Day 18 and 19, Two nice days in Roja wine country

The church in Navarrete
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Day 18 and 19; June 4 and 5th

Viana to Navarrete, Navarrete to Najera

607km to Santiago, 345km from start

Distance: 21km, 17km

From our room that night
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The train from Bilbao to Logrono got us in just before 1pm and by 1:30 we were in Viana and back on the trail. We may change our minds in the future, but at this point, we being very careful to walk the whole route without shortcutting.

The day was cloudy and cool. And we got in to Navarrete before six. Nice village with the requisite impressive church but also nice houses and an active community life. Many of the villages we’ve passed seem nearly empty. We had our ‘try to forget the hike’ drinks at a bar that doubled as a social club for the older guys in town. They were watching bullfight highlights and having a lot of fun.

Pilgrim rock garden to remember Roland
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Dinner was a pilgrim’s menu. The restaurants and bars in the villages we visit offer them. At most places you can get an appetizer, main course, dessert, bread, water, and wine for about $10. It’s quite a bargain, the food is often very good, and since we’re in Rioja country, we’re getting fine local wines very cheap. At this place, there was a German guy and a French guy at a table near us. We struck up a conversation . . . and swapped table partners . . . Marie with the French guy and I aired out my German a bit.

Riverside in Najera
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We enjoyed the day. Even the hike a bit . . . let’s hope it continues!

The next day was an easy 17km hike to Najera. On the way, was the site of an important ‘David and Goliath’ type legend on the Camino. It involved a knight of Charlemagne and a Moorish giant. The knight was Roland who challenged the giant to a duel. Roland won either by winging a big rock at him or stabbing the giant in the navel with his knife. The rock version is a lot more romantic so it’s the one that gets the most press. At the spot where the battle was fought, pilgrims have balanced stones on top of each other.

Rioja vineyards
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The rest of the way into Najera was through an industrial area which was very trashed out. The old town of Najera though is very nice and we enjoyed beers and tapas along a river, got on the internet at the local library (very slow speeds and different keyboard and language but it all kinda works), and saw the sights. The main church was another great one and was the burial place lots of Navarese royalty.

Another nice day . . . getting cautiously optimistic!

Villages: Viana, Logrono, Navarrete, Ventosa, Najera