Day eight - Logrono to Najera

Offering a helping hand to the potter in Navarette.

Sunday May 29.

Today was the longest day on the Camino so far, measured purely in kilometres covered, but it wasn't the hardest - days one and two were much more difficult.

The best estimate of the distance ahead was 29km, so we prepared accordingly. Last night, we took our breakfast vouchers over to the friendly Cafe Calenda and they give us a couple of their excellent boccadillo and two bottles of water. They wanted us to have our breakfast coffee there and then, but as it was 6pm we decided against that.

We went to the supermarket and for dinner got some pre-packed salad, beer and wine to give us strength and headed off to bed early, with alarm set for 5am.

There was a bit of commotion in the street below, as police put up blockades to keep out traffic. We were in the middle of the restaurant district and it was Saturday night, so we thought nothing of it.

Little did we know that Real Madrid was about to play Liverpool in the Champions League final at Stade de France and that whole town had come to a standstill, except for the thousands of fans who crammed into the restaurant district outside our hotel.

It was a noisy night, but fortunately with the double glazing and thick walls we heard the subdued sounds of celebrations - until 3.30am. That's when a large number of hotel guests stumbled in, allowing every single door to bang loudly, stamping up stairs as hard as they could and talking as if they were all 100m from each other.

We had in mind to take our revenge at 5am, but we're far too well brought up for that. We were out the door by 5.30am, slightly disturbed by the young raucous drunk males, all fired up with testosterone, who still loitered on the streets.

We walked quickly out of town. In fact we walked like lightning, covering the first 5km in 55 minutes. We'd counselled ourselves to take every break we could and we were busting for a coffee, but the opportunity just wasn't there.

At one stage, after a couple of hours, we perched on a low concrete wall in the middle of an industrial area with a busy road rushing past us to eat our boccadillo. 

The distinctive emblems that let you know you're still on the trail.

The trail was bleak and not at all scenic until, at about 8.30am, after walking 12km, we came upon the historic village of Navarette. There we found a couple of nice statues and a bar, where we took a break and had a coffee.

The scenery was looking much better, as we'd clear the outskirts of Logrono by then. After two stops we were still averaging more than 4km/h. The rest day was paying off and we were feeling pretty good about things.

We're still in Rioja, the great wine area. It's very noticeable how red the earth is, sometimes extremely stony, and how old the vines are.

Occasionally we'd pass a large winery.

Another feature of the day was the large number of cyclists out on the trail. These were not pilgims, they were hard core cyclists, out for their Sunday pack rides and they were a bit scary. They all greeted us with friendly shouts, although may have been saying "Get the hell out of the way", who would know.

One of the most interesting bits of history from the day came after we passed this strange beehive-shaped building. Apparently it's to do with the legend of Roldan and Ferragut. Ferragut is described as a giant, nine feet tall, with a nose of great length and the strength of four men. The pair fought for two days and two nights, until the intrepid Roldan (or Roland if you like) managed to stab the giant in the gizzard.

Here's the whole story from a Camino website: https://vivecamino.com/en/legends-of-the-camino-de-santiago-the-battle-of-roland-and-the-giant-ferragut-no-236/

Apparently a swag of treasure was left behind. It's buried close by if you fancy a bit of digging.

We were on such a roll we were in danger of arriving in Najera before 1pm, so we took a break at a shady picnic area and treated ourselves to a Snickers bar. Even so, we arrived at our hotel with an average speed of 3.9km/h, soon after 1pm, feeling smug and happy.

By the time we arrived the temperature was well into the twenties and we were relieved not to be out in it.

After a shower, we hit the town, made a dinner booking, had a coffee and a tortilla and searched for a supermarket from which to procure cold beer and lubricate this epistle.

No luck mate. It was Sunday. All the supermarkets had pulled down their shutters and weren't pulling them up again until Monday morning. We didn't feel like sitting in a bar - they're all full of people speaking Spanish loudly and smoking, so we returned to our lovely cool hotel room, where I've had to do with some red wine left over from last night.

I know my brothers are hanging out for a musical treat (and thank you Philip for sending a link to Peter Dawson singing his way up from Somerset (where the cider apples grow)).

Strangely enough, after a rest day all my old memories seem to have left me alone and something a little more modern popped into my head to keep me company as we walked. Here it is: https://youtu.be/tHAhnJbGy9M

Here's the day's Relive video: https://www.relive.cc/view/vr63BxjA78O

And here's the day's photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PhUCPGrtcz- all for 1rEZncJA

As a footnote - tonight we had one of the pilgrim meals I remember from 2019. At Asador El Buen Yantar (where I had dinner back then), we had the complete experience. Rushed service, but a great meal, three courses, wine and water (and bread), all for 12.50 euro each. If you're planning this, drop by and reserve a table. They are incredibly busy and it seems lots of pilgrim hotels recommend them, as a lot of people were being turned away. It's way past our bed time, but we're very happy.

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