

      Wie der Camino so ist, schenkt er dir nicht was du willst sondern was du brauchst. Also landete ich in einer Kirche mit 40 Pilger und schlafen am Boden mega nah zusammen und ich bekam den letzten Schlafplatz. Wir kochten zusammen und tauschten uns aus, und ich sprach mit einem Mann über die Welt und seine Wege und ich fühlte mich sehr wohl und er erinnerte mich an meinen Vater.

      Es gab oberhalb der Kirche einen Austausch und es war wieder sehr emotional und ich spielte meinen Song, mein Mantra Song.. A moment in the sun. Und ich fühlte so viel Liebe und Heilung an diesem Abend und eine grosse Menschenfamilie.

      Highlights:

      Pilgerstempel im Herzen tragen

      Dieser wunderschöne Platz

      Pilger der Müll sammelt
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    • Day 11–12

      Logroño to Najéra

      August 19 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      Should’ve been a challenging 29kms today… but mum and I missed ONE turn that added on another 3kms 😒🥵

      We walked through a lovely park (twice) on the way out of Logroño and had a nice 12kms to Navarette. Getting to Najéra was the least picturesque stretch we’ve had so far with much of the walk running parallel to a highway on semi-paved roads. Definitely less distracted by the views today and very excited to arrive at our home for the evening.

      Tomorrow we have just one more walk left… can hardly believe it’s almost over!
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    • Day 12

      Day 8 - Monjordin to Sansol

      August 23 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

      I've caught the crud from Teresa so i went to bed early last night. Started out great and the walk was not bad. As Teresa mentioned, it's mostly up hill into these little villages so getting to our alberge at the end of the day feels good. We drink about 4 cold drinks, take a shower, do laundry and then relax until dinner.

      Since we're starting to get our walking legs and figured out to leave earlier in the morning, we are making better time and arriving early to our next stop. We beat the heat and the can take advantage of siesta time!
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    • Day 12

      Day 9 - Sansol to Logrono

      August 23 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

      Our legs are getting used to walking, and boy, does it make a difference. Don't get me wrong, the feet and legs are tired at the end of the day, but most of the soreness is gone.

      It was a good day walking as we transitioned from fields of cut grain to vineyards as we entered La Rioja region of Spain.

      Tonight we went to the famous pinchos street Calle de Laural and had pinchos for dinner. It was awesome, a ton of people out and good food. I tried the olive, pepper, and anchovies skewers...not bad. The mushrooms were probably the best.

      Buen Camino!
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    • Day 13

      Day 10 - Logrono -Ventos

      August 24 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

      Well, I may have been premature on the leg thing. Our legs were tired today and seemed heavy most of the day. We started to regret not taking a rest day as planned. We trudged on through the vineyards on a mostly flat (spain style) path. The walk out of Logrono was through a nice park system with trails and paths for walkers and bikers past a huge reservoir.

      Towards the end of the day, we met Begonia from Barcelona. We started talking and walking with her, and the next thing we knew, we were in Ventosa. She helped us pick up our pace without even realizing it.

      There's a festival here in Ventosa tomorrow, which would be awesome to see. They have 4 pigs being cooked and the town will go from 200 population to over 2000.

      We had a good dinner of frozen pizza with several others we've seen on the path. One couple and another guy from the Netherlands and another couple of from Norway. Nice people.
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    • Day 14

      Day 11 - Ventos to Azofra

      August 25 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      Today was a better day of walking. It was cool most of the day, much more enjoyable. Only one little climb out of a village that git us huffing a little. Still dealing with a head cold and sore Achilles but it was manageable today.

      We mostly walk through vineyards today as the landscape is wine country. In a few spots it almost had a feel of Utah with red rock and desert plants. We came across several aqueduct irrigation systems for the vineyards. At one point they were using a tractors pto to run a pump.

      Had a scare when Teresa rolled her ankle and hit the ground. She's okay, but we'll see how the ankle is tomorrow.

      Tomorrow is a long day so we're sending our bags ahead to give our legs, her ankle and my Achilles somewhat of a break.
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    • Day 39

      Rested and Refreshed & Mystery Solved

      September 4 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

      Mystery Solved...I stopped at a pharmacy and when I said I had blister trouble, he turned his sign over to say closed. This meant business. He looked at my feet, my socks, my shoes, and my orthotics. Finally, he said, aha! My orthotics were 1 cm too short for my shoes and kept slipping causing the blisters. Ugh!

      Solution: buy the best insoles they have, cut so they fit, soak, cover, and wrap my blisters for 3 days.

      Today I walked in no pain for the first time! The green tape is KT tape and I watched many videos to learn how to wrap my feet and knees correctly. I need to support my flat feet since I don't have my inserts in. So far, so good.

      I went 6 miles on the trail today in an overcast cool day. I think there should be special stickers just for getting out of the cities! It took me over 2 hours to find the trail. I concidered it a city tour that people pay money for. I saw all sorts of interesting neighborhoods.

      We are speeding up our lives and working harder, in a futile attempt to slow down and enjoy it.
      Paul Hawken. What can you do today to slow down?
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    • Day 39

      Musings

      September 4 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

      I have found many things in Spain quite clever. Like the toilet paper that comes out like tissue. Wouldn't that stop a mess at schools! The main door knobs on houses being in the middle so both left and right handed people are equal. Using thin wood and exterior closing devices that are simple with a knob that can also hold a purse. Clearly marked bike lanes (not after thoughts) and having separate stores for fish, meat, bread, wine, and produce in the neighborhood. No packaged food or fast food anywhere.

      Wonder if the US could learn from any of these?
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    La Rioja, A Riocha, منطقة لا ريوخا, لا ريوخا, La Rioxa, Rioxa, Рыёха, Ла Риоха, Λα Ριόχα, Provinco Rioĥo, Errioxako Autonomia Erkidegoa, لاریوخا, La Riocha, A Rioxa, לה ריוחה, Ռիոխա, ラ・リオハ州, ლა-რიოხა, Риоха, 라리오하 지방, Rioiia, Larjoha, ला रियोहा, Риохæ, لا ریوخا, La Rioja eanangoddi, Rioja, แคว้นลารีโอคา, Ла-Ріоха, 拉里奥哈

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