Viana to Navarrete

Take 5 minutes everyday.

1 minute of silence 

1 minute to give thanks

1 minute asking for forgiveness 

1 minute praying for others

1 minute praying for yourself

The worst Albergue we have stayed in. The women who runs it was not very friendly and the Pilgrim's meal was terrible. Up until now most of the Pilgrim's meals have been really good. This one was pasta with tasteless tomato sauce, 2 thin slices of pork, some bread and a yogurt for dessert. It was so bad I was tempted to drink the red wine. Interestingly enough the 6 French people at our table scarfed it down. The beds were okay though.

Wandering through the streets of Viana as we walked to Logrono. A really pretty old town not changed much since medieval Pilgrims came through. Back in the day Viana was a major pilgrim halt with 4 hospitales de Peregrino. They were built to house and take care of pilgrims. They were the precursor of today's hostels and hence the person who runs the hostel is called a hospitalero.

Because of its position on the border,  it has always been a hot spot thus its defensive walls.

Leaving Viana through the remaining wall and gate.

This amuses me. The Spanish have this ingenious way of drying clothes. You have to reach out the window and the lines are on pulleys. Sometimes they are just racks hooked on to the window. They hold an amazing amount of laundry.

I love how their walls are made of whatever was to hand then plastered over.

Hiking on to Logrono.

We are in wine country.

Usually yellow arrows are The Way markers but someone clever used stones.

The Way. A lovely walk but these little stones have your feet and hips constantly adjusting.

We moved into La Rioja province.

We can see Logrono.

Enter Logrono over Puente de Piedra. It is believed that Logrono was founded in the 1st century. It's university was established in 1268. It became an important part of The Way to help promote the wine in the region. Today, to the north is wine country and the south is market garden.

We caught a bus from Logrono to Navarrete to make sure we kept our km down to see if my knee could handle it. The day off made a great difference and with a new knee brace i am good to go.

This is actually a billboard sign that a brandy company called Osborne had a dispute with government over the size and placement of their billboard. It eventually got bigger and further away from the road. Finally in 1997 they reached an agreement that the bull could stay but the name had to be removed. Since the bull was already iconic with the brandy they agreed.

I took video of this church with its bells ringing but i can't figure out how to upload it so just pretend you hear big bells donging.

The Church of the Assumption was open so I went in and then had to go get Roz. Holy smokes. Ornate or what.

Navarrete is the only pottery centre in this region. Hence the significance of the statues.

We had a pilgrim's meal and chose this dish. It is called Menestra de Verduras. It changes with the seasons depending on available vegetables and has a little olive oil and garlic over it. Delicious.

I love these medieval streets but man are they hard to walk on.