Navarrete

Today's hike was basically like a Sunday walk in the park. Actually, much of it was exactly that. We left Viana about 7:30 this morning and made our way out a city gate on the way to Logroño and then on to Navarette. Before we got to the outskirts of Logroño we passed a little roadside stand that sold fruit and coffee (yea!) and offered to stamp our credentials.

One of the most important items all pilgrims on the camino carry is their “Pilgrims Passport” or “Credential”. It’s a simple accordion folded card that you get before you start and then get stamped where you sleep and many other places. It grants you access to the inexpensive albergues (hostels), cheap pilgrim meals and proves where you walked if you want a Compostelle of distance certificate in Santiago.

Logroño is a pretty big city, so we ended up taking a good while to just get through the downtown area and make our way out of the city. As you’re leaving, you enter a park that goes on for ever and ever and ever. Long hike and bike trails along with a lake and a restaurant.
It was great seeing all the locals out enjoying the space.
Most locals would smile and say “Buen Camino” as they passed. My favorites were a little boy about 7 years old that said a big friendly “Buen Camino” as he passed on his tiny bike with his parents on their bikes, and an elderly Spanish gentleman that managed to communicate to me in Spanish that he had done two Camino’s in his younger years.
Finally, we made it to where we could see our next destination, Navarrete before we made our way up the hill to the town.

Although today's hike was fairly flat, it was long (24k or about 16 miles) and we were beat by the time we made it to our room. After a little break we did laundry and hung it on our balcony to dry, and then walked around town and checked out the (incredible and I’m not a “religious” person.) cathedral. Afterwards we went to the bar that’s directly across from our Hostal and ordered a couple of glasses of wine.

One cool tidbit about Spain; when you order wine at a bar, they give you free Pincho’s (a lite snack) with your wine. The total cost for the two glasses of wine and pincho’s; 3€ ($3.25). I could get used to that…
Now even though it’s not yet 9pm, we’re in bed listening to the music drifting into our room from the bar across the street and ready to drift off to sleep.Read more